Resume guides
Writing a professional summary and strong bullet points
Two parts of your CV do most of the persuading: the summary at the top and the first three bullets of your current role. Everything else is corroboration.
The summary formula
[Role] with [X] years in [domain/industry]. Specialised in [two or three capabilities from the posting]. [One quantified achievement]. Looking to [what you will do for this employer].
Example: "Operations manager with 8 years in e-commerce logistics. Specialised in warehouse automation and 3PL contract negotiation. Cut cost per shipment by 18% across three EU hubs. Now looking to scale fulfilment for a growing DTC brand."
- Three to four lines. Never a paragraph block.
- Written in third person without pronouns, or first person without 'I' — pick one and stay consistent.
- Rewritten for each application. It is the cheapest tailoring you can do.
Bullet points: the CAR pattern
Challenge, Action, Result — compressed into one line. Lead with the verb, end with the number.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Handled customer complaints | Resolved 40+ escalated complaints per week, lifting CSAT from 3.8 to 4.5 in two quarters |
| Part of the team that launched the new app | Led QA for a 6-person app launch team, shipping on schedule with zero critical post-release defects |
| Did financial analysis | Built a 3-year rolling forecast model adopted by finance for all quarterly board reporting |
Verbs that do work
Built, launched, negotiated, reduced, consolidated, automated, recovered, scaled, standardised, mentored. Avoid assisted, helped, participated, was responsible for — they place you next to the work rather than in it.
How many bullets per role
- Current or most recent role: four to six bullets.
- Previous role: three to four.
- Anything older than eight years: one to two, or a single grouped line.
Apply it to your own CV
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Keep reading
- How to write a CV that gets interviews
A practical, step-by-step guide to writing a CV: structure, section order, what to include, what to cut, and how recruiters actually read your résumé.
- ATS-friendly résumés: what actually matters
How applicant tracking systems parse your résumé, which formatting choices break them, and the keyword approach that gets your CV in front of a human.
- The cover letter that is actually read
When a cover letter matters, a four-paragraph structure that works, and the openings and closings to avoid.