Résumé conventions: present, past, and continuous tenses

Question

When writing a résumé or CV, I’ve read that:

Use the present tense when referring to accomplishments that are ongoing.

Use the past tense (ending in –ed) when referring to accomplishments that you have completed.

Does present tense mean “present simple” only, or is “present continuous” also right?

For example, I want to add a new entry on my CV saying:

Awaiting a new assignment as an external consultant.

Researching and taking training on. . . .

Is that right, or should I use the present simple instead?

OT, but it's either "waiting for X" or "awaiting X" with no for. Also, it's "assignment", one E. — RegDwigнt, Oct 23 '13 at 13:27
This question appears to be off-topic because it is about writing advice. — Kris, Oct 23 '13 at 13:47
This isn't writing advice, it's *grammar*. Compare this question, which wasn't closed. — Peter Shor, Oct 23 '13 at 13:48

Peter Shor · Answer 1 · 2013-10-23T22:52:53.413

2

For résumés, in general you should use present continuous when the entry is temporary and simple present when it's permanent. For example: "knows 27 programming languages well" should be in simple present, and "learning Prolog, F#, and Haskell" should be in present continuous. And here the boundary between "temporary" and "permanent" is fuzzy. I don't have any guidelines for deciding on questionable entries; you should use your best judgment.

edited Oct 23 '13 at 22:52

answered Oct 23 '13 at 19:03

Peter Shor

88,407

Thanks. This is in general, but what about resumés?, Should I apply exactly the same rules?, Or is more common to use the present simple? – skan Oct 23 '13 at 19:59
Then I will use the continuous form because is temporary. – skan Oct 23 '13 at 20:00

Résumé conventions: present, past, and continuous tenses

1 Answers1