If you were raised the way I was, you are very good at following rules. You know how to stand on line and how to be quiet when the teacher is talking. You know better than to throw paper airlines in class. You get an «A» with a smiley face on every paper and piece of homework you hand in.
That approach is perfect for school. It’s horrible on a job search, or in many other situations that arise in the grown-up world of work. If you’re job-hunting, you’ve already learned through harsh experience that following the prescribed job-search rules leads to frustration and no job.
Here are the standard job-search rules:
- Create a traditional resume full of jargon and buzzwords like «Results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation» and «Meets or exceeds expectations.»
- Use sentence fragments like «Skilled at leading cross-functional teams» in your resume, but never use the word «I»!
- Apply for jobs using automated recruiting portals — the ones I call Black Holes, because they suck your resume into a wormhole like real Black Holes in space.
- Wait to hear something from the employer whose job opening you applied for.
- Get old and die.
We have to break these rules and nearly every other piece of conventional job-search wisdom to get a job in the new-millennium job market. We are all learning to break rules. You should try it!
We’ll start with your resume. Of course you can use «I» in your resume — it’s a branding document for you! It’s your marketing brochure. I can’t imagine a better place to use the word «I» than in your resume, but the standard job-search advice says don’t do it.
That’s very bad advice.
You’ll use «I» in three ways in your Human-Voiced Resume. Your resume will have a friendly, conversational tone as though you were speaking to your hiring manager directly.
If you want to pitch resumes into Black Hole recruiting sites, you can do it, but a Human-Voiced Resume was invented to be sent directly to hiring managers, one at a time. You’ll send your Human-Voiced Resume through the post, in an envelope, straight to your hiring manager’s desk.
The first place to use «I» in your Human-Voiced Resume comes right at the top of the document. You’ll use «I» in the Summary paragraph that immediately follows the contact information at the top of your resume.
Here’s an example — the Summary paragraph from Christine’s Human-Voiced Resume:
I taught myself Facebook promotion as the VP of Programs for Gamma Phi Beta sorority during college. I built our chapter’s FB page to capture 100K Likes and sold $32K of teeshirts during the school year. Now I’m a Social Media Marketing specialist whose passion is building buzz around a brand and converting fans to clients. I’m looking for my next adventure.
Christine is job-hunting, and she’s picky. She has every reason to be, because she did a tremendous job at her first two jobs after college and has terrific references. Christine doesn’t need to make millions of dollars in her next job or have an ocean view from her desk, but she needs to work for a manager who ‘gets’ her.
Christine’s Summary paragraph makes it clear that she isn’t one of the millions of standard, drone-type job applicants whose resumes her next manager will see.
If the manager reading Christine’s Human-Voiced Resume at any particular moment doesn’t care for the conversational tone in it, Christine hopes that the manager tosses her resume in the rubbish bin.
She doesn’t have time to waste in her job search. She doesn’t have time to spend with people who don’t want to know the real Christine, the person behind the resume.
The human voice in Christine’s resume sets her apart from more traditional, zombie-fied job candidates, and it also helps Christine decide which managers will be a good match for her very human working style.
You’ll use «I» in the body of your resume, too, in two ways. You’ll use «I» as you frame each role that you’ve held in your career so far. You’ll also use «I» in your short bullets describing your accomplishments in each job. We call these mini-stories Dragon-Slaying Stories.
Acme Explosives, Phoenix, Arizona
Social Media Marketing Manager
2004 — 2011
Acme is the world’s second-largest maker of stick dynamite with $20M in annual revenues. I was recruited to Acme by its CMO, Mel Blanc, who heard me speak at a conference. My mission was to grow awareness of our brand and generate sales leads.
- To launch Acme’s social presence, I created an interactive quiz that generated 450K new visits to our site in two weeks and $2M in new-customer sales over the next six months
- When we acquired Wile E. Products in 2006, I integrated the two brands’ social media activities and launched a Youtube how-to channel that has 100K followers
- As Acme gained regulatory approval to ship unassembled stick dynamite by mail, I created an awareness campaign that led to $750K in ecommerce orders in one year
Christine uses the word «I» appropriately and without hesitation throughout her Human-Voiced Resume, careful to avoid stacking «I»s atop one another or to suggest that she ran Acme Explosives by herself, with no assistance!
