Why Your Resume is Betraying You... and what to do about it

Resume Help

Make your bullet points count!

If you've got a job title listed on your resume that catches the eye of the resume reviewer, they're going to want to read about what you did in that role. This next level of resume review will make the difference between getting the interview and never hearing back. You've got to make the bullet points that describe what you did in that job count.

A common mistake is to use passive verbs to describe the work you did or to not use verbs at all. Each of the bullet statements should begin with an action verb. Examples include:

  • Created

  • Trained

  • Coordinated

  • Organized

  • Supervised

  • Designed

  • Planned and implemented

  • Analyzed

  • More here

These are the kinds of statements that show you are an action-oriented employee who will take care of business! Not sure which action words to use? Find the actions they used to describe the job you want in the job posting.

Let's take a look at an example of a good resume bullet and a bad resume bullet for a recent graduate applying to an entry-level marketing position, listing experience from a student club for which they did some marketing.

Bad Resume Bullet

  • Marketing team member

Good Resume Bullet

  • Created a series of five multi-media recruiting advertisements with a team of three resulting in a 20% increase in club membership

One of these phrases will get you an interview. The other will get you nothing.


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