Page 39 - The Editors of VGM Career Books - Resumes for Computer Careers, Second Edition (2002)

30 Resumes for Health and Medical Careers

Have several people look at the finished resume just in case you’ve
missed an error. Don’t try to take a shortcut; not having an unbiased set
of eyes examine your resume now could mean embarrassment later. Even
experienced editors can easily overlook their own errors. Be thorough and
conscientious with your proofreading so your first impression is a perfect
one.
We have included the following rules of capitalization and punctua-
tion to assist you in the final stage of creating your resume. Remember that
resumes often require use of a shorthand style of writing that may include
sentences without periods and other stylistic choices that break the stan-
dard rules of grammar. Be consistent in each section and throughout the
whole resume with your choices.

RULES OF CAPITALIZATION

• Capitalize proper nouns, such as names of schools, colleges, and
universities; names of companies; and brand names of products.
• Capitalize major words in the names and titles of books, tests, and
articles that appear in the body of your resume.

• Capitalize words in major section headings of your resume.
• Do not capitalize words just because they seem important.

• When in doubt, consult a style manual such as Words into Type
(Prentice Hall) or The Chicago Manual of Style (The University of
Chicago Press). Your local library can help you locate these and other
reference books. Many computer programs also have grammar help
sections.

RULES OF PUNCTUATION

• Use commas to separate words in a series.
• Use a semicolon to separate series of words that already include
commas within the series. (For an example, see the first rule of
capitalization.)

• Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses that are not joined
by a conjunction.

• Use a period to end a sentence.
• Use a colon to show that examples or details follow that will expand
or amplify the preceding phrase.