Resumes - Bullet points? Forum

[BobSacamano]

All the sample resumes from my school have the Experience section outlined in bullet points. However, I was checking out some other schools' sample resumes (namely Harvard and Columbia) and they didn't use bullet points. I changed my resume from the one my school's career services helped me make and quite frankly I like it a lot better. I modeled my resume after the last one in this set: --LinkRemoved--

What do you guys think? Bullet points or paragraph-ish form? I can write more without using bullet points but it might appear cluttered.

[rayiner]

The sample resume is tl:dr.

Your resume should be optimized to have maximum impact for someone who spends 30 seconds scanning it. Bullet points draw the eye, and the first few words of each bullet point should convey you message. If you want to elaborate, construct your sentences so that information comes at the end. Eg:

Instead of: "acted as customer contact, doing Y, Z, W."

Everyone has a vague idea of what a customer contact does, so a reader in a hurry can just read that bit and move to the next point. If they want to know more, it's right there for them.

[nontradintexas]

All the sample resumes from my school have the Experience section outlined in bullet points. However, I was checking out some other schools' sample resumes (namely Harvard and Columbia) and they didn't use bullet points. I changed my resume from the one my school's career services helped me make and quite frankly I like it a lot better. I modeled my resume after the last one in this set: --LinkRemoved--

What do you guys think? Bullet points or paragraph-ish form? I can write more without using bullet points but it might appear cluttered.

I use bullet points on mine and it seems to be working okay.

As a former hiring manager who received 200+ resumes a month, I can say that anything written in paragraph form just won't be read in any detail, if at all. Since your goal is to tell your reader the things that are important in a quick and concise manner, bullet points FTW. Your writing sample will be a good way to show employers your writing skill.

[TaipeiMort]

All the sample resumes from my school have the Experience section outlined in bullet points. However, I was checking out some other schools' sample resumes (namely Harvard and Columbia) and they didn't use bullet points. I changed my resume from the one my school's career services helped me make and quite frankly I like it a lot better. I modeled my resume after the last one in this set: --LinkRemoved--

What do you guys think? Bullet points or paragraph-ish form? I can write more without using bullet points but it might appear cluttered.

Thats weird, Harvard's formatting guidelines for business (consulting) resumes are exactly like the example you provided, but utilize bullet points.

[dood]

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[dood]

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[charliebear]

I like bullets myself, but NYU's OCS pushes the paragraph format.

[ruski]

i believe the rule is business resumes use bullet points, legal ones do not. that can explain harvard's policy above.

[20160810]

My resume is 1 pg, all bullets. Brevity ftmfw.

[12262010]

I deleted my bullets because CLS career services insisted. I will put them back after EIP.

[20160810]

I deleted my bullets because CLS career services insisted. I will put them back after EIP.

Why would they be so anti-bullet? I love bullets. They're pretty.

[IzziesGal]

I used the paragraph format, and it worked just fine. The paragraphs are pretty short, though, so that I can fit everything onto one page. I have 8 yrs worth of work experience to fit in.

[12262010]

I deleted my bullets because CLS career services insisted. I will put them back after EIP.

Why would they be so anti-bullet? I love bullets. They're pretty.

I don't ask why, I just follow the format.

[rayiner]

To buck the trend, NU uses the bullet point format.

[Black-Blue]

BULLETS

/thread