Resume Format: Problem Action Result


What resume format should you use when putting your job accomplishment bullet points together?

Specifically, how should you structure the text in your resume to get the best and biggest positive impact that will result in more interviews?

Hiring managers hire someone because they have a problem that they need solved. Therefore your resume needs to clearly illustrate your accomplishments, proof of the problems that you’ve solved.

When you are putting your resume together and are typing your bullet points describing each job you’ve held, remember that you’re not putting together a job description.

You need to type your bullet points to describe your accomplishments and achievements, not simply state what you did in that position.

A good way to accomplish this is to structure each point with the following format:

Problem, Action, Result.

Here it is explained in more detail:

Problem: Explain a problem or situation that arose in your job.

Action: Explain the action that you took to deal with and solve the problem or situation described above.

Result: Explain the result of the action you undertook to solve the problem or situation described above.

Specifically, let’s say you are a sales manager and you have a group of sales staff who aren’t meeting their sales quotas. You decide to retrain the staff in sales techniques to improve their sales skills and as a result profitability increased by 15%. Here is how you could structure the bullet point in your resume:

The problem you faced was underachieving sales staff, the action you took was to retrain the staff, and the result was an increase in profitability of 15%.

Doesn’t this sound better and more impactful than simply saying “Managed sales staff” or something similar to this?

Not only does the first example contain far more detail, it uses action verbs such as “upskilled” and uses specific numbers to describe the number of staff in question and the specific result of the action, an increase in profitability of 15%.

In short, your bullet points should include as much detail as possible and should use action verbs that explain not what just what you did in the job, but what you accomplished.

Hiring managers want to read about your accomplishments not simply a rehash of your job description.

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Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter who wants to help you find your dream career.

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Source: Job-Interview-Advice.net

Choosing the best  resume format is critical when writing a resume. We have resources available that provide resume format samples and examples. Take the time to read our article, "Your Resume Format - Problem Action Result."