A simple structure
Most strong bullets follow the same shape: action + what you did it to + result or scale. The result is what separates you from anyone else who held the same title.
Worked on the checkout page.
Rebuilt the checkout page's address form, cutting failed payments caused by invalid addresses by 18% in the first month.
If there's no measurable result, show scale or scope instead: how many, how often, how large, for whom.
Handled customer queries.
Answered 60–80 customer queries a day across chat and email for a 12,000-customer subscription service.
Start with a verb
Open each bullet with a specific past-tense verb (present tense for your current role is fine too, as long as you're consistent within it). Specific verbs carry information; “worked on” and “helped with” don't.
- Built or created
- Built, designed, developed, launched, introduced, set up, wrote
- Improved
- Reduced, cut, increased, accelerated, simplified, streamlined, fixed
- Led
- Led, managed, coordinated, mentored, hired, trained, ran
- Analysed
- Analysed, measured, forecast, audited, researched, tested, identified
- Won or persuaded
- Negotiated, secured, sold, convinced, presented, won
Vary them. Five bullets in a row beginning with “Managed” read as a list of duties.
Finding your numbers
People often say they have no numbers. Usually they have plenty; they just haven't gone looking. Ask yourself:
- How many? Customers, users, tickets, orders, reports, students, patients, projects, locations, people on the team.
- How often? Per day, per week, per release, per quarter.
- How much? Budget, revenue, cost, savings, contract value.
- How fast? Time to complete before and after, turnaround time, deadlines met.
- How well? Error rate, satisfaction score, ranking, pass rate, retention.
Estimates are fine if they're honest and you can explain them: “about 40 a week” is better than nothing. Never invent a number. If an interviewer asks how you measured it, you should have an answer.
Phrases to replace
- Responsible for…
- Say what you did with the responsibility: “Owned…”, “Ran…”, “Managed…” and a result.
- Helped / assisted with…
- Name your part: “Wrote the test plan for…”, “Built the dashboard used in…”.
- Worked on…
- Replace with the specific verb: built, fixed, migrated, designed.
- Various / multiple / several
- Give the number.
- Successfully…
- Delete it. The result shows the success.
- Team player, detail-oriented, go-getter
- Show the quality through an example instead.
Examples by role
Responsible for maintaining servers.
Maintained 140 Linux servers across two data centres, automating patching with Ansible to cut monthly maintenance from 3 days to 4 hours.
Did marketing campaigns for new products.
Planned and ran launch campaigns for 6 products, combining email and paid social; the best-performing launch reached 2,300 pre-orders in its first week.
Taught maths to students.
Taught maths to four Year 10 classes (120 students), introducing weekly low-stakes quizzes; the group's end-of-year pass rate rose from 71% to 84%.
Handled accounts payable.
Processed around 900 supplier invoices a month and reconciled vendor statements, clearing a three-month backlog within six weeks of joining.
Made a website for a university project.
Built a course-review web app in React and Firebase with two teammates; 350 students used it during the first semester.
Length and count
Aim for one or two lines per bullet, under about 35 words. Three to six bullets suit a recent role; older roles need fewer. More than eight bullets for one role usually means some are duties that could be combined or cut. Put the strongest bullet for each role first.
Mistakes to avoid
- Copying the job description of your old role. Recruiters know what the job involved; they want to know how you did it.
- Using “I”, “my” or “we”. Start with the verb.
- Mixing punctuation: either end every bullet with a full stop, or none.
- Overstating your role. If you contributed to a project, say what your part was.
- Burying the result at the end of a long sentence.
Checklist
- Every bullet starts with a specific verb.
- At least a third of your bullets contain a number, and all the numbers are real.
- No “responsible for”, “helped with” or “worked on”.
- Each bullet is under about 35 words.
- The strongest bullet comes first in each role.