Abbreviations and Acronyms on a Resume (+Examples)

Find out the best way to include abbreviations and acronyms on a resume

One question that people ask, during the job search, is how to deal with abbreviations and acronyms on a resume. So we all know what we’re talking about, the Collins English Dictionary defines abbreviation as, “a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used in place of the whole,” and an acronym as, “a pronounceable name made up of a series of initial letters or parts of words.”

Is it professional to use abbreviations?

It’s often tempting to abbreviate and use acronyms as often as possible, since the optimum length of a resume is generally two pages. And as you obviously want to pack in as much relevant information as possible to impress potential employers, why not shorten as many words and phrases as possible?

Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news on that front.

The good news is that job seekers can abbreviate and use acronyms where appropriate.
The bad news is that you need to be careful about what you shorten, and ensure that everything is clear to the reader at the same time.

The litmus test for abbreviations and acronyms on a resume

When you’re deciding whether to use specific abbreviations and acronyms, there’s a general rule to go by. Ask yourself whether the shortened version will still be clear to the reader. With resume abbreviations, that decision is usually simple. If you use the standard abbreviation, there shouldn’t be a problem. Acronyms can be more difficult, since many acronyms have multiple meanings. However, even that situation can be overcome if you use them correctly.

You’ll likely want to use some abbreviations and acronyms within your resume. After all, you want to leave as much room as possible for skills, experience, and achievements. Long words, lengthy titles, or organizational names can take up valuable space that would be better used to document your value as an employee.

Below are tips that will help you use abbreviations and acronyms on your resume or job application properly.

Tips for using abbreviations properly

Strive for clarity

If a common abbreviation could be misinterpreted, spell it out. If you’re using this particular abbreviation a lot, once you’ve spelled it out in full, you can then use the abbreviation throughout the rest of the resume.

Be guided by your industry

If you work in a particular sector that uses a lot of abbreviations, be led by that. If you’re certain that someone reading your resume is likely to be from that same industry, and therefore will fully understand what you mean, then go ahead and use that abbreviation. If you work in customer services, you might want to use a CMS for “customer management system” or CRM instead of “customer relationship management”.

Expert tip: It would be worth double checking with a colleague that they understand what the abbreviations mean, before sending out your resume.

Focus on the job description

If you notice that the job advert is using a lot of abbreviations and keywords, make sure to incorporate those into your resume, as long as they match your skill set. On the flip side, if commonly abbreviated words are spelled out in the job description, mirror that within your resume.

Write them correctly

Showcase your professionalism and understanding by writing each abbreviation correctly, which means not repeating words that are already contained within the abbreviation. It’s easier to show an example here. When writing about CMS, don’t put, “Overhauled and updated the CMS system,” as CMS stands for “customer management system” so the word “system” is already included.

Resume abbreviation examples

Below are some examples of acceptable resume abbreviations:

Abbreviating dates on a resume is seen as common practice, so you can use the first three letters of the month, such as Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, and so on. If you do this, make sure it’s consistent throughout your resume.
You can abbreviate degrees in the education section, such as PhD for Doctor of Philosophy, as well as other common degree abbreviations, like BS for Bachelor of Science and BA for Bachelor of Arts. Use MBA for a Masters of Business Administration.
Can you use state abbreviations on a resume? Yes, you can! This is the most common option when showing your location, so simply spell out the town or city where you live and then abbreviate the state with two capital letters. For example: Jackson Hole, WY.
The general rule for numbers is that one to nine are spelled out, and then all figures of 10 and up are written in their numerical form, so 8000 or 100,000. You can abbreviate further by writing 8k or 100k if you’re really short on space.
When it comes to highlighting monetary values, such as the budget you controlled or savings you made, it’s perfectly acceptable to shorten “million” and “billion”. Including achievements such as, “Saved the company $2m on an annual basis,” or “Oversaw a budget of $3bn,” is a succinct way of showing your worth as it’s obvious what you mean.
Job titles, such as Vice President being shortened to VP or Chief Executive Officer reduced to CEO, are also a part of the resume content that can be abbreviated.

Tips for using acronyms properly

Spell out the acronym in the first instance

Not only does this clarify exactly what you mean, it also makes it clear to the reader. For example, if you’re listing a government position in the defense department, you won’t want to write out the Department of Defense every time you reference that job. Spell out the name the first time you mention it, then with each subsequent appearance, you can use the acronym “DoD”.

Focus on the ATS

To get through applicant tracking systems (ATS), reflect any keywords or acronyms in your resume. If an acronym is written out fully, use that version instead.

Don’t use apostrophes for plurals

If you worked as a physical therapist, you could use the acronym “PT” and any other physical therapists in your circle would be “PTs” – the plural form. You should only add an apostrophe to signify the possessive form of an acronym.

Always capitalize acronyms

That doesn’t mean that the words which make up the acronym should be capitalized as well though, as they usually aren’t unless it’s an official job title.

Do your homework

There’s nothing worse than using the wrong acronym in a resume. It’s not only confusing, but makes you look unprofessional as well.

Acronyms on resume: examples

Here are some acronyms that are well-known, and often don’t have to be spelled out in full to begin with.

IT (information technology)
KPI (key performance indicators)
SOP (standard operating procedure)
SOW (statement of work)
SEO (search engine optimization)

Expert Tip

The answer to the question, “Is it OK to use “etc” on a resume?” is a resounding, “No”. Never use “etc” in your resume. Is the recruiter supposed to guess what else you’ve done? Spell it out, don’t leave them to do the work.

The use of abbreviations or acronyms in a cover letter

Is it okay to use abbreviations or acronyms in a professional email or business letter? The same rules apply really. While an email or cover letter don’t follow the same guidelines as a resume, it’s best to be clear from the outset what you mean if using an abbreviation or acronym.

See your way to job success!

Take care when using abbreviations and acronyms on a resume during your job search. They can be a useful way of saving space, which gives you more room for your skills and achievements. By shortening those long words, titles, and organizational names, you can reserve more of your resume for these important priorities.

However, you must always think through the process – trying to see your resume from the perspective of how others would view it – and then use these shortened terms in the correct way.

ZipJob’s free resume review tool can pinpoint the ways in which you can improve your job search documents. This includes when and how to use abbreviations and acronyms on your resume, so check it out today!

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