Using bullet points in your résumé and response to criteria is OK, but use them sparingly — no more than five in any list. Readers hate long lists; they don’t read to the end and lose sense of the sentence. After about five bullets, they tend to skip or skim, so the remainder are lost anyway.
Bullet points are helpful in résumés for a list of competencies and past duties, etc., and when demonstrating your actions in an example, when responding to a Selection Criteria.
Bullet points are an efficient way of giving information clearly and succinctly. Still, they can also be overused and tedious to read.
How to make it easier for the reader.
Readers usually spend less than 15 seconds on a page of bullet points. People tend to be skimmers rather than readers. Write for the busy reader and make it easy for them to read.
· Long lists are counter-productive; people will not read them no matter how long you spend writing them.
· Keep the list to about six to eight items; any more and the reader will skip andmiss the critical points at the end.
· Remember, most readers do not read to the bottom of any bullet-point list, so place the most relevant skills, duties, skills, achievements, etc., at the top.
· Short statements are better, so keep them to two lines maximum.
Punctuation tips
· Be consistent; start each line with a capital letter—or not—your choice.
· If your bullet point is a sentence with a verb, start with a capital letter and put a full stop at the end. The five points above are sentences.
· If points are phrases without a verb, such as “Strong organisational and time management skills”, they do not need a full stop.
· Ina résumé, you should generally use a dot-point, not a numbered list. Numbered lists are for instructions.
I find that if applicants have a résumé that they simply add to (update) for every new application but do not retarget it, their resumes tend to have a long list of old jobs and outdated duties. A résumé is not just a history of your work experience; it is your sales pitch, so make it reader-friendly.
Tips for creating crisp, clear bullet points.
· Emphasise the beginning of the bullet point, as in this list, when the first few words capture the main idea. That way, readers can skim easily. Use bold type, italics, or underlining for emphasis.
· Make bullet points consistent in structure. For example, make all of them sentences (with a verb) or only phrases.
· Punctuate bullets consistently.
o If all bullets are sentences, end each one with a full stop.
o Use no end punctuation if all bullets are phrases or statementswithout a verb.
o Do not use a semicolon at the end.
· Avoid making bullet points so long that they look likeparagraphs. Three lines is the maximum length.
· Number bullet points when you have many--more than five or so. That way, your readers can easily track the bullets and refer to them.
· Avoid using words and phrases such as"secondly" or "another point." They are unnecessary and slow down readers.
· Be sure bullet points are related, especially if you have a lot of them. E.g., A list of competencies or duties.
· Lay out bullet points cleanly. Usethe same font and point size throughout.
· Don’t list items irrelevant to the position you are applying for.
- Avoid vague terms like involved in, assisted in, contributed to, participated in, etc. Say what you actually did.
See an example of using bullet points in a résumé on P 115 of Write a Winning Job Application 7thed.
