How to Write the Experience Section of Your CV

The experience section is the heart of your CV. It is where employers decide whether you can do the job, so every line should help prove it.

Basic structure of each entry

• Job title
• Company name and location
• Dates of employment (month and year)
• 3 to 6 bullet points

List roles in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent first.

Use a simple bullet formula

Start with an action verb, say what you did, and finish with the result or scale.

• Led a 6-person sales team and increased quarterly revenue by 18%
• Redesigned the onboarding process, shortening training time from four weeks to three
• Handled 60+ customer queries daily with a 95% satisfaction rating

Strong action verbs

• Led, managed, coordinated
• Built, developed, designed
• Improved, increased, reduced
• Launched, implemented, streamlined
• Analyzed, negotiated, trained

Focus on achievements, not duties

Duties describe what the job requires. Achievements describe what you actually accomplished. Compare Responsible for social media with Grew Instagram following from 2,000 to 9,000 in six months through weekly video content.

Tailor to the job

Read the job description and move the most relevant achievements to the top. Use keywords from the posting where they truthfully apply.

Handling short or unrelated roles

Briefly list them with one or two bullets or group them under Other experience. Emphasize transferable skills.

Mistakes to avoid

• Long paragraphs instead of bullets
• Using I or my in each line
• Listing every task you ever did
• Inconsistent date formats
• Typos and vague words like various or many