A resume presents a curated summary of professional history and capabilities. Job seekers often secure future commitments that enhance their profile but have not yet begun. Including these future activities can signal forward momentum and a proactive approach to career development. Deciding what to include requires a careful assessment of the commitment’s certainty and its relevance to the role being sought.
The Ethical Line: When Is It Acceptable?
The core distinction for including a future activity rests on the difference between a concrete, verifiable commitment and a speculative intent. A future item is acceptable on a resume only when it is guaranteed by official, written confirmation, such as a signed contract or an enrollment letter. The commitment must be firm, meaning the candidate has taken all necessary steps and the only remaining action is the passage of time until the start date. This standard maintains the document’s function as a record of established facts and proven potential.
Verifiable commitment is a requirement because a resume must never mislead the hiring manager into believing an activity is currently underway. Any item that is merely a goal, a plan to apply, or an intention to study does not meet this threshold of certainty. The status of the future activity must be explicitly and unambiguously indicated.
Categories of Confirmable Future Activities
Several types of commitments are frequently confirmed far enough in advance to warrant inclusion on a resume, provided they have a definite start date.
Accepted Job Offers
Accepted job offers, including full-time roles, internships, or fellowships, can be listed if the candidate has signed the offer letter. This is valuable when the future role clarifies a career trajectory or explains a planned employment gap. Information should be limited to the employer name, the position title, and the confirmed start date.
Education and Certifications
Education enrollment is another common category. If a candidate has been officially accepted into a degree program, course of study, or post-graduate certificate, the program name and expected start date can be noted. Scheduled certifications or licenses become acceptable once the candidate has registered for the exam and has a confirmed test date. This applies to industry-specific credentials like the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam or state-mandated professional licenses.
Volunteer Commitments
Upcoming volunteer commitments or major service projects can also be included if they are substantial and formalized through a signed agreement or official assignment. This is true for roles that demonstrate transferable skills like leadership or project management.
Regardless of the category, the activity must be relevant to the target job and possess a documented commitment that can be verified upon request.
Essential Phrasing and Formatting Guidelines
Presenting future activities requires specific formatting to ensure clarity and prevent misinterpretation by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or a recruiter. The most important element is the explicit inclusion of the expected date range. The entry should clearly state “Starting June 2025” or “Expected Completion: August 2026” to frame the activity as a future event. Using a modifier like “Starting” or “Anticipated” immediately signals the item’s pending status.
Future activities should be placed in the appropriate section, either as a final entry in the Experience or Education section, or in a separate, clearly labeled subsection such as “Incoming Commitments.” The item must be formatted consistently with past experience, listing the organization and location. The description should use language that reflects the future state, employing future-tense verbs like “Will begin developing” if bullet points are necessary.
It is best to avoid present-tense verbs reserved for ongoing roles, such as “Managing” or “Leading.” For jobs or internships, list only the title, company name, and expected start date, omitting bullet points until the role has commenced. This minimalist approach maintains the integrity of the professional experience section.
When Listing Future Activities Becomes a Risk
The primary danger in including unstarted activities is the temptation to list items that are not fully confirmed, which can be interpreted as fabrication. Listing vague intentions, such as “Planning to apply for the CPA exam” or “Considering enrollment in a data science boot camp,” is a poor use of valuable resume space. Such entries clutter the document and distract the reviewer from existing, verifiable qualifications. A resume should present a clear, focused narrative, and speculative entries dilute that message.
If an employer discovers that a listed future commitment was fabricated or highly speculative, the consequence is an immediate loss of trust. Recruiters rely on the resume as a truthful document, and finding dishonesty can lead to the withdrawal of a job offer or a permanent blacklisting from the organization. Listing irrelevant future activities is also a risk, as it suggests a lack of judgment regarding what information is pertinent to the target role. The item must add specific value to the application, or it should be omitted to maintain a concise presentation.