Here's a piece from Yahoo that sings the praises of bullet points on resumes. Here's why Yahoo loves them:
The majority of recruiters spend less than three minutes reviewing a resume, according to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.
That's why resumes need good organization. A well-organized resume allows recruiters to quickly find what they're looking for. Bullet points help organize information into nuggets and make resumes more manageable.
The piece goes on to give several examples of how bullet points can and should be used in a resume.
I have used bullet points on my resumes since day one. Why? Because they are a concise way to make an easily readable point that packs a punch -- exactly what a reviewer is looking for. Remember, the person reviewing resumes is spending a minimum amount of time looking through them to decide whether or not you're even worthy of consideration. She doesn't have time to read through long pages of prose -- or even paragraphs on a page -- to make a decision. So bullet points allow her to see lots of great results (with numbers attached that quantify your accomplishments) in a short easily scannable format. It simply gives you the best chance of making it into the "keep" pile.
Then, once she's sorted out the initial losers, bullet points allow your resume to stand out from the rest because the reviewer can view so many differeent accomplishments in the time it may take to read only a couple in a more detailed resume. As such, you appear to have accomplished more and thus have a better chance of making it to the interview stage.
If you need some examples of the sorts of bullet points I'm talking about, then check out my post on How to Write a Winning Resume.
I agree, bullet points are great!
When you do have bullet points, not each point should be a paragraph wrong that defeats the purpose!
Posted by: Ray | April 07, 2009 at 07:29 AM
I have used bullet points on my resume since college and they seem to have done the trick. Having that concise information with applicable action verbs all on one side of one sheet of paper has served me well.
In fact, about a decade ago I helped my mother-in-law whittle her resume down to this one page format after she was having no success. She had a job within 3 weeks. Now, if only she would take my advice now that she is unemployed again. Alas, she is sticking to her guns. I really don't want her to move in with us!
Posted by: Luke | April 07, 2009 at 09:48 AM
I am a Recruiter, and would agree that I spend less than 3 minutes (sometimes less than 1 minute!) looking at a resume initially. We sort thru and get rid of the ones we can, and then focus more attention on the ones that look promising. ALWAYS have a 5 or 6 bullet point SUMMARY at the top of the resume, often this is all that gets looked at. Focus on action words and accomplishments (with $ or other numbers highlighted). Bold or color highlight important words or skills. Have a skills summary as when searches are done keywords are used to select qualified resumes. Put awards/accomplishments on there.
The one thing I don't agree with is sticking to one page. That is fine if you have less than 8 years of experience or have been at one company. These days since everything is on the computer instead of paper you can easily go to 2 pages if needed to show your depth of experience, but NEVER more than 2 pages.
Note, I am also a job seeker now, having been "downsized" a month ago. I have received over 10 phone calls in a 3 week period, and I definitely know my strong resume was the reason.
Best of luck to all job seekers out there.
Posted by: KellyB | April 07, 2009 at 11:03 AM
I just interviewed for a position yesterday. The interviewer told me he had over 400 applicants for this position (IT position in greater Minneapolis area).
My resume did have bullet points, and my cover letter was very concise (two short paragraphs, and a separate 'thank you for considering me' line.)
Posted by: Michael | April 07, 2009 at 12:38 PM
I've always used bullets on my resume, because it always looked more appealing. It's easier to scan than paragraphs, and allows you to highlight your accomplishments chronologically.
Posted by: Corporate Barbarian | April 07, 2009 at 12:52 PM