Christine wants hiring managers to know that she loves a challenge and will dive in to solve big problems at work. She wants a hiring manager to know that she’s ready to start working and make a difference, but only for a manager who is excited about the match-up between his or her needs and Christine’s talents. There are plenty of managers in pain out in the business ecosystem. Christine only needs to find one of them.
Are you ready to go find hiring managers in pain, yourself? Start by putting a human voice in your resume. The word «I» in your own branding document is about as human as you can get. If you’re new to rule-breaking, adding «I» to your resume is a wonderful first step!
Resume writing is a different form of writing. There are separate rules, standards, grammar and spelling expectations. One of them is the use of first person pronouns like “I”, “me”, and “my”.
Never use the word ‘I’ in a resume or other first person pronouns. Especially in your objective or career summary.
First of all, even though your resume is about you, it really should not be ALL about you. The employer isn’t interested in what you want, they’re interested in how you can meet their needs and solve their pain points.
As harsh or sad as that may sound it is true. When they look at your resume they are scanning it to see if you have the preliminary skills and abilities they need in their ideal candidate.They’re asking, is this person a fit?
If you pass the initial scan then you will receive a more thorough evaluation. One of the most detrimental things you can do to your resume is write it in the narrative, or say I want a position that is XYZ. Most hiring managers view this as a resume error.
Instead, write all of your documents in implied first person without the use of pronouns. Think of your resume as a brag sheet that someone else is writing about you. Think of all the things you would want someone else to say about you as an employee if they were giving your potential employer a recommendation about you. Then put that information into your resume.
Most people struggle to brag about themselves so be sure to stay away from overinflated language and stick to the facts. Using numbers and quantifiable accomplishments are a great way to do this.
Also, try switching out passive language for active language. You’ll find 178 action verbs and high-impact phrases in this free PDF guide I created. Download it now and make some simple, quick changes for an immediate improvement in your resume.
I often receive feedback from clients about the resumes I have prepared for them; one of consistent comments I receive is about the word “I.” While resumes should not be written in third person (who likes the “royal we”?), they should not use the word “I” either. Resumes are appropriately written in first person implied. This means that not only should you not use “I,” you should not use other personal pronouns such as me, my, we, our, etc., either.
I also received feedback about “missing” articles—words like “a,” “an.”, “the.” These words are not missing; they are intentionally left out! For easier reading and brevity (even in federal resumes), resumes are written in what is called telegraphic style. In essence these words are eliminated but the sentence is still understood.
Here are some other common questions about resume writing style I hear:
- “Why don’t you use “responsible for…?” The phrase “responsible for…” is never a good idea; first, this is passive language. And second, just because you are responsible for something doesn’t mean you did it; it just means you should have done it!
- “Why do you use numerals instead of spelling out numbers?” Many resumes are full of text—by using numerals (even for numbers under 10), it makes it easier for the reader to see the numbers. This goes for using symbols such as $, %, and M as well.
- “I thought resumes were supposed to be in present tense.” Only your current job should be in present tense; all past work experience and accomplishments for your current job should be in past tense,
- “Why do you not put “s” on the end of verbs?” Because adding the “s” turns the writing into 3rd person; we use first person for resume writing. Of course, you’ll use past tense for verbs in your former work.
- “Don’t I need to include every job I’ve held on my resume?” The short answer is “no;” you do not need every single job on your resume. Most employers are only interested in your most recent and relevant work—for most people this is the last 10 years or so. If you feel like you must include your earlier work, consider including a section on your resume called Earlier Work Experience and Key Achievements (or something similar), list some of your earlier jobs without dates and be sure to include accomplishments. If you don’t have relevant accomplishments for those earlier jobs, why do you think they are important?
