You’ve got skills. You’ve got experience. Heck, you’ve got enough charisma to charm a room full of grumpy cats. But are your resume bullet points letting you down? If your resume is as engaging as a three-hour lecture on the history of paperclips, don’t despair. We’re here to inject some life into those lackluster lines.

The Secret Recipe for Bullet Point Brilliance Let’s cut straight to the chase. Your resume bullet points need to be as sharp as a Michelin-star chef’s knife. They must slice through the noise and serve up a tantalizing morsel of your career goodness. Here’s a simple recipe to follow:

Start with an action verb (e.g., created, managed), then add a dash of accomplishment (not responsibility), a pinch of quantifiable impact (numbers and metrics), and finally, season with brevity (1-2 lines max). Got it? Great!

The Art of Crafting Bullet Points Think of writing bullet points like crafting a mini work of art. Each one needs to be a masterpiece that tells a story about you. Now, you might be thinking, “But I’m a project manager, not Picasso!” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered:

1. Action Verbs: Begin each bullet with a strong action verb. These are your ‘managed’, ‘spearheaded’, ‘coordinated’ type words. Remember, past tense for previous roles, present tense for your current gig.
   

    

2. Accomplishments, Not Responsibilities: Show off what you accomplished, not what you did daily. If you find yourself writing ‘responsible for’, hit that backspace key. What did you achieve?
   

    

3. Quantify Impact: Did you save time? Boost revenue? Try to include numbers and metrics where possible. Was this the first time this happened?  Did it win a prize or an award?  Trust us; recruiters love a good stat.
   

    

4. Keep It Short and Sweet: Aim for 1-2 lines per bullet point. No one wants to read War and Peace on a resume.
   

Bullet Point Breakdown – Real Examples To help you visualize this, let’s look at some real-life examples from a CIO’s resume:

• “Earned 2015 CIO of the Year Finalist accolades from the ___ Business Journal for directing a sustainable IT and global ERP strategy that supported 2.5X revenue growth to $3.5B through acquisition and regional expansion.”
  

   

• “Reduced annual expenses by 15% by leading cost reduction, quality improvements, productivity initiatives, and infrastructure enhancements supporting business systems, core network, and security.”
  

   

• “Launched a 5-year, $32M strategy that integrated acquisitions to IT, corporate standards, core business platforms, and governance for this company with 50+ global manufacturing + sales facilities.”
  

   

See how each bullet point starts with an action, highlights an accomplishment, includes quantifiable impact, and is kept concise? That’s the magic right there!

So, go forth and sprinkle some pizzazz onto those bullet points. And remember, if you need more guidance, our team of human experts (not robots, promise!) are ready and waiting to help you shine. Visit our website by CLICKING HERE to discover how David Couper Consulting can help you.