When It Comes to Bullets--Less is More!

Because I am a professional resume writer, I am often contacted by job seekers for resume writing tips or a quick resume review. As a former recruiter, I cannot help but look at the resumes I see from the perspective of a potential employer. When I was working in staffing, it was my job to make sure the candidates I presented to my clients were successful in landing a job. For the candidates I represented, having an effective resume was an essential factor in opening the door to employment. My current work as a Career Coach and Resume Writer has been informed in large part by preferences that I developed as a staffing professional.
One of my pet peeves in regard to resume writing is the over use of bullet points throughout the text. It is not uncommon for job seekers to write resumes in which literally every line is set off by a bullet. I suppose that many people have the mistaken belief that bullet points create ease in reading. Certainly this belief has resulted in a trend which has become a very common practice. In fact, some of my clients are so convinced that using bullets throughout the resume is the highly preferred format for a resume that I am hard pressed to convince them otherwise. Let me set the record straight about bullet points in a well-written resume. Less is more!
Bullet points have one purpose in a resume: to highlight important information. That's it. Used sparingly, bullets lead the reader's eye to the information the job seeker wants the potential employer to notice. As I have mentioned in other articles, an employer spends only 10 to 15 seconds in the initial review of a resume. If every line of information in a resume is set off by a bullet, the resume becomes a sea of bullets. If, on the other hand, bullets have been used to highlight key information, such as career accomplishments or core competencies, this important information suddenly jumps off the page.
Use bullets to highlight information like:

• Core Competencies
• Career Achievements
• Other Critical Information

If the use of bullet points is limited to key information, the rest of the resume is presented in block text or paragraph form. Now, I'm guessing that some of my readers are feeling a bit uneasy about the possibility that the text will seem too wordy or difficult to read. Let me assure you that most of us are accustomed to skimming text. In fact, I suspect some of you may be skimming this article. Employers do the same when they read a resume, and most can quite easily skim text that is presented in a block format. Of course, it is still important to make sure that information is presented in the most concise and streamlined manner possible. And, clearly delineating resume sections and using a format that is easy to navigate is always important.
I challenge job seekers to revisit their resumes and give it the 10-second test. In that very quick review, what stands out? Do the eyes easily fall on the information that you most want an employer to notice? Or, is the document busy with bullets? If the bullets are distracting and taking attention away from your best skills and accomplishments, take the time to revise the resume.