Does everyone use bullets?

Every resume I see has bullets in it now. There are no paragraphs but just small blurbs of whatever information that seems most relative to the position. Is it wrong of me to be anti-bullets. I just look at it in the same way as Van Halen if they don't have the time to read my paragraphs is that really where you want to work?

Am I wrong for feeling like this?

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veritas_libertas

.223 and 9mm are my favorite bullets....

I'll let someone else give a more serious response to that question

Resume threads are always interesting follow.

earweed

Bullets make it more readable and less likely to get tossed. People higher up in the food chain are less likely to use bullets.

kriscamaro68

veritas_libertas wrote: »

.223 and 9mm are my favorite bullets....

Agreed!

networker050184

I use both bullets and a short paragraph for each job. A couple of sentences to describe the position then a few bullets to hit major accomplishments. IMO this allows the person to get a good overview of what you do/did with the three to five sentences and then makes the bullets really pop because they aren't simple everyday tasks.

drainey

.40 cal.

Most HR folks spend 20 ~30 seconds on a resume for positions lower than a managerial level. So you need to put your resume in a format that lets them quickly see your strong points. Think of it in terms of a sales pitch informercial. If you haven't grabbed their attention in that 20 ~ 30 second time frame they're going to turn the channel. Or in this context, your resume is going to end up in the NO pile.

I dig what your saying about not wanting to work there if they don't want to take the time to read your resume thoroughly, but the flip side of that is HR folks are just as busy as the rest of us and have between 50 -70 resumes to look at for a given position on average. They just don't have the time to read each one. So it's up to us to give them a resume in a format that quickly highlights why we are worth bringing in for an interview.

Now if I get to an interview and it becomes obvious that the IT manager isn't familiar with my resume and is unaware of my skills/experience then I agree, that's probably someone I don't want to work for. Because A) They're to lazy to do the work to make sure they know a bit about me before the interview, which spells trouble down the line. or

They just want to fill a spot with the first qualified body. Either way, unless I'm desperately in need of a job I'm going to pass.

jtoast

Therhino wrote: »

I just look at it in the same way as Van Halen if they don't have the time to read my paragraphs is that really where you want to work?

The person doing the initial resume screen may have an initial pile of several hundred resumes. My thought is that if I make it easy for them to find the information they are looking for with white space, keywords and bullets, they are more likely to put me in the yes pile.

If I give them a block of text all it's going to do is make their eyes bleed, especially if I'm the 300th resume they have read today.

The only purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. It's an advertisement of your abilities. During the interview is the time to speak in paragraphs.

BradleyHU

wait...what do you mean most resumes have bullets now??? its always been like this...this is nothing new. When i was in HS 12+ yrs ago, my biz comm teacher taught us how to create resumes, and bullets were what she told us to use to describe the details of our jobs. And like someone else said, the paragraphs are more for management & up type positions.

Besides, you're interview is where you sell yourself, your resume is just a quick glimpse of you.

cyberguypr

veritas_libertas wrote: »

.223 and 9mm are my favorite bullets....

I'll let someone else give a more serious response to that question Resume threads are always interesting follow.

Priceless. I thought I was the only one who immediately thought about firearms.

On a more serious note, bullets on a resume are very useful. I follow networker050184's method of paragraph for position responsibilities and bullets for accomplishments. It has proven to be a great combination, at least for me.

mikedisd2

Therhino wrote: »

I just look at it in the same way as Van Halen if they don't have the time to read my paragraphs is that really where you want to work?

Am I wrong for feeling like this?

Yes, you are wrong; one HR goon's reading preference has nothing to do with the company's work policies.

Of course you use bullets; you need to sell yourself as fast as possible. Even I can't be bothered with paragraphs, especially if going through 100+ resumes. Bitesize pieces is all that is needed; noone wants to read a novel.

And I totally missed the Van Halen reference. What was that again?

eMeS

mikedisd2 wrote: »

And I totally missed the Van Halen reference. What was that again?

Van Halen used to have a contract that specified that backstage they were to be provided with a bowl of M&M's, with all of the brown ones removed. The point of adding this was to ensure that venues were actually reading the specifications in the contract.

This is absolutely irrelevant to resumes. Contracts are legal documents that specify responsibilities of parties subject to the contract, and as such can be very specific, detailed and often narrative in nature, whereas resumes are introductory in nature. Additionally, the people in this thread that are saying that long narratives are appropriate for management resumes are also dead wrong.

A resume summarizes accomplishments, skills and qualifications. Narratives should be minimized. It's about telling a potential employer what time it is, not how the watch was made.

MS

Forsaken_GA

veritas_libertas wrote: »

.223 and 9mm are my favorite bullets....

pfft, wimp.

.45 ACP and .30-06!

Forsaken_GA

earweed wrote: »

Bullets make it more readable and less likely to get tossed. People higher up in the food chain are less likely to use bullets.

I suppose that depends on the types of bullets! if one type doesn't get their attention, the other type is bound to!

veritas_libertas

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

pfft, wimp.

.45 ACP and .30-06!

I knew someone would give me a hard time about that...

docrice

Comparing the diameters between 9mm and .45 ACP, well, I think one can see which one's the "man's" caliber ... heh (debates about shot-placement, magazine capacity, etc., aside). There's just a substantial goodness about the larger round. It's like choosing between a regular M&M and a peanut M&M.

But speaking of resumes, I'm generally a big fan of bullets (not the kind that tears through paper). It's quicker to scan, easier on the eyes when speed-reading through and making a quick assessment, and in general gets points across faster for the unlucky soul reading through hundreds of applications a day.

