How to tailor your work experience bullet points

Including measurable achievements in resumes increases interview likelihood by up to 30%.

Think of your career as a movie filled with exciting moments, tough challenges, and big wins. Now look at your resume's work experience section. Does it read like the thrilling highlight reel, or does it read like a boring list of chores you were assigned?

For most people, it's the chore list. We write things like:

• Responsible for sending newsletters.

• Handled customer support tickets.

• Involved in project planning.
  
  

This tells a recruiter what you were supposed to do, but it says nothing about what you actually did. It’s a job description, not proof of your value. To get an interview, you need to stop listing duties and start showcasing your achievements. You need to turn your chore list into a highlight reel.

Ditch the passive, embrace the action

The fastest way to transform your bullet points is to follow a simple formula. Never start with "Responsible for." Instead, build your points with this structure:

Action verb + what you did = quantifiable result

Let’s break it down:

1. Start with a strong action verb: Words like Increased, Decreased, Launched, Created, Improved, Solved, Managed, Led are powerful.

2. Briefly describe the task: What was the project or action you took?

3. Add the result (with a number): This is the magic ingredient. How did your action benefit the company? Use percentages (%), dollar amounts ($), or other numbers to prove your impact.

See the transformation: before & after

Let's apply this formula to those boring "chore list" items.

• Before: Responsible for sending newsletters.

• After (highlight reel): Launched a new weekly newsletter, growing the subscriber list by 25% in three months and increasing click-through rates by 15%.

• Before: Handled customer support tickets.

• After (highlight reel): Implemented a new ticketing system that reduced average customer response time by 40% and improved customer satisfaction scores by 2 points.

• Before: Involved in project planning.

• After (highlight reel): Led the planning phase for a major software migration project, delivering the project plan 2 weeks ahead of schedule and identifying $10,000 in potential cost savings.

The "after" versions tell a story of success. They prove you're not just a doer; you're an achiever.

The final tailoring step

Once you have a list of powerful, achievement-driven bullet points in your master resume, the final step is to customize them for each job.

Read the job description. If they emphasize "driving sales," pull your sales-related achievements to the top of your bullet list for that role. If they focus on "improving efficiency," lead with your cost-saving or time-saving accomplishments. This makes it instantly obvious to the recruiter that you have the exact experience they need.

The reality of the creative work

Turning every duty into a quantified achievement is a challenge. It takes time to dig through your memory, find the data, and craft the perfect sentence. Doing this for every relevant bullet point on every single application can feel like a monumental task.

It’s easy to get tired and just settle for the chore list, hoping someone sees your potential.

Your automatic highlight reel producer

What if you had a tool that could help you find your highlights and polish them for you? That's what the TailorMyResume iOS app is for.

Our app is designed to help you transform your work experience section. It analyzes the job description to understand what the employer values most, then helps you reframe your duties into the powerful, achievement-driven bullet points that grab attention. It makes creating your highlight reel fast and simple.

Stop showing them your to-do list. It's time to show them what you can do.

Ready to turn your chore list into a must-see highlight reel? Download TailorMyResume from the App Store and start showcasing your true impact.