Full Stops & Commas
You should only use a full stop when ending a sentence or with abbreviations. A comma is used to break sentences, separate items in a list or used in compound sentences.
Semicolons (;) & Colons (:)
When writing a document, you should use a semicolon to connect closely linked ideas as well as differentiating complex items in a list. Semicolons are most beneficial when the listed items contain commas or other information that requires a clear separation. But remember, “if in doubt, leave it out”.
A colon simply anticipates something that is to follow e.g. “For example:” You should only capitalise the next word if it is a name or begins a complete sentence.
First Person Writing
When writing your CV you should always consider writing in first person; however, the writing style should not directly reflect this. For example:
“I increased productivity by 100% through the implementation of effective marketing strategies”
Would be changed to
“Increased productivity 100% through the effective implementation of marketing strategies”
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Tense
Know what tense to use throughout your CV whether it is past, present or future. When writing about your current position, use the present tense i.e. manage, maintain and oversee. When writing about positions prior to your current role, use the past tense i.e. managed, maintained and oversaw. One thing to remember is consistency.
Sentence Structure
When structuring your sentences you should have a combination of action verbs, keyword phrases and results. Action verbs can be used to highlight what you achieved rather than what you did. You should avoid long winded sentences separated with commas. Read the sentence back to yourself and consider how you could restructure them.
Sentence Fragment
A sentence fragment is one that lacks a noun or a verb but makes the sentence complete.
“Managed all aspects of accounting and budgeting”
This is a sentence fragment since it is missing the subject “I” at the beginning
Sentence fragments can often be seen in CVs due to the style of writing adopted by CV writers. You should only consider sentence fragments in your CV and not in your cover letter.
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence is one that joins two main clauses with one of 7 conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet and so.
Top Tips
- Ensure that your grammar, sentence structure, numbers, tenses and writing style are consistent throughout your CV
- Don’t overuse commas, semicolons and apostrophes. Use them CORRECTLY throughout the document
- Don’t rely on spellcheck. Always proofread your writing since it will only highlight INCORRECTLY spelled words, not whether you have used them correctly in the sentence
- Explain your abbreviations once
- Use numbers. If you achieved ten million euro in revenue write it as €10M. This will save space and make it more appealing to the reader