I've seen some resumes that provided paragraphs for job descriptions, duties performed, and so on, but I always got impatient trying to comb through those. Perhaps I'm biased, but it felt antiquated. Resumes are tools, not demonstrations of written art.

I think paragraphs are fine if you get to the interview stage where a writing sample is requested, but until you get there, the easier to scan, the better.

2E151

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

pfft, wimp.

.45 ACP and .30-06!

Agreed. When the zombie apocalpse comes I want knock down power.

Also, yes I utilize bullets a great deal on my resume. As the previous posters mentioned it helps keep things consise and easily readable.

mikedisd2

A resume thread and people talk about ammunition. Pick the Americans.

wastedtime

+1 for resume bullets as it is easy on the eyes.

and....

+50 for .50 BMG nothing is like shooting a M-82.

MentholMoose

OK back on topic.

Yes,
Bullets are widely used.

kriscamaro68

Yes on the resume' bullets from me as well. I use them to point out all my experience at jobs that I have worked.

Also as far as bullets go I personally have 9mm, .40cal, 45acp, a sweet m4 that is 5.56 for the apocalypse, and a .300 win mag for my long range 800-1200 yard shooting. Oh and some .22's and a 12 gauge. As for stoping power? With the advancement in bullets a 9mm can be as effective as a 45 depending on what your shooting. Take a look at critical defense ammo by hornady as an example. What is key is bullet expansion. If you have crappy bullets that don't expand in a 45 then they are not very useful. If you have quality bullets in a 9mm they will expand and do what they are ment to which is stop the threat.

518

MentholMoose wrote: »

OK back on topic.
Yes,

Bullets are widely used.

I've been using bullets since 1999, really not something new.

CodeBlox

mikedisd2 wrote: »

A resume thread and people talk about ammunition. Pick the Americans.

I'm sorry for the spammish post but HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA ROFLMAO

In all seriousness though, I currently have bullets on my resume. It's just the way I was taught to sort of build a resume with the highlights. Then again, I've never even been called back for an interview. Perhaps it is a mistake?

veritas_libertas

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I just couldn't help it...

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

Yes on the resume' bullets from me as well. I use them to point out all my experience at jobs that I have worked.

Also as far as bullets go I personally have 9mm, .40cal, 45acp, a sweet m4 that is 5.56 for the apocalypse, and a .300 win mag for my long range 800-1200 yard shooting. Oh and some .22's and a 12 gauge. As for stoping power? With the advancement in bullets a 9mm can be as effective as a 45 depending on what your shooting. Take a look at critical defense ammo by hornady as an example. What is key is bullet expansion. If you have crappy bullets that don't expand in a 45 then they are not very useful. If you have quality bullets in a 9mm they will expand and do what they are ment to which is stop the threat.

Agreed...

Forsaken_GA

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

Take a look at critical defense ammo by hornady as an example. What is key is bullet expansion. If you have crappy bullets that don't expand in a 45 then they are not very useful. If you have quality bullets in a 9mm they will expand and do what they are ment to which is stop the threat.

Oh, I may joke about 9mm being small, but I actually carry one. The .45 is on my hip, the 9mil is my backup. I carry speer gold dots +P 124gr rounds, and have absolutely no complaint about their performance.

There's something incredibly satisfying about shooting a .45 though

kriscamaro68

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Oh, I may joke about 9mm being small, but I actually carry one. The .45 is on my hip, the 9mil is my backup. I carry speer gold dots +P 124gr rounds, and have absolutely no complaint about their performance.

There's something incredibly satisfying about shooting a .45 though

This is true. I love my Springfield TRP 1911. It is so accurate and has as much recoil as a 9. I love the 1911 platform so much that my concealed carry gun is a Springfield EMP 9mm 1911.

Heero

I talked to my Dad who was hiring someone for an accounting position. He doesn't do a huge amount of hiring and they don't have any official recruiting, so he posted in on some job site. Over 5 days, he got 600 applicants. He told me he only read the first 35, then gave up on all the rest and focused on those. He also told me that toward the end of going through them (just before he gave up), he skipped over a few that were formatted poorly, or very long/verbose.

Just a more personal perspective I guess that I thought I would throw out there. In my opinion, a resume is for getting an interview. Bullet points may not be the best way to describe what you did or do at a job, or what you know, but they are certainly efficient.

Therhino

I guess I should have elaborated on this. I meant for example in your work history section rather than typing out all of the things you have done you chose 5 to 8 of your most important entries and bullet those.

Verruckt

networker050184 wrote: »

I use both bullets and a short paragraph for each job. A couple of sentences to describe the position then a few bullets to hit major accomplishments. IMO this allows the person to get a good overview of what you do/did with the three to five sentences and then makes the bullets really pop because they aren't simple everyday tasks.

I go with exactly this format. Of course not too many bullets though, six max for me (top six accomplishments).

I also top the resume with a couple sentences giving an overview of what I do, and bulletpoint out my main skills / knowledge.

As for the other bullet - .45ACP or 10mm. I'm a 1911 guy all the way

CCW is a Kimber Tactical Pro with Corbon DPX.

woot

Bullets makes it easier to navigate from point to point without having to go through the whole resume just to get a general idea.

Dakinggamer87

woot wrote: »

Bullets makes it easier to navigate from point to point without having to go through the whole resume just to get a general idea.

I totally agree!!

rfult001

Just to add a bit of management perspective to this...I have wanted to put a few bullets through several applicant resumes before throwing them out.

Resumes need to be clear and concise, bullets make it easier for me to see what you have to offer. If you are going to make it hard for me to find the information I need to make my decision, I am going to make it hard for you to be employed. Use bullets.