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Resume Grammar Errors

Be aware of these basic mistakes that you shouldn't make. With care resume grammar errors can be found and corrected. We have examples of common problems that you can easily find and fix.

Do You Make These Mistakes?

resume grammar errors These are problems that you don't want to have on your resume when you give it to the employer. Having the ideal educational background or experience may not always be something we can control. You have the skills and experience that you have, and they may not be well suited to the job. However, you can do something about correcting writing problems like these in this article. Do all you can to remove these obstacles.

It can be difficult enough to get a job; don't let unnecessary roadblocks like resume grammar errors keep you from getting what you want. Presented below are examples of errors that many job seekers tend to make on their resumes, along with the solutions needed to fix those mistakes.

Identifying Common Resume Grammar Errors

Our system performs some basic grammar checking, but manual checking is best. Use the examples shown here to make your resume better and more effective than it was when it contained these problems.
  • Homonyms
    These are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. It can be easy to get confused by them if you aren't sure which is which. Here are some examples:
    1. bear (an animal) and bear (to hold up)
    2. your (possessive case of you) and you're (a contraction of you are)
    3. too (means also), to (expresses a direction) and two (a number)
    4. their (describes a plural noun), there (location) and they're (a contraction of they are)

    If you are not sure if a word you are using is a homonym, you can always look it up in a dictionary, whether it is a printed book or a website online. It shows a lack of education when you misuse words. You can't always rely on spell checkers. If you spell a word correctly, but you use the wrong version, the spell checker won't find the mistake. The problem is that if you use the wrong word for your situation, the checker may not find that. Read more about homonyms and these 12 commonly misused words.
  • Past and Present Tense
    Be consistent with your writing as you write about the past and present. When writing about the past, be sure the tense of your words reflects the past tense. The same is true for the present tense. Don't mix past and present tenses as it can become confusing for the reader. They won't know if you are referring to your current job or previous employment.
  • Articles
    Keep the use of words like "a," "the" or "an" to a minimum, they add filler to your page without really adding much value. The goal is to keep the page short and directly to the point.
  • Capitalization
    Except for heading titles, don't use capitalization as an attention-getting method. If you want to embellish a certain word, use bold fonts or italic fonts. It would be best if you capitalized these common words. The words include the first word in a sentence, words in titles excluding articles unless they are the first word, the letter I when used as a word, and a proper noun. You will capitalize people's names, including yours, the names of your schools, company names, degrees, job titles, street names, cities, states, and dates.
  • Writing Dates
    Use a consistent format for writing the dates you went to school and the dates each company employed you. Write the months capitalized with no comma after it, then the years like this: Jan 2024. If you are attempting to hide a gap in your education or employment, you can write only the years, e.g., 2024. Use a dash between dates when spanning two dates, e.g., May 2022 - April 2023. You can abbreviate the names of the months, do it the same way for all of them, Feb. 2023. You can use numbers for the dates too, but then the employer has to think about it to figure out what the months are instead of reading what they are. There is no need to complicate matters.
  • TMI: Too Much Information
    Say what you need to say, but get to the point. You don't have much space, so try to decrease the number of words you use while still using enough to get your message across effectively. The goal is to fit your resume onto one page. The next topic closely aligns with this one.
  • Trying to Be Clever
    Don't use cliches on your resume or other attempts to be clever or cute, stick to the facts. Cliches prove your lack of originality and cleverness. Trying to be clever as an attempt to portray your intelligence makes you look like you seek attention and have an inflated ego. A smart person wouldn't resort to cheap, transparent attempts to look clever. It also wastes valuable space on your page that you could use more wisely to write about details that will actually help you get hired.
  • Short Sentences
    Keep your sentences short using a minimal amount of wording. Say what you need to say without using an excessive number of words. Also, when you use fewer words, there are fewer chances to make resume grammar errors! A simple strategy to shorten your sentences is to decrease the usage of articles and don't write the word "I." It is unnecessary to use I in your sentences because about who else would you be writing? Instead of writing, "I managed a staff of 100 drivers," simply write, "Managed 100 drivers." The word count drops from seven to three in this example.
Be careful when writing so you don't make any mistakes, not only with your spelling but also your grammar. This page is your big chance to make an impression, make it a positive one. Don't be in a big rush to get this done, take your time, do it correctly. Go over it, and over it, as many times as is necessary to hone and fine-tune your writing to make it the best it can be. You can also apply this information to your cover letter.