Introduction
Creating strong resume job descriptions stands as the central part of your entire job application method. The scanning of resumes by recruiters takes an average of 7.4 seconds before they determine if they will proceed with considering the candidate. Your job description sections must create a lasting impact in the time span of just 7.4 seconds.
This complete directive shows you everything you need to understand about making outstanding descriptions for resumes that double as achievement displays and skill showcases to get your perfect job. Your mastery of resume job description writing is mandatory for succeeding in the current job market especially when creating new resumes or updating previous ones.
What Is a Job Description on a Resume?
The resume job description presents a detailed overview of your professional background arranged by date which starts with your most current position. Professional activities described in resumes differ from usual job descriptions written by companies as they highlight your individual achievements at previous positions.
A well-written resume job description converts run-of-the-mill duty lists into marketing elements which display your worth to prospective employers. These statements show readers both the activities you carried out and the quality of your performance along with your tangible outcomes.
Why Resume Job Descriptions Matter
The resume job description blocks are the main body of your professional history. Here’s why they’re so crucial:
- First Impression – Based on a 2023 report by TopResume, 68% of hiring managers mostly make their hiring decisions based on the quality of the job description in resumes
- Keyword Optimization – In a time when 99% of all Fortune 500 businesses use applicant tracking programs (ATS), you need the right keywords in the job description, resume sections for clearing the initial screen
- Diversification – With an average of 250+ applicants per corporate job (Glassdoor), your resume job description must make you stand out from the rest
- Tangible Value – A good job description is going to show what you can do in tangible terms, it’s going to show the proof of it.
How to Write Job Description on Resume: The Step-by-Step Process
- Analyze the target job
- Format job description
- Write achievement focused bullet points
- Quantify your achievements
- Tailor your job descriptions to each applications
- Use power verbs to begin with each bullet point
Analyze The Target Job
Before you begin to write the resume job descriptions, research the position you are applying for:
- Check the job posting for key qualifications and responsibilities
- Identify industry-specific keywords and phrases
- Look up the company culture and values
- Record needed skills, experiences and qualifications
Format Job Description
Your job description on your resume should be formatted in the following manner:
- Company name and location
- Your job title Date of employment (month / year to month / year)
- 3-6 bullet points on accomplishments and job functions
- Quantifiable results whenever possible
Example Format :
COMPANY NAME, City, State | Month Year – Month Year
Job Title
• Achievement-focused bullet point with quantifiable result
• Achievement-focused bullet point with quantifiable result
• Achievement-focused bullet point with quantifiable result
Write Achievement Focused Bullet Points
This is a major area that many people get it wrong whenever they are in the process of searching for a job. While developing and preparing resumes in relation to jobs that should be done, it is essential to consider achievements rather than merely the tasks to be accomplished.
Scholars offer the following when it comes to the formula of correctly crafted bullet points: Action Verb + Task + Result/Impact.
For example:
Less favorable: “Responsible for the operation of the social media accounts.”
More specific sample: “Increased the number of followers on the Instagram account from 5K to 15K within 6 months due to a content calendar and various engagement techniques.”
Quantify Your Achievements
In writing the job descriptions in resumes, numbers also go a long way in influencing such descriptions. This is as highlighted by a study by LinkedIn on the resumes where it established that those that contained quantifyable goals and achievements got 40% more interview invitations.
Examples of quantification in resume job descriptions:
- Percentage increases/decreases
- Dollar amounts
- Time saved
- Volume of work
- Rankings
- Team size managed
Modifying the Job Description Depending On The Particular Application
What are the most important factors to be included while thinking how to write a job description for a resume ? How do we define job description with proper impact on the employer? Make sure that you input certain parameters based on the job position.
- You should review your work history with a view of identifying some experience.
- In this case, the career-related accomplishments should be most closely related to the target position.
- Repeat words from the job posting into your job description in your resume
- If someone is shifting from one industry to another, the major focus should be to put on transferable skills.
Using Power Verbs At the Beginning Of Bullet Points
Always begin any of the points that are outlined in your job description resume section with appropriate action verbs.
