Should Your Resume be Written in Past or Present Tense?

There are so many things to think about when compiling a resume. 

• Where should the education section go? 

• How many pages should my resume be?

• Which is the best font to use? 

• Should I list my hobbies and interests in my resume in 2024?

Phew! The list goes on.

While a lot of those questions, and many more, can be answered on the resume tips section of the ZipJob website, this post is all about tenses. Not about getting tense… but about whether your resume should be written in the past or present tense. 

A quick grammar lesson

It may feel like you’re going back to English class at high school, but let’s be very clear about what the tenses are, and how they can be applied.

• The past tense – this is used when something has already happened i.e. it’s in the past.

• The present tense – this is happening right now.

Getting the grammar on your resume spot-on is vital to creating that first great impression to a hiring manager or prospective employer. It shows you are mindful about what you have written, and have taken the time and effort to ensure it is all correct and ready to be ingested — and hopefully land your resume on the “yes” pile. 

So should your resume contain the past or present tense on it, or even both? With every bullet point starting with an action verb, choosing the right tense at the right time is critical.

Your resume – past or present tense?

While the differences are subtle, the general answer is that you use the past tense for past work experience and the present tense for current job duties when compiling the Career Summary section of your resume.

Let’s look at the difference here:

• Coordinate the cross-functional operations for dozens of products in quarterly and monthly ship events.

• 
  

Or

• Coordinated the cross-functional operations for dozens of products in quarterly and monthly ship events.

Coordinate says you doing it right now and can signal that you are still in the process of doing it.

Coordinated says this is something you’ve done — it’s an accomplishment.

It might seem like this is a small point that won’t make any or little difference. But when recruiters only spend all of six seconds deciding if your resume is worthy or not, there is no such thing as a small difference. Everything makes a difference!

As with all things, the rules for resume writing have changed over time, so let’s take a look at the different sections of a resume, and see when past or present tense is the most appropriate in 2024.

Professional Summary

The summary at the top of your resume, just under your contact details, is the first bit of text that the reader will see. It should contain about four or five sentences that capture the reader’s attention while highlighting your strengths and assets.

Using the present tense in this part of the resume makes sense as it is describing your current situation and dedication to the sector you are in. It’s also written without any pronouns, such as “I”, “he” or “she,” though each sentence does begin with an assumptive “I.” 

Example

Below is an example of a summary for a high school Science Tutor, written in an active voice.

A diligent, organized, and versatile Tutor with the dedication to help children and young people identify and enhance their potential for achievement. Combine polished communication skills with the patience and flexibility to raise educational standards. Flourish with increased responsibility and quickly establish productive working relationships with pupils and teachers alike. Offer a secure knowledge and understanding of science subjects to help students on the road to discovering science. Safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.

Work Experience

This section should be located under the summary and the core competencies areas, and forms the main part of the resume, unless you are a recent graduate or just starting on your career path. Include your job title, company name, and the start and finish dates for each role. If you are still in a role, write “date – Present”. Compile a paragraph of responsibilities, and then bullet point all of your achievements.

This is the only part of the resume where mixing tenses is allowed — and only with regard to your current position. Use the present tense for your day-to-day responsibilities, as you are still doing these while searching for a new job.

However, use the past tense for your accomplishments in the bulleted area. This is because you have achieved these goals — they are done and dusted.

Example

Let’s look at an example of the current position of a Senior Marketing Manager to illustrate:

American Petroleum, CH                                       Mar 2016 - Present

Senior Marketing Manager

Create a global automotive environmental offer for the multimillion-dollar industrial sector. Foster productive working partnerships with steering teams from VW and Ford as well as collaborate closely with leading industry OEMs including Audi, BMW, MAN, Tata, and Jaguar. Oversee key strategic marketing growth projects across the entire marketing spectrum with accountability for the full global/local marketing remit. Incorporate customer insight, propositions, offer developments, channel management, global operational pricing frameworks, product management, customer experience, branding, PR, and thought leadership.

Key Achievements:

• Launched new products for extreme environments for NASA to be used on its discovery visit to Mars.

• Secured a reduction in projects from 270 to 70, and from 7,600 products to 3,600, by assessing overarching strategic pillars, brands, and customers, resulting in an incremental increase of $40m.

• Led marketing projects and teams and liaised with global technology, supply chain, and sales teams across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Even though the tenses are mixed, it makes sense because the person reading the resume can tell that the jobseeker is still actively carrying out those duties spoken of in the present tense, but has achieved a lot, which is written in the past tense.

Avoid mixing the tenses within the bullet points though, as this reads as uneven… unbalanced… yo-yoing back and forth like an excitable toddler! It just doesn’t work as you can check out below:

• Coordinate the cross-functional operations …

• Reduced the review period by 50% …

• Lead meetings, including scrums with a wide range of stakeholders, including …

• Decreased cycle time by 60% …

• Implemented process changes for 33% improvements …

You did this, but you’re still doing that. It’s difficult and exhausting to read. And besides, even if it is an ongoing activity, you have done that work, right? So give yourself credit where credit is due.

Awards & Accolades

Showing that you have won some awards, or achieved something special outside of your career, is really going to get you, and your resume, noticed. When detailing awards on your resume, most will contain the official title of the award, the awarding body, and the date received. 

Education section

If you have little or no work experience, having come straight out of high school or college, you can demonstrate your aptitude by listing notable accomplishments from your education experience in the past tense.

Look to the past for achievements

Remember to make your resume about measurable accomplishments, with the past tense giving you credit for those achievements while using the present tense for all information that is current.

Example

Here is a graduate’s education section, revealing awards in the past tense.

Bachelor in Drama, University of Buffalo, MO

• Higly commended for "Sports Woman of the Year 2022"

• Served as 2nd leader Ladies Table Tennis Captain between 2019 and 2020

• Graduated with GPA of 3.6

Now that you know which parts of your resume should be in the past or present tense, it is time to get cracking with drafting a job-winning document. Help is at hand if you need it. Check out ZipJob’s free resume review tool for starters. It will give you clear guidance on where to start in improving your resume, so it is error-free and ready to go!

Recommended reading:

• How Long Should Your Resume Be in 2023 (Expert Advice)

• Should You Use Color on Your Resume? (+ Examples)

• How to Show Your Work Experience on Your Resume: Full Guide