How to Write Strong CV Bullet Points
A strong CV bullet point starts with an action, says what you did, and ends with what came of it, all in about one line. If a line could also describe the last person in your job, it lists a duty. Rewrite it until it describes you.
The pattern: action, what, result
Take this line from a fictional store supervisor: “Reduced stock losses by 15% in 6 months by introducing weekly spot checks.” It opens with a verb, names the change, and shows how it happened. You can read it in a few seconds and remember it.
You don't have to follow the order exactly. If the result is the most impressive part, it can come early. What matters is that all three parts are there and that the line starts with something you did.
Before and after, across different jobs
Before Responsible for customer complaints.
Better Resolved about 25 customer complaints a week, cutting repeat calls by a third.
Before Worked on the company's website.
Better Rebuilt the checkout page in React, reducing load time from 6 seconds to 2.
Before Taught English to children.
Better Taught 3 classes of 20 children, moving 14 pupils up a level within one school year.
Before In charge of monthly reports.
Better Automated the monthly sales report in Excel, saving the team 2 days each month.
Before Assisted with events.
Better Coordinated 12 suppliers for a 300-guest launch, finishing under budget.
Before Duties included sales and client visits.
Better Won 18 new restaurant clients in a year by visiting 10 prospects a week.
Finding a result when you think you have none
Most people do have figures. They just never wrote them down. Ask yourself these questions about each job:
- How many? Customers, orders, students, invoices, pages, people on the team.
- How often? Per day, per week, per quarter.
- How much? Money managed, saved, or brought in.
- How fast? Compared with before, or compared with the target.
- What improved? Fewer errors, fewer complaints, less waiting.
- Who relied on it? A director who used your report, a team that kept your process.
An honest estimate is fine if you can explain how you reached it. Say “about” when you aren't sure. Don't make up a figure, since a good interviewer will ask how you measured it.
Some results have no number, and that's fine too. “Wrote the onboarding guide still used by new staff” is a real result. So is “Chosen to present the team's findings to the regional director.”
Choose verbs that say what happened
Pick a verb a stranger could picture. “Managed” and “handled” can hide almost anything, while these say more:
- Selling or growing: won, negotiated, opened, renewed
- Saving or fixing: reduced, repaired, automated, simplified
- Making: built, wrote, designed, launched
- Leading: trained, hired, scheduled, mentored
- Studying: surveyed, analysed, tested, compared
Try not to start two bullets in a row with the same word. Use past tense for past jobs and present tense for the job you have now.
Keep each one short
Aim for about one line. If a bullet runs to three, it probably holds two ideas, so split it or cut the weaker one. Common cuts include “in order to”, “various”, “successfully”, and anything the job title already says.
Before Successfully managed and oversaw various social media channels in order to increase brand awareness among customers.
Better Ran 3 social media channels and doubled monthly reach to 50,000 in a year.
How many bullets per job
As a rule of thumb, use three to five for your current or most relevant job, two or three for older ones, and one or none for jobs from long ago. Put the bullet that best fits the job ad first, because some readers won't get to the fourth.
A last test
Read each line and ask “so what?”. If you can answer, add that answer to the line. If you can't, the line may not need to be there.