Why Accomplishments Beat Duties
Job duties describe what anyone in the role would do. Accomplishments show what you specifically achieved. Recruiters already know the duties of a marketing manager or software engineer. They want to know what sets you apart.
Duty: "Responsible for managing social media accounts."
Accomplishment: "Grew Instagram following from 5K to 48K in 12 months through original content strategy, driving 340% increase in website referral traffic."
The accomplishment version answers three questions: what did you do, how did you do it, and what was the result?
The Bullet Point Formula
Use this structure for every bullet: Action Verb + What You Did + Result/Impact. This formula forces you to be specific and outcome-focused.
Example: "Redesigned the onboarding flow (action + what), reducing new user churn by 28% and increasing 30-day retention to 71% (result)."
Not every bullet needs a dollar amount or percentage. Context, scope, and scale also count: "Led a 12-person cross-functional team" or "Managed a portfolio of 85 enterprise accounts."
Strong Action Verbs by Category
Leadership: Led, Directed, Managed, Supervised, Coordinated, Oversaw, Mentored, Spearheaded
Achievement: Achieved, Exceeded, Delivered, Earned, Surpassed, Attained, Won, Secured
Creation: Built, Designed, Developed, Created, Launched, Established, Implemented, Introduced
Improvement: Improved, Increased, Reduced, Streamlined, Optimized, Accelerated, Enhanced, Transformed
Analysis: Analyzed, Evaluated, Assessed, Identified, Researched, Investigated, Forecasted, Measured
How to Quantify When You Think You Cannot
You can almost always find a number. Think about: people (team size, customers served), money (budget, revenue, savings), time (deadlines met, hours saved), volume (projects completed, tickets resolved), and percentages (growth, reduction, improvement).
If you do not have exact numbers, reasonable estimates are acceptable. "Approximately 200 customer interactions per week" is far stronger than "Handled customer inquiries."
Talk to former colleagues or check old reports if you need to recall specific metrics. The effort to find real numbers pays off significantly.
How Many Bullets Per Job?
Your most recent role should have 4-6 bullets. Previous roles can have 3-4 bullets. Older or less relevant roles can have 2-3 bullets or be condensed to a single line.
More bullets is not better. Five strong, quantified bullets beat eight generic ones. Each bullet should add new information about your capabilities.
Order your bullets by impact, not by how much time you spent on the task. Lead with your most impressive achievements.
Formatting Your Experience Section
For each role, include: Job Title (bold), Company Name, City/State, and Dates (Month Year to Month Year or Present). Keep formatting consistent across all roles.
Use bullet points, not paragraphs. Paragraphs are harder to scan and ATS systems parse bullets more reliably.
Keep each bullet to 1-2 lines maximum. If a bullet wraps to a third line, it is too long. Split it into two bullets or trim the less important details.