- “I don’t have any accomplishments!” Everyone has accomplishments. The key is to track them throughout your career and frame them in a way that shows your value to potential employers. Think about what makes you different from other people who have the same job you do
What this handout is about
This handout is about determining when to use first person pronouns (“I”, “we,” “me,” “us,” “my,” and “our”) and personal experience in academic writing. “First person” and “personal experience” might sound like two ways of saying the same thing, but first person and personal experience can work in very different ways in your writing. You might choose to use “I” but not make any reference to your individual experiences in a particular paper. Or you might include a brief description of an experience that could help illustrate a point you’re making without ever using the word “I.” So whether or not you should use first person and personal experience are really two separate questions, both of which this handout addresses. It also offers some alternatives if you decide that either “I” or personal experience isn’t appropriate for your project. If you’ve decided that you do want to use one of them, this handout offers some ideas about how to do so effectively, because in many cases using one or the other might strengthen your writing.
Expectations about academic writing
Students often arrive at college with strict lists of writing rules in mind. Often these are rather strict lists of absolutes, including rules both stated and unstated:
- Each essay should have exactly five paragraphs.
- Don’t begin a sentence with “and” or “because.”
- Never include personal opinion.
- Never use “I” in essays.
We get these ideas primarily from teachers and other students. Often these ideas are derived from good advice but have been turned into unnecessarily strict rules in our minds. The problem is that overly strict rules about writing can prevent us, as writers, from being flexible enough to learn to adapt to the writing styles of different fields, ranging from the sciences to the humanities, and different kinds of writing projects, ranging from reviews to research.
So when it suits your purpose as a scholar, you will probably need to break some of the old rules, particularly the rules that prohibit first person pronouns and personal experience. Although there are certainly some instructors who think that these rules should be followed (so it is a good idea to ask directly), many instructors in all kinds of fields are finding reason to depart from these rules. Avoiding “I” can lead to awkwardness and vagueness, whereas using it in your writing can improve style and clarity. Using personal experience, when relevant, can add concreteness and even authority to writing that might otherwise be vague and impersonal.
Because college writing situations vary widely in terms of stylistic conventions, tone, audience, and purpose, the trick is deciphering the conventions of your writing context and determining how your purpose and audience affect the way you write. The rest of this handout is devoted to strategies for figuring out when to use “I” and personal experience.
Effective uses of “I”:
In many cases, using the first person pronoun can improve your writing, by offering the following benefits:
- Assertiveness: In some cases you might wish to emphasize agency (who is doing what), as for instance if you need to point out how valuable your particular project is to an academic discipline or to claim your unique perspective or argument.
- Clarity: Because trying to avoid the first person can lead to awkward constructions and vagueness, using the first person can improve your writing style.
- Positioning yourself in the essay: In some projects, you need to explain how your research or ideas build on or depart from the work of others, in which case you’ll need to say “I,” “we,” “my,” or “our”; if you wish to claim some kind of authority on the topic, first person may help you do so.
Deciding whether “I” will help your style
Here is an example of how using the first person can make the writing clearer and more assertive:
Original example:
In studying American popular culture of the 1980s, the question of to what degree materialism was a major characteristic of the cultural milieu was explored.
Better example using first person:
In our study of American popular culture of the 1980s, we explored the degree to which materialism characterized the cultural milieu.
The original example sounds less emphatic and direct than the revised version; using “I” allows the writers to avoid the convoluted construction of the original and clarifies who did what.
Here is an example in which alternatives to the first person would be more appropriate:
Original example:
As I observed the communication styles of first-year Carolina women, I noticed frequent use of non-verbal cues.
Better example:
A study of the communication styles of first-year Carolina women revealed frequent use of non-verbal cues.
In the original example, using the first person grounds the experience heavily in the writer’s subjective, individual perspective, but the writer’s purpose is to describe a phenomenon that is in fact objective or independent of that perspective. Avoiding the first person here creates the desired impression of an observed phenomenon that could be reproduced and also creates a stronger, clearer statement.
Here’s another example in which an alternative to first person works better:
Original example:
As I was reading this study of medieval village life, I noticed that social class tended to be clearly defined.
