Blog Post: The Good, the Bad, and the Really Bad...Bullets

One of the biggest mistake candidates make is misusing their bullets.  Different industries have some different expectations on what the bullets are used for.  However, for business (and for the overwhelming majority of other professions) bullets are only to listing key accomplishments in your position.

Bullets are absolutely, positively, NOT used to list your job description!

Think of it this way.  What does a fast food restaurant manager do?  Allocate staff, compile sales totals, approve product orders, administer all training and development in the restaurant, and so on, right?  Since we know this, we do not need the candidate to list this information as bullets.  It is a waste of space and makes the resume appear primitive and unprofessional.

Key Hot Buttons for Resume Bullets

First, resume bullets should be numbers focused when possible.  Consider the difference between the following on a realtor’s resume, “Consistently labeled a top performer in the Phoenix market,” and, “Performed in top 15% of company realtors during Q4 2008”.  Instead of telling the reader about a specific credential or skill set, provide the evidence and allow the reader to come to the determination on their own.

Also, always advertise the number of coworkers you trained.  Asking an employee or leader to train a peer is the highest compliment a company can pay to an employee (except for promoting the employee).  Think about it.  When you are asked to train others, leadership is saying they want new employees to turn out just like you.  That’s definitely worth mentioning, but remember the numbers.  List it as something like, “Cross trained 9 other Quality Managers; 7 of the 9 are still with the company”.  If you are training others, the recruiter knows that management approved of your overall performance and conduct.

For these tips and much more, feel free to register for our FREE Resume Writing and Interviewing seminar for July 8 th at 3pm-6pm.  The event will be held near 24 th Street and Camelback and is absolutely free of charge.  To register and to see more information, visit http://www.careerdevelopmentaz.com/seminar.html .

Let is know if there’s anything we can do for you.

As always, good luck in your search!