Title Capitalization
When mentioning titles (ie. Senior Vice President) should they be capitalized? Some resumes I've seen do and some don't. Thanks! The correct answer is.... "it depends." It depends on context. Many people mistakenly capitalize any title, any time---which is wrong. The rule, according to most style guides, is this: when a title is used in front of a person' s name as part of a form of address or as part of the name, it is capitalized, i.e., "You are invited to a reception in honor of Vice-Chancellor Johnson...." Or, when used as a standalone term in a resume, it is capitalized (e.g., when listing your company name and position). However, when used to generically describe a position the person holds, it is not capitalized, i.e., Joseph Johnson, who serves as vice chancellor of Clark University...." "As marketing manager, I oversaw..." "While finance department head at XYZ company..." Even when used in front of a person' s name, a title is not always capitalized. Such as, in a letter you might read, "During your interview, you will be meeting with our vice president of finance, Bob Smith." However, the same words used thusly would be capitalized: "Please meet Vice-President Smith." About the only titles by tradition that are always to be initial upper case are President & Vice President of the United States. The distinction is sometimes subtle, and, unfortunately, the trend today is to capitalize, even when doing so is incorrect. So, in a nutshell, it probably doesn' t matter, since most people don' t know, or don' t care, about the difference. If you want to be accurate, follow the rule, but be prepared to have people think "you" are wrong, when it is "they" who are.... Thank you so much for the GREAT advice! This was very informative and really helps me with my resume. | |
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