How to Write Resume Bullets that Get Past Resume Robots & Hiring Managers

When you’re writing a professional resume, it can be tempting to just copy and paste your job description in and cross your fingers. Often, if you’re not in a direct bottom-line impact role like sales, it can be hard to quantify your achievements.

First, what’s the best format?

Resumes are not one-size-fits-all but there is definitely a “right” way to structure your resume. Begin with a branded headline that includes the title you’re targeting. Often in my samples, I use Summary of Qualifications but this is an area that needs to be customized EVERY time you apply for a job.

Following that, use a brief (2-3 line summary section) that encapsulates the key achievements in your career and your core value proposition. A skills section and highlight reel typically rounds out your intro section.

The professional experience section is the main part of your resume and really the only part that most recruiters read. They immediately look to see where you worked, your title, dates, and what you did. Underneath company and title, you’ll want to lead with a sentence that sums up the high-level value you delivered in the role. They may not keep reading, so make this count! Following that, an overview of the scope of your role can finish out the top scope paragraph. Keep this brief as well.

Finally, under each job, list out bullets that showcase your achievements. This is where most people get stuck and really where I hit my strive. So…let’s write better bullets together!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Use my failsafe formula to collect and present information that sells instead of telling. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

VERB

IMPACT

QUANTIFY

BY

IN

Start with a strong action verb that clearly explains what you did and then provide scope by including what that action impacted. Quantify as much as possible – how many, how much, how often, how long. This should all be at the front of each bullet so a reader can glean that information quickly. Close the bullet by giving a quick explanation of what you did and in what environment. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

You don’t need to add fluff and overused adjectives to demonstrate how awesome you are. You just need to paint the whole picture for the reader. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Here’s some examples so you can see the dramatic difference.

BEFORE: Responsible for management of 10 people in sales department⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

AFTER: Empowered and developed team of 5 sales associates to outpace revenue goals by 20% against decline industry-wide.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

BEFORE: Handled customer service and escalations.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

AFTER: Achieved 99.9% call satisfaction rate by prioritizing and systematically addressing over 500 inbound email/phone inquiries as team lead in high-volume center.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

BEFORE: Managed digital and traditional marketing campaigns.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

AFTER: Delivered 15% increase in ROI across all marketing channels by integrating data-driven insights into content, medium, and frequency decisions as digital marketing lead in start-up division.