Structure every bullet as: Verb + Task + Context + Result. Start with a strong action verb, describe the task, explain how you completed it (tools or methods), and end with a measurable result.
Open each bullet point with a powerful, specific verb. Avoid weak starters like "Responsible for," "Helped with," or "Assisted in." Replace them with verbs that show ownership and impact.
Duty-based language tells recruiters what the job required, not what you accomplished. Reframe every "responsible for" bullet into an achievement that demonstrates the outcome of your work.
Replace vague descriptors with hard data. Dollars, percentages, headcounts, timeframes, and volume metrics make your impact concrete and scannable.
Every verb inside a single bullet point must use the same tense. If you start a bullet with a past-tense verb like "Managed," then every other verb in that bullet — including verbs buried in the middle of the sentence — must also be past tense. Mixing tenses makes it sound like you started writing about something you did, then forgot and switched to something you are doing. Recruiters read hundreds of resumes a day, and tense errors are one of the first things they notice.
Why it matters: Mixed tenses confuse the timeline. If you wrote "Achieve 100% collection... and documented all transactions," a reader cannot tell whether you are still achieving this or whether it already happened. The bullet contradicts itself.
More examples:
Quick test: Read your bullet out loud and listen for the verb endings. Past-tense verbs almost always end in "-ed" (managed, developed, coordinated). If you hear an "-ed" verb next to a bare verb (manage, develop, coordinate), you have a tense mismatch.
Parallel structure means that when you list multiple actions separated by commas, every action follows the same grammatical pattern. If the first action starts with a past-tense verb, all the other actions must also start with past-tense verbs. If the first is a noun, the rest should be nouns too. Think of it like matching — every item in your list should "look" the same grammatically.
Why it matters: When the pattern breaks, your reader mentally stumbles. A recruiter scanning quickly will feel that "something is off" even if they cannot name the grammar rule. It signals that the writing was rushed or that the candidate did not proofread.
Example 1 — Verb form mismatch:
The problem: "Designed" is past tense, "coordinating" is a gerund (-ing form), and "increased" is past tense again. The middle item does not match the other two. It should be "coordinated" to match "Designed" and "increased."
Example 2 — Mixed present and past:
The problem: "Analyzed" and "reduced" are past tense, but "implement" is present tense. It should be "implemented."
Example 3 — Noun list mixed with verbs:
The problem: "budgeting" is a gerund, "to hire" is an infinitive, and "negotiations" is a noun. Pick one form and stick with it.
Quick test: Stack each item in your list on its own line. Read them one by one. If any item starts with a different word type (verb form, noun, gerund), fix it to match the others.
A gerund is the "-ing" form of a verb: "Managing," "Developing," "Assisting." While gerunds are grammatically correct, they weaken resume bullets for two reasons. First, they sound passive — "Managing accounts" describes an ongoing state rather than a completed action. Second, they blur the timeline — a reader cannot tell whether you are still managing accounts or did so in the past. Starting with a direct verb like "Managed" or "Manage" is clearer and stronger.
Why it matters: Recruiters prefer action verbs because they communicate decisiveness. "Managed" sounds like you took charge and did the work. "Managing" sounds like you are describing a job duty, not an accomplishment.
More examples:
Quick test: Look at the first word of every bullet on your resume. If any word ends in "-ing," replace it with the past-tense or present-tense form of that verb.
Resume bullets are fragment sentences, not full sentences. Because they are fragments, the punctuation rules are different from normal writing. The most important rules: no periods at the end of bullets, use the serial comma (also called the Oxford comma) in lists of three or more items, use hyphens for compound modifiers, and use en dashes (not hyphens) in date ranges.
Why it matters: Inconsistent punctuation — like putting periods on some bullets but not others, or skipping commas in lists — makes your resume look unpolished. Recruiters associate punctuation errors with lack of attention to detail.
Rule 1: No periods at the end of bullets
Rule 2: Use the serial (Oxford) comma
When you list three or more items, place a comma before the final "and." Without it, the last two items can be misread as a single item.
Rule 3: Hyphenate compound modifiers
When two words work together to describe a noun, connect them with a hyphen. "Data driven strategy" is ambiguous — "data-driven strategy" is clear.
