Eight Grammar Errors on Your Resume That Are Costing You the Interview

You have tailored your resume to the job description, selected a clean template, and triple-checked your contact information. You feel confident. But somewhere in those carefully arranged bullet points, a grammatical error is quietly working against you—and you may not even know it is there.

Recruiters and hiring managers are, by professional necessity, fast and exacting readers. Many will discard a resume at the first sign of careless language, not because they are pedantic, but because written communication is a proxy for professional judgment. If you cannot proofread a document that represents your own livelihood, the reasoning goes, how carefully will you handle the company's correspondence, proposals, or client communications?

The following eight errors appear with alarming frequency in resumes and cover letters submitted to employers across every industry in the United States. Each entry includes a real-world example, an explanation of why it matters, and a corrected version.

1. Inconsistent Verb Tense Across Bullet Points

Why it matters: Your resume should follow a consistent tense convention: past tense for previous roles, present tense for your current position. Mixing the two within a single job entry makes the document feel unfinished and confuses the reader about your timeline.

Before: Managed a team of six analysts. Develop quarterly performance reports. Oversaw client onboarding process.

After: Managed a team of six analysts. Developed quarterly performance reports. Oversaw client onboarding process.

If the role is current, all bullets should use the present tense. If it is a past role, every bullet should use the past tense—without exception.

2. Misusing "Spearheaded," "Leveraged," and Other Buzzwords as Grammatical Filler

Why it matters: Resume buzzwords are not inherently problematic, but they become grammatically awkward when writers treat them as substitutes for clear subject-verb-object construction. The result is often a sentence that sounds impressive but means very little.

Before: Leveraged synergistic cross-functional collaboration to drive impactful outcomes.

After: Coordinated a five-department initiative that reduced project delivery time by 20 percent.

Every bullet point should answer two questions: What did you do, and what was the measurable result? Vague language dressed in corporate vocabulary does not satisfy either.

3. Apostrophe Errors in Possessives and Contractions

Why it matters: Few errors are as immediately visible to an educated reader as a misplaced apostrophe. Confusing its with it's, or writing manager's when you mean managers, signals a fundamental misunderstanding of punctuation rules.

Before: Collaborated with the company's executive team to align it's strategic priorities.

After: Collaborated with the company's executive team to align its strategic priorities.

Remember: it's is always a contraction of it is. The possessive form of it never takes an apostrophe. When in doubt, substitute it is and read the sentence aloud. If it sounds wrong, you need its.

4. Dangling Modifiers in Cover Letter Opening Sentences

Why it matters: A dangling modifier occurs when an introductory phrase does not logically connect to the subject that follows it. This error is especially common in cover letters, where writers try to craft an impressive opening and inadvertently produce nonsense.

Before: Having led multiple award-winning campaigns, my portfolio demonstrates a strong grasp of digital marketing.

After: Having led multiple award-winning campaigns, I have developed a strong grasp of digital marketing, as my portfolio demonstrates.

In the original sentence, the portfolio—not the writer—appears to have led the campaigns. The modifier must attach to the person performing the action.

5. Pronoun-Antecedent Disagreement

Why it matters: When a pronoun does not agree in number with the noun it replaces, the sentence becomes grammatically inconsistent. This error is increasingly common as writers attempt to use gender-neutral language without adjusting their sentence structure.

Before: Each team member was responsible for submitting their individual progress report by Friday.

In formal writing, traditionalists may flag their as disagreeing with the singular each team member. There are two clean solutions:

After (Option A): All team members were responsible for submitting their individual progress reports by Friday.

After (Option B): Each team member was responsible for submitting an individual progress report by Friday.

Restructuring the sentence eliminates the disagreement without sacrificing clarity or neutrality.

6. Using Passive Voice Where Active Voice Would Serve Better

Why it matters: Passive constructions obscure agency—precisely the opposite of what a resume should communicate. Hiring managers want to know what you accomplished, not what was accomplished in your general vicinity.

Before: Sales targets were consistently exceeded during the fiscal year.

After: Exceeded quarterly sales targets by an average of 15 percent throughout the fiscal year.

Active voice places you at the center of the accomplishment. It is also more concise, which matters on a document where every word competes for limited space.

7. Comma Splices in Cover Letter Body Paragraphs

Why it matters: A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma, producing a run-on sentence. It is one of the most frequently cited errors in professional writing evaluations and one of the easiest to fix.

Before: I am highly motivated and detail-oriented, I thrive in fast-paced environments.

After (Option A): I am highly motivated and detail-oriented, and I thrive in fast-paced environments.

After (Option B): I am highly motivated and detail-oriented. I thrive in fast-paced environments.

After (Option C): A highly motivated and detail-oriented professional, I thrive in fast-paced environments.

Each correction is grammatically sound. Choose the version that best matches the rhythm of the surrounding paragraph.

8. Capitalization Errors in Job Titles and Skill Lists

Why it matters: Capitalization conventions in resumes are frequently misunderstood. Job titles used as direct substitutes for a person's name are capitalized; those used descriptively are not. Inconsistency across a resume looks sloppy and suggests the writer is unfamiliar with standard style guidelines.

Before: Reported directly to the Senior Vice president of operations. Proficient in Microsoft excel and Google docs.

After: Reported directly to the Senior Vice President of Operations. Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Google Docs.

Software names and branded products should always reflect the capitalization used by the company that owns them. Excel is a Microsoft product; excel is a verb meaning to perform outstandingly. These are not interchangeable.

A Final Word Before You Hit Submit

No resume is improved by the writer who reads it immediately after writing it. Step away for at least an hour, then read the document aloud from bottom to top—a technique that disrupts the brain's tendency to read what it expects rather than what is actually on the page. Better still, ask a trusted colleague or professional editor to review it with fresh eyes.

Your qualifications may be exceptional. Do not allow a preventable grammatical error to keep a hiring manager from discovering that fact.