By J.M. Auron, Expert IT Resume Writer—Providing Professional IT Resume Writing Services for More than 15 Years.
Ok. I suspect I lost many (most?) potential readers with the title. Grammar? "You want to talk about grammar, JM? Couldn't we go back to talking about keywords and the ATS? Or how AI will destroy all tech careers?"
I know. I know. Grammar isn't everyone's favorite topic. I get that. Me? I like grammar. I'm a writer (obviously), and I'm also an amateur linguist, so I find grammar really interesting.
But that's not important right now (as they say in Airplane!). Because whether you like grammar or not, the basic grammar and style conventions I'll talk about in this article will make your IT resume stronger, clearer, more powerful, and more readable—both on an initial scan and in depth.
I've built one of the best IT resume writing services globally not only because of my personalized approach—but because I take the details very seriously.
That includes grammar and style. Because the grammar used in IT resume writing—like many other aspects of resume writing style—is a bit different from standard use.
So, I want to take a few minutes (for the few who haven't been scared off by the title) to give an idea on best practices for grammar and style in your IT resume.
IT Resume Grammar: Implied First Person Verbs
Ok. If I didn't lose a lot of readers with the title, I may well have done so with this heading. "Implied first person"? Yeah, I know, it's not something that comes up in daily conversation. But it's actually quite a straightforward concept—and will make writing your IT resume a heck of a lot easier.
CVs are written in what is known in my trade as "implied first person." That means that your IT resume is written as though you're talking directly about yourself—as you would in a cover letter, for example—but the pronoun "I" is removed.
Here's an example:
"I was promoted to serve as CTO. I work directly with my C-suite peers to align our technology strategies with business objectives. I lead a team of 12 direct and 120 indirect reports..."
In resume style, though, this would be:
"Promoted to serve as CTO. Work directly with C-suite peers to align technology strategies with business objectives. Lead team of 12 direct and 120 indirect reports..."
The second is the standard way I'd write an IT resume—and that's true regardless of level, from a developer or network engineer up to CTO / CIO (there are a couple more style choices I'll get to below).
While this may seem a bit artificial (and is a bit artificial), it's the standard for this kind of writing—and it's generally wise to work with standard style.
IT Resume Grammar: Verb Tense
This is another issue that can seem confusing, but it's actually pretty straightforward. In most cases (there are always exceptions), use the simple present test for your professional summary and the duties and responsibilities of your current job, and simple past for everything else.
Here's what I mean by this. In the professional summary and the first paragraph of your current job, the duties and responsibilities paragraph should be in the present tense. (I discuss these issues in my previous post on best practices for structure.) The reason for that is simple. These are things you're doing in the present.
Here's an example for a professional summary:
"Dedicated frontend engineer who builds scalable, maintainable applications with a strong emphasis on user experience." As always, there's the implied first person—"I'm a dedicated frontend engineer..."
Here's an example for the first paragraph of a current job:
"Work closely with product owners and translate product vision into clear, actionable technical requirements. Partner with customers to rapidly address and resolve issues."
These are things you're doing daily, or weekly, or monthly—but they're ongoing, so it's best to use the present tense. This also signals to the hiring authority that this is what you're doing now—and they want to know that.
Other than those two sections, I use the simple past tense:
"Served as Technical Frontend Lead for 8-member frontend team. Grew team cohesion, commitment, communication, and productivity."
Again, the reason is (I hope) clear. These are things you've done and finished in the past, so they should be past tense verbs. It's no different than, "I went to the store to get some tea yesterday."
This shows the hiring authority that you've done these things—so it's clear they're completed, they're accomplished.
IT Resume Style: Short and Telegraphic
Let's go back to my initial example:
"I was promoted to serve as CTO. I work directly with my C-suite peers to align our technology strategies with business objectives. I lead a team of 12 direct and 120 indirect reports..."
In addition to implied first person, you'll also notice that in the second version, I omitted "my," "our," and "a."
That's another aspect of IT resume style that's well worth thinking about—and the reasons are the same as the use of implied first person. I know this style can seem a bit unnatural at first; as a novelist with a love for prose, I completely get that. But, in general, removing many of the smaller words which are usual in other forms of writing is common in resume writing style.
It's rather like old telegrams; since you paid by the word, people learned to keep the document as short as possible.
As the great detective (Sherlock Holmes) wrote, “Watson. Come at once if convenient. If inconvenient, come all the same.”
The goal of all these changes is the same.
Keep the resume short—because we've got, at the outside, 1000 words across two pages, so every word, every character, has to count.
Keep the resume punchy so the style pulls the reader along.
Why Following Grammar and Style Best Practices Matters
But there's another important reason to incorporate implied first person and telegraphic style into your IT resume.
A big part of good writing is working with the reader's expectations. We want to keep within the reader's expectations of what a good CV is, how it's structured, how it flows, and how it's written. That signals professionalism, clarity, and builds confidence on the part of the hiring authority that—since your resume is professional, you're seen as professional, too.
So, while there's nothing "wrong" with including pronouns ("I lead a team") in your resume, or having a fuller style with smaller words, it "feels" odd. It seems off. So the hiring authority may well think (unconsciously), "This candidate doesn't know how it's done." That's never ideal.
Final Thoughts
IT resume writing (and resume writing generally) is a pretty specialized form of communication. The rules, the guidelines are there—but they're not always easy to find. So I hope that these ideas—gathered in more than 15 years in one of the best IT resume writing services—will be helpful. If you'd like to get in touch and learn more about how I work, please set up a time on my Calendly or send a message via my contact form.