Writing Bullet PointsWhy bullet points?

• These remove the “passive voice” from your statement and engage an “active voice”• Be aware of verb tense (advise vs. advised)• Try not to repeat Action Verbs.• Use verbs that describe the key characteristic that you want described (see the back of this handout)

1. ACTION VERBS

• Do your best to quantify your experi-ences • Things to include: monetary amounts, number of contributing individuals, how many people you supervised, number of sales, percent increases, etc.• Numbers stand out! Recruiters are conditioned to find numbers on a resume

3. NUMBERS

• When writing bullet points, most people only write WHAT they did, this leaves an employer asking “WHY DOES THIS MATTER?”• The key to a powerful bullet is being sure to provide the second half, the WHY, HOW, and RESULT• When done properly, this provides a complete and relevant picture

2. TWO PART BULLET POINTS

EXAMPLESGrading papers, assisting in test preparation

Evaluated and graded assignments for 25+ students while monitoring class grades

Talked to new people every day about the church

Developed discipline and communication skills through daily study and interaction with strangers

Worked with others to complte various projects

Coordinated efforts with six team members to maintain three buildings and grounds through all seasons

2590 WSC (801)422-3000careers.byu.edu

Do NOT end bullets with periods! Bullets are not complete sentences. Do not use personal pronouns (I and my) – Normally 2-5 bullets are used for each experience. Proofread and re-proofread!

Helpful Hints:

Recruiters spend on average, 5-7 seconds looking at you resume. Your goal is to ensure you make those seconds count. By using bullet points on your resume, you highlight specific relevant skills, using action driven statements about your experience and accomplishments as efficiently as possible. Whereas, the use of a more traditional para-graph-based form often transform statements into a more narrative/summary based structure. In western society we are trained to skip over paragraphs like many of you have done to this paragraph already. We do not want that to happen to any information on your resume.

THREE PARTS OF A STRONG BULLET

THE FORMULA:ActionVerb

Skill /Accomplishment

HOW did youdo it?

WHY did youdo it?

RESULT or impact ofwhat you did