Resume bullet points
Bullets are the most-read part of a resume and the most-misused. The shape is simple. The discipline of sticking to it is the hard part.
Strong bullets follow one shape: action verb → what you built or owned → who or what it was for → the number that proves the impact. 4–6 bullets per role, 1–2 lines each, no exceptions for senior roles.
The shape that works
Action verb → what you did → who or what it was for → number. Every strong bullet you've ever read on someone else's resume is some variation on this. The verb gets you in the door; the number keeps the reader's eye on the line. Skip either and the bullet flatlines.
How many bullets per role
4–6 for current and most recent role. 3–4 for the role before that. 2–3 for older roles. 1 line for anything past the 10-year mark. The temptation is to load up the most recent role with 8 bullets — resist it. Eight bullets read as 'the writer can't decide what's important.'
Bullet length
1 line ideally, 2 lines max. A 3-line bullet is two bullets that should have been split or one bullet that should have been cut. The exception is the very first bullet of your most recent role, which can run to 2 lines if it's the strongest signal in the whole resume.
Where the number goes
At the end of the bullet, not the start. 'Cut p99 latency by 62% (4.1s → 1.6s) by rewriting the cache layer' reads better than '62% latency reduction achieved through cache rewrite.' The number lands harder when it pays off the action, not when it leads.
What if you don't have a number?
Find one. Not all numbers are revenue or percent. Time saved, scale handled, team size, frequency, replays caught, support tickets prevented, deploy duration, error rate, query count — they all count. The one bullet on your resume that doesn't have a number is the one that needs the most work, not the one that's exempt.
Side by side
Rebuilt the order-fulfillment pipeline in TypeScript, cutting p99 fulfillment latency from 4.1s to 380ms across 12k events/sec.
Responsible for the order fulfillment pipeline, working closely with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful results.
Mistakes that get this wrong
- Starting bullets with 'Responsible for' (the recruiter's auto-skim)
- Three-line bullets that try to say two things at once
- 8+ bullets per role — almost always a sign of indecision
- No numbers anywhere on the resume
- Repeating the same verb across consecutive bullets
Pick 4–6 bullets per recent role. Each one in the action-verb-then-impact-number shape, max 2 lines. If you can't find a number for a bullet, cut the bullet — it's not as strong as you think.
Frequently asked
Should bullets be in past or present tense?
Past tense for past roles. Present tense for the current role. Don't mix tenses within a role.
Is it OK to use sub-bullets?
Almost never. Sub-bullets read as 'I ran out of room in the parent bullet.' If a bullet needs a sub-bullet, it should be split into two parent bullets.
Can I use full sentences instead of bullets?
Only in the summary. Bullets are the format because they're scannable in two seconds. Full sentences in the experience section don't get read.
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