When writing your CV, grammar is of particular importance. You have to make sure that the CV makes sense to employers and is not long-winded or difficult to read. This article will help you to develop your CV and ensure you choose the correct CV grammar tenses, sentence length and punctuation.

Grammar

English (Ireland) / English (UK) vs. English (US)

When writing your CV you need to remember who you are applying to and where you are. Note that the spelling is different for certain words e.g. colour vs. color or organisation vs. organization so be sure to check the content and change the language of the document. If applying to a local company, use the language of the country; if applying to a MNC find out where in the world the position is being advertised and edit accordingly.

Uppercase vs. Lowercase

Be sure to make use of UPPER and lower case characters throughout your CV. You should include an uppercase character at the beginning of sentences, for nouns and abbreviations. However, you should not overdo it. Don’t emphasis areas with block capitals, since including capitals incorrectly to random words could be a reason for employers to discard your CV.

The most important thing to remember is consistency. If you decide to use uppercase characters for your job title, use uppercase characters each time you mention the job. Do not capitalise words mid-sentence.

Punctuation

Apostrophes

You should only consider using an apostrophe to indicate missing letters, a possessive, time or quantity. If you have a good grasp on grammar, an apostrophe should be seen somewhere on your CV. Incorrect use of an apostrophe will make your CV look incorrect and messy.