Whether you are looking to update your resume or simply want to know what to print on your business card, job title capitalization is important. It’s usually the first thing a prospective client, co-worker, or hiring manager looks at when they receive your resume or business card. If the job title isn’t capitalized correctly, you can easily be dismissed as incompetent. So, should job titles be capitalized?
Should Job Titles Be Capitalized?
It depends. If you are referring to a specific job title such as “Head of Digital Marketing” then you should capitalize the job title with regular title capitalization rules since it is a proper noun.
However, if you are referring to a general job title in a sentence such as “program chair” in the following Objective Statement: “I am seeking a position as a program chair,” then you should lowercase the job title.
In general, you should follow the capitalization rules below when deciding whether you should capitalize a specific job title.
Job Title Capitalization Rules
The following rules generally apply for job titles. These rules even apply to executive titles at a company.
- You should capitalize specific job titles. However, do not capitalize a job title if it is used as a general job description. For instance:
Specific job title: “As the Program Chair of the Department of Management…”
General job title: “I am seeking a position as a program chair…”
2. Capitalize a job title if it precedes the name of the person. For instance:
“Chief Executive Officer Mark Thomas.”
“Vice President Henry Griffin.”
3. Capitalize a job title if it used as a heading in the resume. For instance:
“Chief Operating Officer (2015-2016)”
“Branch Manager (2010-present)”
4. Do not capitalize a job title when it is used to describe the person. For instance:
“Mark Thomas, the chief executive officer of…”
“the vice president of administration, Henry Griffin…”
5. Do not capitalize on job titles if you place them as part of a summary of jobs.
“In my fifteen years as an employee, I worked as a professional teacher, a college professor, a clinical instructor, and a clinical nurse.”
For more help with capitalizing job titles and other resume sections, refer to our guide on resume capitalization.