How to Translate Your Summer into Powerful Resume Bullet Points

Welcome back to Boulder, Buffs! As you venture into the semester, taking a moment to reflect on your summer and properly documenting your experiences can be beneficial for your professional outlook. Not only does reflection help you process your experiences, it also helps you craft job and internship application materials, ready yourself for interviews and prepare for your career ahead. 

Employers often spend about 30 seconds scanning a resume so you want yours to stand out. It's wise to start with a good template (see the bottom of the Career Services Resume page for some examples!) before you craft bullet points. Here are four tips on writing powerful resume bullet points for your summer experience that can help get you hired!

Tip 1: Decide what you want to share

Whether you worked a job or internship this summer, built a business, volunteered locally or gained a skill certificate, translating your experience onto your resume starts with making sure you have every detail you need. Here are some items that can be really helpful when building resume bullet points:

• Your job or internship description
• A list of what you accomplished and worked on
• Anything measurable that you can demonstrate as an outcome of your efforts
• Positive testimonials
• Any portfolio items of things you’ve created 

Tip 2: Put it into writing

Start by listing out all that you achieved in the experience(s) you had this summer—don’t worry about making a perfect first draft. If you had an internship, for example, write out any work you accomplished. Taking time for this step can help you to recall achievements you may have forgotten or ideate on details that can sharpen your bullet points. Once you have everything written out, begin prioritizing your work; what is most impressive, unique or measurable about your summer experience? Remember, you want your resume to help you stand out from the crowd.

Tip 3: Create strong resume bullet points

Not all resume bullet points are created alike. Good bullet points are concise, start with a strong action verb, focus on your accomplishments and, if possible, share quantifiable results. Sentences should not exceed 20 words and should exclude the use of first-person pronouns (I, me, my) and articles (the, an, a). Refine your ideas into bullet points first, then go back and edit. When possible, insert quantifiable metrics like satisfaction ratings, sales, a bigger audience for social media, etc.

Tip 4: Ask someone else to review your resume

Getting a second opinion on your resume can be very helpful. Start with a simple spell check and then get your resume in front of someone else. At Career Services, we can help you through appointments and a tool called Quinncia that can make suggestions on your resume. You can also run your resume by family, friends and even past supervisors or people in your professional network. It might feel uncomfortable, but it is better to have someone review your resume before it reaches a recruiter or hiring manager’s hands!

As always, if you need support with writing your resume, a cover letter, or have any other questions related to your professional growth, connect with Career Services through chat, by scheduling an appointment or by attending events throughout the year!