There is a long standing debate regarding the use of the word ‘I’ within your CV, with two main arguments for its use.
The first argument is that it is considered a more formal approach to writing a CV, and in today’s competitive job market you should always try to present yourself at your best, which includes having a formal, well presented CV.
The second argument for the use of ‘I’ is that you then appear to ‘own’ the skills and achievements that you are referring to within your CV.
For example, making a bold declaration that, ‘I consistently met and exceeded my sales targets month on month’, affirms that you were the one that worked hard to do this.
In contrast, using something more ambiguous such as we, referring to your team or your company, does not highlight the part that you played in achieving the success and therefore could lead to some doubt regarding your capabilities.
Always remember that an employer wants to know about you, not the company you worked for.
However there is also an argument against using ‘I’, with some suggesting that if used too frequently within a CV you may appear to be a bit egocentric, and there is also the possibility that your CV becomes a bit of a bland read if you keep referring to, ‘I did this…, I did that…etc.’
An alternative therefore is to refer to yourself in the third person e.g. ‘Stuart always prioritised his work well in order that he could meet his strict deadlines.’
This is perfectly acceptable to use within a CV, but it does open up additional issues; firstly, people often find it difficult to consistently talk about themselves in the third person, which causes them to make grammatical errors within their CV, which is an absolute no-no.
In addition, departing from the pronoun ‘I’ in favour of the third person often leads to you writing a barrage of over the top superlatives that can make you sound either unbelievable or again, just a bit egocentric, either way these are not the kind of things that an employer wants to see in a potential employee.
Another option is not to use ‘I’ or the third person at all but to simply use bullet points without referring to yourself. Incorporating strong selling words within bullet points can be a powerful way of demonstrating your skills.
With so many strong arguments for and against the use of ‘I’, the best option is to compromise.
Using ‘I’ within your opening personal profile will allow you to be viewed as a person, rather than a list of skills, and, provided you construct sensible sentences, there should not be too much repetition of the word ‘I’ and the reader will not get bored. You can then go on to use the bullet point approach when detailing your responsibilities.
Combining these two approaches will not only allow for a more comfortable read but ensure that you stay on the right side of egocentric but still come across as the skilled individual that you are.
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courtesy of www.wordsworthreading.co.uk
