How to Spell Resume: All Three Are Correct

All three spellings are correct. That is the full answer to how to spell resume for your application: pick one, hold it consistent, and move on. Resume, résumé, and resumé each appear in Merriam-Webster and every other major dictionary. No hiring manager will penalize your choice. The word arrived from French with two acute accents, and English never settled on whether to keep them, so all three forms are yours to use.

You do not need to research which form is more correct before you start writing. All three passed into English at different rates, and by now each one is at home in a formal document. Your energy is better spent on the content of your page than on which accent sits above the sixth letter of your title.

How to spell resume: the three accepted forms

Each spelling is a standard variant of the same English word. No dictionary marks any of the three as incorrect, and they are not competing standards.

• Resume: no accents, the plain modern spelling. The easiest for you to type on any keyboard.
• Résumé: both accents, the original French form. The most formal-looking of the three.
• Resumé: one accent on the final e only. Accepted, but the least common form you will encounter.

The only real mistake is mixing two spellings in the same application. If your file is called "JaneDoe_Resume.pdf" but your header says "Résumé," a reader will notice the mismatch. One form, everywhere. Hold that spelling across every file and message you send, including your cover letter and your email subject line.

Before you finalize your application, search your document for every instance of the word. In Google Docs, press Ctrl+H (or Cmd+H on a Mac) and search for "resume" to find every place it appears. Then confirm you have used the same form each time.

How to type é on any device

If you want the accents, every major device and word processor gives you a path to the acute é.

• Mac: hold the e key until the accent menu appears, then tap 1 or click é.
• Windows: type Alt+0233 on the number pad. In Microsoft Word, you can also press Ctrl+' followed by the letter e.
• Google Docs: open Insert, then Special characters, and search for "e acute."
• iPhone or Android: press and hold the e key on your keyboard, then slide to é.

Once you learn your preferred shortcut, typing the accent takes under a second. But always check that it survives your final export. A font substitution or a broken PDF conversion can turn é into a garbled character. Open your finished file. Look at the word before you send it, because a garbled accent looks worse than no accent at all.

How to pronounce resume

When you mean the document, say REH-zoo-MAY, with the stress on the last syllable. You may also hear REZ-oo-may, with equal weight on the first and last syllables. Both pronunciations are standard in American English. Use whichever feels natural to you.

When you mean the verb — to continue after a pause — say rih-ZOOM. The stress falls on the second syllable. There is no final "ay" sound. Spelling and pronunciation line up neatly here: if you hear rih-ZOOM, the speaker means the verb, and if you hear REH-zoo-MAY, they mean the document.

If you have been avoiding the word in conversation because you were unsure how to say it, go with REH-zoo-MAY. It matches every major American dictionary entry and will sound natural to you in any professional setting.

Resume the verb vs. résumé the document

The verb "resume" means to continue after a pause. The noun "résumé" means a summary of your work history and credentials. Same root. Both come from the French résumer, meaning to sum up.

Context removes the ambiguity almost every time. "Please attach your resume" can only mean the document. No one reads that line and thinks you meant the verb. If your meaning is genuinely unclear in a particular sentence, the accents separate noun from verb on the page. In a heading or file name, plain "resume" works on its own.

You may also encounter "pause and resume" in software settings or meeting agendas. That usage is always the verb. You would write "resume playback" or "resume your subscription" with no accents and no capital letter.

Plain "resume" is the safest default

With all three accepted, how do you choose? Match the word to the tone you want.

Plain "resume" works for any American job application. It reads as modern and natural. Choose "résumé" if you prefer a more formal look; it suits academic and legal writing well. If you cannot decide, go plain. You avoid the risk that an accent breaks when your file moves between programs, and you save yourself the effort of typing it everywhere the word appears.

If you are writing a cover letter and need to refer to the attached document, use whichever spelling you chose for the document itself. "I have attached my resume for your review" is perfectly clear. If you want to sidestep the accent question, "please find my application materials attached" avoids the word entirely. There is nothing wrong with writing "resume" in a cover letter. The word is not a trap.

One exception: follow any house style you find around you. If your university's career center spells it "résumé" in its templates, match that spelling in the documents you create there. Consistency with the surrounding material serves you better than any personal preference.

The spelling that costs you is inside the document

Whether you write resume or résumé barely matters. How you spell everything else on your page matters far more.

A typo in a company name or a job title does real damage. Spellcheck will not catch a real word used in the wrong place. Read every line out loud. Our guide to resume spelling covers how to catch the typos your spellchecker misses.

Common trouble spots include your own email address and the city names in your work history. These are details you type once and then stop noticing. If you change your email and forget to update one version of your file, that error can sit there for months.

Manger, Client Services → Manager, Client Services
Lead a team of 6 engineers → Led a team of 6 engineers
Assisted in on-boarding new hires → Assisted in onboarding new hires

Those are real words in the wrong slot, or a hyphen where none belongs. Your spellchecker will skip right over them. Slow down. Read each line as written, not as you intended it, and your own eyes will catch what the machine missed.

So spell it resume or résumé, whichever you prefer, and hold it consistent from top to bottom. Then put your attention where it belongs: on the content beneath your title. A clean layout like our classic template keeps your reader focused on your work, not on the accents above a single letter.