In a 1 page skill based resume, what tense should I use? For example, under Marketing, I've listed 5 skills - 3 were used in the past whereas 2 are being utilitized in my current job.
Is mixing past & present (though accurate) wise?
3 Answers
Are they your current skills? For instance, if I was a mad soup chef in the past and am currently a master steak chef but haven't cooked soup in years and if asked too was unable too then no don't list it. However, if you HAVE the skills and are able to do them then list them.
Don't list anything in your resume you are uncomfortable being asked about or performing or being tested on, if you are and they are beneficial skills to the job you are looking for then yes, by all means list them.
-
This doesn't answer the question of what verb tense to use when listing skills.– MylesCommented Jul 14, 2015 at 21:43
-
Nor does it ask for 'verb tense'– user37925Commented Jul 15, 2015 at 6:58
-
It specifically asks for what tense to list skills in. What other meaning of tense would fit in this context?– MylesCommented Jul 15, 2015 at 13:35
-
Kid, once you have lived and worked with people of all nationalities and have actually left the country once in your life to work somewhere other than your comfort zone and have some actual experience in the real world you'll understand. Until then, answer the question in the way you think fit instead of adding nothing of value by tagging into someone elses.– user37925Commented Jul 15, 2015 at 17:03
-
I left my home country to be an English teacher for over 7 years. I have had to answer dozens of this sort of question in adult English classes. This is clearly a "What is the appropriate grammar in this situation?" question.– MylesCommented Jul 15, 2015 at 18:16
Skill based resume - what tense?
While the strength of a skill may fade with time, generally skills don't disappear completely - you either have the skill or you don't. It doesn't matter if you currently use that skill or not.
In my experience, skill-based resumes are written in the present tense.
If you find yourself agonizing over a skill that was used so long in the past you wouldn't know how to do it any longer, that's a sign that you should leave it off your resume.
answered Jul 14, 2015 at 20:07
You are going into excessive detail. If you used skills several years ago, your skills are somewhat rusty but you can get them back with a minimum of practice, simply list them as current skills - By the way, the only skills that matter are current skills.
Don't clutter your resume with obsolete skills and skills that no longer have any relevance to anyone anymore.
answered Jul 14, 2015 at 20:06
