Hey guys, following up with Google’s ex-Head of HR’s advice on making a perfect resume, one of the points is that bullet points are extremely important, as it makes up a majority of the “meat” of your resume. It is where you sell yourself the most, and here are 3 simple tips to make your “meat” the meatiest amongst your competitors!
Is It Kind of A Big Deal?
You don’t have much space on your resume, so try not to waste it by copying all your bullet points from your job description.
Instead, focus on the big stuff, things that could be considered impressive achievements.
For example,
Did you meet or surpass an ambitious sales goal?
Were you given an award for outstanding performance?
Remember, your goal is to stand out among the other people who are applying for the same job and who, presumably have similar experience.
That means your bullet points should convey the message that you are excellent and outstanding, not that you did your job scope just fine.
Did You Make An Impact?
It can be a bit difficult to know if something is a “big deal” or not, but the next question would be a bit easier.
Simply put, did you make something better?
Did you help the company save time and money on a project or created something all new that your team needed?
The idea here is that you were not just a head count at your company, you solved problems and was a key employee.
Anything that falls in this category should be put into your bullet points.
To really highlight the impact you made, use numbers. For example:
Cut processing time down by 3 days
Designed a new interface, improving employee efficiency by 30%
Made 2.5 million ringgit for the company in a month, hitting top sales for the year
Is It Common Sense To Include?
Let’s be a bit realistic right now. Your resume is not going to just be made up of awards and numbers.
Some things NEED to be included because they are such a significant part of your responsibilities that it almost feels like you are lying by not including it.
If you are a staff writer but all your bullets focus on the awards you got for video editing, that is wrong. You must save some room for your CORE duties.
Another thing that is pretty common sense is including things that are directly relevant to the position you are applying for.
It may not be a huge accomplishment, but if it is in the job description, you should describe your experience with it on your rsume.
You want to project success and competence, but anything that easily explains why you might be applying for this new position will help the hiring manager see why you are the right candidate!
Review your bullet points and see if you hit all these criterias. If you have one that does not include your achievements, impacts you made, or something extremely obvious, fix it! It will be long and boring proccess, but you will be rewarded with a more solid resume!
