Should I use I to describe myself

Article on frequently asked resume question "Should I use I to describe myself"

Writing a resume from scratch or editing it for the 50th time can be time consuming, difficult, and nerve-wracking-especially if you’re not clear on the most basic of resume protocol. Take the perspective that your should write a professional resume in-do you have any idea what the most widely accepted person is, i.e. first person, third person, etc? If you answered “no”, don’t feel bad-as more people than you think know what is best received by a hiring manager or employer. This said, let’s discuss what’s best: using first person or third person when describing your career history and achievements.

If you’re unclear as to which is which-a first person perspective in a document uses the point of view of “I”-such as: I was responsible for acquiring new clients, etc etc. The third person perspective offers a point of view as objective, and typically-in most documents-uses, instead of “I”, “he” or “she”. In a resume, this kind of reference would seem silly; so when a person uses a third person perspective for a resume, the pronoun is implicit but not offered as “he” or “she”. Instead, often each point is begin with a verb, such as “managed”-it being implicit that “he” or “she” managed. This said, which one is better? It depends on which aspect of the applying package that you are referring to.

The Cover Letter
The cover letter is the first address to a prospective employer and basically sums up the more valuable information-experience, education, and achievements-that you have listed about your career history in your resume. It is a brief autobiographical statement that-in 2-3 paragraphs tells them why you are best for their open position and company.

Resume
The resume; however, is best approached in a third person perspective. Why wouldn’t be necessarily follow the same perspective as its introduction, you may wonder? Simply, for the fact that the skills and achievements described in the resume are best served with action verbs in the third person as they make for a more powerful, proactive presentation.