With all the rules on constructing a resume that is effective at getting the interview, you may well wonder what about the format of your resume-things like how many bullet points should your resume include? In this section, we tell you the right amount of bullet points to use and why.
Bullet points are very important in your resume, as they denote detailed examples of the aspects of your career qualifications you have listed on your resume. So, in the section on education, you may list that you went to certain university and got a degree in a certain discipline, you may also want to list important coursework and clubs that you were a part of. This is where you would use bullet points to express what courses you took, and/or what clubs you were a part of.
In the case of employment history, bullet points are vital as they explain what your responsibilities and achievements were at those specific places of employment. They tell the potential employer what you had to offer a position, and how you excelled in that position. This gives them a better sense of what you have experience doing, as well as what your potential is for doing more and for their company.
For your skills section-if you have one-you would probably list skill sets as classifications; so, a good example of this would be “communications skills”. Under that sub section, you would list with bullet points, examples of how you can prove that you have great communications skills. Whether it be through certain events at work, or ongoing dialogue with supervisors and employees; you show an example and/or more detail on how you have great communications skills.
So, how many bullet points should you use? Though it should vary from person to person, you should really use at least 3-4 bullet points per section that you need to detail-and no more than 6-7. You want to make every bullet point count, and so, do not try to make stuff up to offer more bullet points-thinking that more will necessarily look like better. Instead, carefully examine what your key skills, responsibilities, and achievements were in various parts of your career qualifications; and offer a one sentence concise statement on how you can prove this. This is the best way to approach the use of bullet points, without going overboard.