Better example:
This study of medieval village life reveals that social class tended to be clearly defined.
Although you may run across instructors who find the casual style of the original example refreshing, they are probably rare. The revised version sounds more academic and renders the statement more assertive and direct.
Here’s a final example:
Original example:
I think that Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases, or at least it seems that way to me.
Better example
Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases.
In this example, there is no real need to announce that that statement about Aristotle is your thought; this is your paper, so readers will assume that the ideas in it are yours.
Determining whether to use “I” according to the conventions of the academic field
Which fields allow “I”?
The rules for this are changing, so it’s always best to ask your instructor if you’re not sure about using first person. But here are some general guidelines.
Sciences: In the past, scientific writers avoided the use of “I” because scientists often view the first person as interfering with the impression of objectivity and impersonality they are seeking to create. But conventions seem to be changing in some cases—for instance, when a scientific writer is describing a project she is working on or positioning that project within the existing research on the topic. Check with your science instructor to find out whether it’s o.k. to use “I” in his/her class.
Social Sciences: Some social scientists try to avoid “I” for the same reasons that other scientists do. But first person is becoming more commonly accepted, especially when the writer is describing his/her project or perspective.
Humanities: Ask your instructor whether you should use “I.” The purpose of writing in the humanities is generally to offer your own analysis of language, ideas, or a work of art. Writers in these fields tend to value assertiveness and to emphasize agency (who’s doing what), so the first person is often—but not always—appropriate. Sometimes writers use the first person in a less effective way, preceding an assertion with “I think,” “I feel,” or “I believe” as if such a phrase could replace a real defense of an argument. While your audience is generally interested in your perspective in the humanities fields, readers do expect you to fully argue, support, and illustrate your assertions. Personal belief or opinion is generally not sufficient in itself; you will need evidence of some kind to convince your reader.
Other writing situations: If you’re writing a speech, use of the first and even the second person (“you”) is generally encouraged because these personal pronouns can create a desirable sense of connection between speaker and listener and can contribute to the sense that the speaker is sincere and involved in the issue. If you’re writing a resume, though, avoid the first person; describe your experience, education, and skills without using a personal pronoun (for example, under “Experience” you might write “Volunteered as a peer counselor”).
A note on the second person “you”:
In situations where your intention is to sound conversational and friendly because it suits your purpose, as it does in this handout intended to offer helpful advice, or in a letter or speech, “you” might help to create just the sense of familiarity you’re after. But in most academic writing situations, “you” sounds overly conversational, as for instance in a claim like “when you read the poem ‘The Wasteland,’ you feel a sense of emptiness.” In this case, the “you” sounds overly conversational. The statement would read better as “The poem ‘The Wasteland’ creates a sense of emptiness.” Academic writers almost always use alternatives to the second person pronoun, such as “one,” “the reader,” or “people.”
Personal experience in academic writing
The question of whether personal experience has a place in academic writing depends on context and purpose. In papers that seek to analyze an objective principle or data as in science papers, or in papers for a field that explicitly tries to minimize the effect of the researcher’s presence such as anthropology, personal experience would probably distract from your purpose. But sometimes you might need to explicitly situate your position as researcher in relation to your subject of study. Or if your purpose is to present your individual response to a work of art, to offer examples of how an idea or theory might apply to life, or to use experience as evidence or a demonstration of an abstract principle, personal experience might have a legitimate role to play in your academic writing. Using personal experience effectively usually means keeping it in the service of your argument, as opposed to letting it become an end in itself or take over the paper.
It’s also usually best to keep your real or hypothetical stories brief, but they can strengthen arguments in need of concrete illustrations or even just a little more vitality.
Here are some examples of effective ways to incorporate personal experience in academic writing:
- Anecdotes: In some cases, brief examples of experiences you’ve had or witnessed may serve as useful illustrations of a point you’re arguing or a theory you’re evaluating. For instance, in philosophical arguments, writers often use a real or hypothetical situation to illustrate abstract ideas and principles.
