📋 Contents
- Why work logs make better resumes
- The bullet formula: action + context + result
- The XYZ formula (and when to bend it)
- Action verbs that say something
- From log line to bullet: the three-step rewrite
- Sales examples
- Marketing examples
- Product examples
- Engineering examples
- Operations examples
- Tailoring bullets to the job you want
PART 1
Why work logs make better resumes
When people write a resume from memory, they fall back on job descriptions: "responsible for managing accounts," "handled social media." Those lines say what the job was, not what you achieved. A recruiter reading dozens of resumes has seen them all.
Notes written at the time contain the specifics that memory loses: which project, what the problem was, what changed. A line like "Fixed the export bug; sales can run month-end reports again" is already halfway to a strong bullet. If you keep a daily log, in a notes file or an app such as PLAN2FOLIO, you are sitting on your best resume material.
PART 2
The bullet formula: action + context + result
| Part | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action verb | Says what you did | Redesigned |
| Context / scope | What, for whom, how big | the customer onboarding flow for a self-serve product |
| Result | What changed | cutting setup time from days to under an hour |
Figures in examples are illustrative.
Keep each bullet to one or two lines. Lead with the verb, end with the result. If there is no number, use a clear before → after or name who benefited.
PART 3
The XYZ formula (and when to bend it)
You will see the "XYZ" formula, popularized by a former head of HR at Google, in a lot of career advice: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]. It is the same idea in a different order: an outcome, a measure of it, and how you got there.
✍️ XYZ in practice (example figures)
XYZ: Reduced first-response time on support tickets from about two days to same-day by building saved replies for the ten most common questions.
Action + result: Built saved replies for the ten most common support questions, cutting first-response time from about two days to same-day.
Both are fine. Lead with the result when it is the most impressive part; lead with the action when the method itself is what the target job wants (a specific tool, a negotiation, a system you designed). When there is no honest Y, swap the measure for a clear before → after or for who benefited.
PART 4
Action verbs that say something
| If you… | Try verbs like |
|---|---|
| Created something new | built, launched, designed, founded, developed, introduced |
| Made something better | streamlined, overhauled, redesigned, automated, standardized |
| Cut cost, time or risk | reduced, eliminated, consolidated, prevented, resolved |
| Grew something | expanded, accelerated, increased, scaled, won |
| Led people or work | led, directed, coordinated, mentored, trained, onboarded |
| Persuaded or aligned | negotiated, secured, partnered, presented, aligned |
💡 Kill the weak openers
Avoid "responsible for," "helped with," "assisted in," "worked on" and "duties included." They describe a job, not what you achieved in it. Also avoid using the same verb more than twice on one page.
PART 5
From log line to bullet: the three-step rewrite
Collect related log lines
Group a week or a project’s worth of notes into one story. Several small lines often become one strong bullet.
Find the result
Ask "so what?" until you reach something a stranger would care about: revenue, time, quality, risk, customers, team capability.
Compress and remove jargon
Cut internal project names and acronyms an outside reader would not know. Replace them with a plain description.
✍️ Worked example
Log lines: "Found why dashboard is slow — missing index." / "Index fix live, dashboards load fast now." / "Sales team says reports finally usable."
Bullet: Diagnosed and fixed a database performance issue, bringing dashboard load times from tens of seconds to under one second for a 40-person sales team.
PART 6
Sales examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Responsible for managing key accounts | Managed a portfolio of 25 mid-size accounts and renewed every contract up for renewal in the year, expanding three of them |
| Made cold calls | Built a targeted outreach list for the healthcare segment and booked 30 first meetings in one quarter, the team’s highest |
| Worked with marketing on leads | Set up a weekly lead review with marketing that cut response time to inbound leads from days to same-day |
All figures are examples; use your own.
