Bullets are good

Why use bullet points? Yes, to make your resume easier to read. But wait, there’s more, it goes deeper than that.

Think of the reader.

Different people are attracted to different words. Maybe Mike likes the word "developed", but he hates the words "equipped" and "initiated".

The guy who sits next to him, Joe, hates "developed", but he loves "equipped", and he is neutral about "initiated".

It’s not rational, and it’s not predictable, but people are weird and that’s the way it is.

Now, imagine your resume. It doesn’t use bullets…

For whatever reason, your resume lands on Mike’s desk, not Joe’s.

Both of them are looking at resumes and could call you in for an interview, but now your future depends on Mike.

Mike has a stack of 100 resumes to look at. He picks up your no-bullets resume and starts reading. In your perfect world, this is what would go through his mind:

"Equipped field team with Blackberries… nope, that’s boring… Initiated successful sales feedback program… nope, that’s boring… Developed network tools for real-time inventory checks… hey, developed, that’s cool, I gotta call this guy."

But no, that’s not how it’s going to happen.

Remember, Mike has a stack of 100 resumes on his desk, and he has a meeting in 3 minutes, and his phone is ringing.

Here’s how it really happens:

"Equipped field… blah blah blah, boring… Initiated successful… blah blah blah boring, that damn phone is still ringing, I better pick it up…" and then he quickly puts your resume in the "Do Not Call" pile and forgets about you.

But here’s the same resume, with bullets:

Mikes thinks, "Equipped… no, boring… Initiated… no, boring… Developed network tools (hey, cool) blah blah, is that damn phone still ringing, I better pick it up…" and then, because just for a split second you helped him see a word he likes, he puts your resume in the "Call These People" stack and forgets about you, until he calls you later.

Everything else is the same, except one version has bullets, the other does not.

The bullets make it easier for Mike to find the words he likes.

Result? You get a phone call.

Now, if Joe was reading your resume, you would have gotten lucky either way, because Joe loves the word "equipped", and that was the first word on your resume. He would have seen it, with or without bullets.

But would you rather have a 50% chance of a phone call, or a 100% chance? That’s why bullets are good.