- References to your own experience can explain your interest in an issue or even help to establish your authority on a topic.
- Some specific writing situations, such as application essays, explicitly call for discussion of personal experience.
Here are some suggestions about including personal experience in writing for specific fields:
Philosophy: In philosophical writing, your purpose is generally to reconstruct or evaluate an existing argument, and/or to generate your own. Sometimes, doing this effectively may involve offering a hypothetical example or an illustration. In these cases, you might find that inventing or recounting a scenario that you’ve experienced or witnessed could help demonstrate your point. Personal experience can play a very useful role in your philosophy papers, as long as you always explain to the reader how the experience is related to your argument. (See our handout on writing in philosophy for more information.)
Religion: Religion courses might seem like a place where personal experience would be welcomed. But most religion courses take a cultural, historical, or textual approach, and these generally require objectivity and impersonality. So although you probably have very strong beliefs or powerful experiences in this area that might motivate your interest in the field, they shouldn’t supplant scholarly analysis. But ask your instructor, as it is possible that he or she is interested in your personal experiences with religion, especially in less formal assignments such as response papers. (See our handout on writing in religious studies for more information.)
Literature, Music, Fine Arts, and Film: Writing projects in these fields can sometimes benefit from the inclusion of personal experience, as long as it isn’t tangential. For instance, your annoyance over your roommate’s habits might not add much to an analysis of “Citizen Kane.” However, if you’re writing about Ridley Scott’s treatment of relationships between women in the movie “Thelma and Louise,” some reference your own observations about these relationships might be relevant if it adds to your analysis of the film. Personal experience can be especially appropriate in a response paper, or in any kind of assignment that asks about your experience of the work as a reader or viewer. Some film and literature scholars are interested in how a film or literary text is received by different audiences, so a discussion of how a particular viewer or reader experiences or identifies with the piece would probably be appropriate. (See our handouts on writing about fiction, art history, and drama for more information.)
Women’s Studies: Women’s Studies classes tend to be taught from a feminist perspective, a perspective which is generally interested in the ways in which individuals experience gender roles. So personal experience can often serve as evidence for your analytical and argumentative papers in this field. This field is also one in which you might be asked to keep a journal, a kind of writing that requires you to apply theoretical concepts to your experiences.
History: If you’re analyzing a historical period or issue, personal experience is less likely to advance your purpose of objectivity. However, some kinds of historical scholarship do involve the exploration of personal histories. So although you might not be referencing your own experience, you might very well be discussing other people’s experiences as illustrations of their historical contexts. (See our handout on writing in history for more information.)
Sciences: Because the primary purpose is to study data and fixed principles in an objective way, personal experience is less likely to have a place in this kind of writing. Often, as in a lab report, your goal is to describe observations in such a way that a reader could duplicate the experiment, so the less extra information, the better. Of course, if you’re working in the social sciences, case studies—accounts of the personal experiences of other people—are a crucial part of your scholarship. (See our handout on writing in the sciences for more information.)
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You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Your resume should focus on your achievements. Hiring managers and technical leads can interview only a limited number of candidates. Your resume should convince them to invite you to an interview.
The style and grammar are important, but they are just a means to achieve the goal, not the goal by itself. Quantifiable achievements enrich a resume more than a perfectly grammatical sentence. Your hypothetical example would look better as:
Bought 10 kg potatoes, cooked them in 3 hours, which was served to 50 people.
Don’t exaggerate the numbers to make your resume look good, however.
«I worked on this.», «I was responsible for that.», etc. don’t sound impressive because they just tell that the candidate did the work assigned to him, which is the minimum expectation. Perfect grammar or absence of «I» doesn’t matter. Nonetheless, the «I» in the resume is redundant because the reader already knows it is your resume, so drop it entirely. However, if your resume is otherwise impressive, no sane hiring manager will discard your resume just because of the «I».
That said though, avoid spelling and punctuation mistakes because being sloppy about your resume doesn’t leave a good impression. Get your resume proofread by someone fluent in English, preferably someone who has reviewed a lot of resumes.