How to describe work experience on resume, linking, and cover letter

ChristineTran·Sep 28, 2022

Posted in:Advice Early Career Job Hunting Career Growth

I'm confused on how to address my experience on my resume, LinkedIn, and cover letter. Bullet points or just text?

If I'm using bullet points, can I have the same bullet points, word for word, on both my resume and LinkedIn? I've seen on LinkedIn a variety of people using either bullet points or a summation of what they've done for a role. Would have the same word for word information be redundant?

In terms of cover letter, can we use the bullet point experiences as text via talking points within the cover letter?

I find myself repeating the same content. It's confusing me.

Thank you

annamiller·Sep 28, 2022

Hey Christine, what kind of roles are you applying for? You can certainly repeat a lot of your information on LI and your resume. The formatting and way you describe your experiences can vary based on what you want to highlight and how you format the resume since in LI you have the constraints of the profile. It's OK to repeat yourself since the profile on LI versus your resume is intended for different audiences at different stage of the job search process.

veraho·Sep 30, 2022

I would recommend doing different formats for each type of document. Personally, I use bullet points on the resume because you only have a page or two of space and you want to get to the point quickly. I generally do bullet points too for LinkedIn but I think that's much more flexible because it's like a resume without a space restriction. You're also able to express yourself more online so text should be acceptable. Just make sure to keep it consistent within each document. For the cover letter, it's mostly text because you are talking to someone. It can be good to reinforce some points in the cover letter with bullet points though. Remember that your cover letter isn't the space where you tell a hiring manager what you accomplished at previous roles - they have your resume and LinkedIn for that. The cover letter is for you to convey why you are the best match for the job beyond your work/school experience. Use it to convey transferable skills, soft skills, goals that align with the company's, cultural fit, values, etc.You can definitely repeat yourself between the resume and LinkedIn but again, it's a space where you can add extra information without space restrictions, so if you have points you would like to add, do it!

RachelDrye·Oct 03, 2022

Hi Christine! I've recently gone through a career change and spent lots of time updating these documents. It's exhausting. For my resume and LinkedIn, I kept both of these very similar. There were instances where I copied the bullet points verbatim because it's unrealistic to expect people to constantly update both of these with different but similar descriptions of the same experiences. For the Cover Letter, think of it as an expansion or a conversational piece about those experiences on your resume. It's less rigid and is written in paragraph format versus bullet points or a list. This is an opportunity for you to relate your experience to the job description and highlight why you are the right hire for the position. I like to describe it as emphasizing your personal value. Good luck and I hope this helps!

lainelewis·Oct 12, 2022

Hi Christine, I agree with Rachel below and an also wrapping up a two-month job search now. I've spent more hours than I can count updated my resume and LinkedIn. Let me forward to you the advice I got from the outplacement service I was working with. The company that I was restructured out of was generous and provided this service. I took full advantage and asked him a ton of questions. I was told that LinkedIn should match your resume. My LinkedIn profile matches, verbatim, for all of what is on my resume barring one bullet point that simply would not fit on the resume, and the experience not included to fit my resume on two pages where there is no limit on LinkedIn. I actually like the verbatim format as it's easier when you make changes, and this consultant said they should match.The biggest key take-away I got from him was to include results where applicable. He did say there are times when no result is fine, but most of my bullet points have results, even if some are not quantifiable, it's a result versus a job description bullet point. For some samples, you are more than welcome to look me up on LinkedIn (same name, same photo). You can see how those are structured.And this part was new for me about the cover letter. He actually said the majority don't read it, even when they ask for one because of the number of candidates they get. They may read it if you can get past the first round, but his point was that the cover letter is more of a bullet point list. It has an opening paragraph and then used the bullet points of the job as the item and the bullets under it are the bullets from your resume/profile that show you have that skill or ability. From his perspective, it's todays new cover letter. Now, I also told him my focus was using LinkedIn, so keep that in mind. I found my last job on there, and the one I'm finalizing now as well. Here is a generic sample of this type of cover letter.--------------------------------------------------------After following ABC Company on LinkedIn, I am very interested in working with your organization and believe I can provide value to your team. The recent posting for Senior Staff Accountant is a great match with my experience as I have outlined for you below:Bachelors Degree in Accounting or Finance, CPA, MBA preferred• BA in Accounting and International Business. CPA. MBA expected in 20XX.4-7 years accounting experience in large corporate environment• 7+ years working for 2 multinational organizations at corporate office and field locations. • Successful in both matrix and traditional environments. Acquisition experience. Knowledge of Oracle financials• 6 years using Oracle platform. Regularly generated reports using Oracle financial tools. • Assisted in implementation of Oracle migration in acquisition project.Organized, self-starter, able to manage multiple projects simultaneously• Organized projects and delivered results ahead of schedule. • Worked with business leaders in multiple divisions simultaneously to prioritize and clarify goals. • Created and led implementation plans. Regularly balanced competing priorities against challenging timelines.Excellent communication skills• Communicated in writing and verbally with internal business partners and auditors. Drafted statements for broad distribution. • Presented technical information to non-technical audiences. • Negotiated contracts with external resources.Strong knowledge MS Office including Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint• Advanced user of MS Office Suite since 20xx.Sincerely,include you info herexxxxxxxxxxxxxx-----------------------------------Now, all that said, I never actually created one of these because I didn't need to and it's something you would have to craft specific to the position and take some time. I liked the idea, and understand where he was coming from, but I used the more conversational version Rachel mentions when needed. You could combine the two formats maybe with the bulk of the conversational text below the bullets in case the reader only spends 60 seconds on it. Make it easy for them to want ot talk to you. Most of what I have seen and heard is that cover letters are not as much of a thing anymore. I only submitted them for jobs that made me fill out their form on their website and there was a spot to uplooad one. Otherwise, it's not getting me hired, my resume or profile is. It's more gravy than anything. I hope this helps, and best of luck in your search. Don't give up hope. There are still literally MILLIONS of jobs open. Ignore what the media says and stay positive and excited.

danapuskarich·Oct 13, 2022

Hi @lainelewis - when you said you've been using LinkedIn to find a job and have found one on there in the past are you using "Easy Apply" or finding a connection? I'd love to know as I'm trying to end this long-term job search. Thanks! Dana

lainelewis·Oct 14, 2022

I very rarely used the Easy Apply as I always felt like it just puts you in a black whole of resumes. I've used recruiters instead. I happen to have a highly in demand skill set, so most of the time recruiters reach out to me. I do believe a great deal of that has to do with having tweaked my resume extensively to work best in the LinkedIn search. I also make changes every couple of weeks to keep my profile in the search even if it’s a silly change that makes no difference, like in sentence structure, then I then go back in two weeks and change back. I heard that if you make changes the search algorithm sees you as continuous active and your profile comes up more in the search. I feel like it did help as I pay for the premium service and can see how many people looked at my profile and how many searches my profile came up in. I do think it's a bit unfair that you have to pay for the premium service, but I know it makes a difference. When I took a new job the last time and cancelled the service, my number shot way down almost immediately. Something else I have done that has worked is reaching out directly to the recruiter that posted the position, but this was through in-mail which I believe you get only with the premium service. I think the max is five times you can do this. I reached out to two recruiters that way and got an interview with one. And lastly for LinkedIn, search for jobs and look at Posts (not Jobs). Lots of recruiters post jobs in their feed and you can just reply directly to them with a comment that you are interested. I also use Indeed. I've had good luck with Indeed as well. You don't have to do as much management there and the service isn't paid. I have found jobs on there that were not on LinkedIn also. Their automated features send you suggested jobs and I did get enough direct communications to call it worth using for sure.