PART 7
Marketing examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Handled social media | Rebuilt the company’s social content calendar around customer questions, growing engaged followers steadily over six months |
| Wrote blog posts | Wrote and optimized 20 long-form guides that became the site’s main source of organic signups |
| Ran email campaigns | Redesigned the onboarding email sequence, increasing the share of new users who completed setup in their first week |
PART 8
Product examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Managed the product roadmap | Led quarterly roadmap planning across design, engineering and sales, aligning three teams on a single prioritized list |
| Did user research | Ran 15 customer interviews that reshaped the pricing page; support tickets about pricing dropped noticeably after launch |
| Launched new features | Launched team accounts, the most requested feature, coordinating engineering, billing and support for an on-time release |
PART 9
Engineering examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Worked on backend services | Built the payment retry service that recovers failed card charges automatically, reducing involuntary churn |
| Fixed bugs | Led a bug-bash on the mobile app that resolved the 12 most-reported crashes ahead of a major release |
| Improved CI pipeline | Cut CI build time roughly in half by parallelizing test suites, giving the team faster feedback on every change |
PART 10
Operations examples
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Handled vendor relationships | Onboarded a second packaging supplier, removing a single-supplier risk that had caused two stock-outs the previous year |
| Managed scheduling | Introduced a shared scheduling system for 40 field staff, replacing phone-based booking and ending double-bookings |
| Wrote procedures | Documented the returns process end to end, enabling three new team members to handle returns independently within their first month |
⚠️ Every number must be defensible
Interviewers often ask "how did you measure that?" Use numbers you can explain. If you only know a rough figure, say "about" or describe the change instead.
PART 11
Tailoring bullets to the job you want
Keep a long master list of bullets drawn from your work log, then pick and order them for each application. Read the job posting, note the three or four outcomes it emphasizes, and put the bullets that match those outcomes first under each role.
Keywords and applicant tracking systems
Most mid-size and large employers run applications through an applicant tracking system (ATS), and recruiters often search it by keyword. Use the posting’s own words for skills and tools where they truthfully describe your work: if the posting says "stakeholder management" and you wrote "kept teams aligned," consider adopting their phrase. Keep formatting simple (standard headings, no text in images or complex tables) so the system can read it.
⚠️ Don’t keyword-stuff
A human still reads the resume that gets through. Bullets that are lists of buzzwords, or skills you cannot discuss in an interview, cost more than they gain.
Resume vs. LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn experience section can reuse the same bullets, slightly looser and in the first person if you like. Keep the facts identical; recruiters do compare.
☐ Three to six bullets per recent role; fewer for older roles.
☐ Each bullet starts with a strong verb.
☐ Most bullets show a result or a clear before → after.
☐ No internal jargon or confidential details.
☐ Top bullets match the outcomes the posting asks for.
The same master list also feeds your raise case and your review. One habit of writing things down supports all three.
Frequently asked questions
Q. How do you write a good resume bullet point?
Start with a strong action verb, say what you did and for whom, and end with the result: a number you can defend, a before → after, or who benefited. Keep it to one or two lines.
Q. What is the XYZ resume formula?
"Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." It forces each bullet to include an outcome, a measure and a method. Use it as a check, not a rigid template.
Q. How long should resume bullet points be?
One or two lines each. If a bullet runs to three lines, it usually contains two accomplishments; split it or cut the context.
Q. How many bullet points per job?
Three to six for recent, relevant roles is common. Older or less relevant roles can have one or two.
Q. Do I need numbers in every bullet?
No. Use numbers where you have honest ones. Elsewhere, describe the change or who benefited. A resume of only invented numbers reads as false.
Q. Should I use "I" in bullets?
Resume bullets usually omit "I" and start with the verb: "Built…," "Led…." Keep the style consistent throughout.
Q. How do I describe team results?
Name your role in the team result: "Led testing for…," "Owned the data migration in…." Avoid claiming the whole result as your own.
Q. Can I include confidential work?
Describe it in general terms without names, figures or details your employer would consider confidential.
Q. What if I have no work log?
Rebuild material from sent emails, calendars, performance reviews and project documents. Then start a log now for next time.
This article is general guidance. Review formats, rating scales and expectations vary by company — check your own company’s guidelines alongside it.
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