Rule 4: Use en dashes in date ranges
Date ranges use an en dash (–), not a hyphen (-). An en dash is slightly longer and is the typographically correct separator for ranges.
Resume bullets should never include the words "I," "my," "me," "we," "our," or "us." Every bullet is a fragment sentence that starts directly with an action verb. This is not just a style preference — it is the universal standard that recruiters and ATS systems expect. Using pronouns makes the writing sound like a personal essay rather than a professional document.
Why it matters: Pronouns waste space on a one-page resume. "I managed a team" uses two words to say what "Managed a team" says in one. Multiply that across 15–20 bullets and you lose significant space that could hold quantified results.
More examples:
Quick test: Search your resume for "I," "my," "we," "our," "me," and "us." If any of these words appear, rewrite the bullet to start with an action verb and cut the pronoun entirely.
This rule is simple but frequently broken: if you currently hold the role, write every bullet in present tense ("Manage," "Develop," "Coordinate"). If the role has ended, write every bullet in past tense ("Managed," "Developed," "Coordinated"). There are zero exceptions to this rule.
Why it matters: A past-tense bullet under a current role tells the recruiter you stopped doing that task. A present-tense bullet under a past role tells the recruiter you are still at that company. Either way, it creates confusion about your timeline.
Current role — use present tense:
Past role — use past tense:
Full example — a resume with two roles:
Quick test: Look at the date range for each role. If it says "Present," every verb in that section must be present tense. If it has an end date, every verb must be past tense. Highlight the first word of every bullet and check.
ATS bots scan for exact keyword matches. Pull the top skills, tools, and phrases from the job posting and weave them naturally into your bullets — not just into the Skills section.
Avoid tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers, images, and icons. Use standard section titles: "Education," "Experience," "Skills." Submit as .docx or a clean PDF.
ATS systems may not recognize abbreviations. Write the full term first, then abbreviate in subsequent bullets. This ensures both the spelled-out and abbreviated versions register as keyword matches.
Name your sections exactly as ATS bots expect: "Experience," "Education," "Skills," and "Projects." Creative headings like "Where I've Made an Impact" or "My Toolbox" confuse parsers and cause your content to be misclassified or skipped.
Recruiters notice when one role has six bullets and another has two. Aim for three to five bullets per role, and keep the count relatively even across entries. Your most relevant role can have one more, but do not let the imbalance become jarring.
If a bullet wraps to a second line with only a few words dangling, reword it to either fit on one line or fill both lines completely. Hanging lines waste space and look unfinished. Use AI tools to restructure sentences once you have the core idea on paper.
Percentages and dollar amounts should be rounded to one decimal point when applicable (49.4%, not 49.39%). Numbers under 10 should be spelled out (three interns, five projects) — except for people counts, months, and other cases where digits are standard.
Pick one date format and apply it to every entry. Mixing "Jan 2023" with "January 2023" or "01/2023" signals inconsistency. Use the "Month Year – Month Year" format throughout.
One-size-fits-all resumes score 40–60% on ATS. Tailored resumes score 75–95%. Reorder bullets, swap keywords, and emphasize the experience that mirrors the job posting.
Recruiters spend six seconds scanning your resume. Place the most impactful, quantified bullet first under each role. Bury the weakest bullet last or remove it entirely.
Every bullet on your resume is fair game in an interview. If you mention DCF modeling, cap rate calculations, or three financial statements — be ready to explain the mechanics step by step. If you cannot walk through it confidently, either remove it or learn it before the interview.
Allocate more bullets to roles from the last two to three years and to positions directly related to your target job. Older or unrelated roles deserve one to two bullets at most. Recruiters care about trajectory, not a complete work history.
Cut phrases like "in order to," "was tasked with," "played a key role in," and "served as." These pad your bullets without adding substance. Every word on a one-page resume must earn its space.
Verify that job titles, company names, and section headers follow the same capitalization pattern. Check for double spaces, inconsistent indentation, and misaligned bullet characters. One formatting error signals carelessness to a recruiter.
After finishing your resume, read through every bullet and highlight the opening verb. Verify that all verbs under a current role are in present tense and all verbs under a past role are in past tense. This five-minute check catches the single most common resume error.
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