- Leadership verbs: Directed, Managed, Led, Supervised, Coordinated
- Achievement verbs: Achieved, Exceeded, Improved, Increased, Reduced
- Communication verbs: Presented, Negotiated, Persuaded, Authored, Influenced
- Technical verbs: Developed, Programmed, Engineered, Designed, Implemented
How Long Should Job Description Be on Resume?
This brings another parallel question to the forum concerning the number of bullet points in the job description sections. Data suggests the following :
| Experience Level | Recommended Number of Bullet Points | Ideal Length Per Bullet |
| Entry-Level | 2-4 bullet points | 1-2 lines |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 bullet points | 1-2 lines |
| Senior-Level | 4-6 bullet points | 1-2 lines |
In terms of space, your most recent experience should have the most robust description, and older positions should have progressively lesser bullet points.
How Many Job Descriptions on Resume Should You Include?
How many job descriptions should be on the resume depends on the career level of an applicant together with relevance of the previous positions.
- For professionals with less than 10 years of experience: Include all relevant positions
- Senior Level above 10 Years of experience: emphasize on experience of past one to one-and-a half decade.
- For career changers: Emphasize transferable skills in your job description resume sections
- Resume guidelines require listing of between 3-5 sections of employment, most preferably, the recent and related ones.
Most Common Errors Candidates Make When Writing Resume Job Descriptions
- Avoid generic phrases: Be careful while using such generalizations as ‘Responsible for customer service’, because they do not make you stand out from the crowd. The antidote to this is to avoid listing only activities and duties assigned to your role and your team but rather what you and your team completed in the role out of the said duties and responsibilities.
- Hierarchy and bulleting: Some of the points in the essay have subheads and bullets and some do not. In addition, some of these subheads are phrased differently, making the formatting confusing.
- Omission of useful information: It is essential to ensure that any information included in the job description resume section bears a specific purpose of application.
- Avoid the use of first person pronouns such as “I” an “my”: it is best to avoid any use of such phrases in a resume job description
Resume Job Description Examples
Engineering Job Description
Software Developer, TechCorp Inc., Seattle, WA | June 2022 – Present
- Designed and implement a microservice-based application to decrease the system load time by 40% as well as increase customer satisfaction by 27%
- Collaborated with UX team in creating new front-end design, which led to the improvement of customers engagement rate by 32%
- Automated tested procedures which helped in cutting down the QA hours by 15 hours of per sprint and production bugs reduced by 62%
Marketing Personnel
Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Sutton, Sakalakis & Johnson, Chicago, Il | March 2020 – May 2022
- Implemented SEM from scratch across the whole company, managing to improve conversion rates by 45% and significantly cut the cost of each conversion by 28%.
- Oversaw $1.2M yearly digital marketing spend through five branches and product lines to achieve 3.2 x ROI
- Defined the content marketing plan that we achieved over 15,000 lead captures of target audience and to the total amount of $2.3M in relation to that.
Healthcare Professional
Registered Nurse, Memorial Hospital, Boston, MA | January 2019 – February 2022
- Assuming the role of an ER trained nurse took care of up to 8 patients at a time within the busy Camden emergency department that addresses over 85,000 cases per year.
- Introduced a new patient handoff mechanism that reduced medical errors by 32% and also increased the department HCAHPS score by 18%.
- Supervised 12 nursing students and new entry level employees of nursing, and out of these, nine transitioned to full-time employment in the hospital system
Conclusion
Thus, it is important to learn how to write a job description on resume documents is an essential business skills of the present day.
Achievements over responsibilities, measures and ratios, and job-specific resumes are some of the ways that will help you get the best resume. Do not forget that your resume job description sections are not only the record of your working experience, but they are also the powerful advertisement pieces that emphasize your strengths and the qualities you may bring to the job.
Invest the time into making them excellent and they will be your biggest and most effective allies in the job search process. Applying the concepts provided in this guide the first time or when updating your existing resume will enhance your chances of getting interviewed for and being hired for the desired job.