Bullet Points in Resumes
Resumes are tricky beasts these days.
The good news is that there are fewer 'rules' and conventions
associated with them. The bad news is that many job seekers do not
have a standardized format to work from.
As opposed to a format, the purpose of
a modern resume has to be foremost in the thoughts of the job seeker.
A resume is a focused sales document. It is thoughtfully crafted to
show the skills, strengths, abilities, and qualifications of the job
seeker relative to the wants and needs of the employer.
One
area that can showcase these selling points is in the bullet points,
located in the Work Experience section. One recent study showed that
the average read time of an unsolicited resume was six seconds.
These bullet points must be concise, and have impact by starting with
an action verb.
Let's
use a basic job as an example:
Target Stores, Utility Worker,
2010-Present
- Collect Carts.
- Help Guests load and unload purchases and returns.
- Clean front of store, including restrooms.
- Safely clean spills, including biohazards.
- Shovel snow, salt walkways.
Note that I violated my own “Start
with an Action Verb” tip., and started one bullet point with the
word “Safely”. I did that for this example because I pretended
that my theoretical client has learned that this store was rewarded
for their safety program. Pardon the pun, but this is a 'targeted'
sales document. Keep your resume relative to the employer.
Now, that is all fine for one position.
What happens when someone has multiple positions within a company?
Resumes have to be one page for most workers (remember the six second
study), with two pages acceptable for mature workers (or those in
complex fields). Let's return to our Target Sore Worker, who happens
to be good at what they do, and has been promoted. We will use a
'Key Duties” addition:
Target Stores, 2010-Present
Progressively Promoted. Job Titles
include Utility Worker, Electronics Salesperson, Operator, Security
Specialist.
Key Duties:
- Pick and choose those things you want to highlight.
- Select tasks that are most relevant to the next job.
- You have an awesome chance to tailor your sales presentation.
- Use an odd number (3,5,7,9) of bullet points.
- Action Verbs!
- If you can insert numbers/data, it is up to 127% more effective.
- OK, I made up the 127% statistic. But numbers catch the eye.
So, remember that the 'rules of
resumes' are gone. Instead, be focused about the purpose. This
should be to best showcase your strengths relative to the needs of
the employer. Use Action verbs.
Good Luck and Best Wishes,
Chris
Links to my work, “Beyond a Career
Crisis”:
Kindle Edition
Paperback Edition
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