How to Write a Powerful CV Work Experience Section

The work experience section carries more weight in a recruiter's assessment than any other part of your CV. It is where they look for evidence of what you can actually do, not just what you say you can do. A weak experience section filled with vague job descriptions will lose the attention of a recruiter in seconds. A strong one that quantifies achievements and demonstrates progressive responsibility creates a compelling case for an interview.

Start with the format. Each work experience entry should include your job title, the company name, the location (city at minimum), and the dates of employment. Use the month and year format: "March 2022 to present" is more informative than "2022 to present." If you have many short positions, years alone may be preferable to avoid drawing attention to gaps. Below those details, write three to five bullet points, or in clean prose format if that matches your CV's style, describing what you did and what you achieved.

The distinction between describing duties and demonstrating achievements is the single most impactful upgrade most people can make to their CV. "Responsible for managing social media accounts" describes a duty. "Grew Instagram engagement by forty percent in six months by redesigning content strategy and introducing a consistent posting schedule" demonstrates achievement. The second version is more compelling because it is specific, it shows initiative, and it has a measurable outcome.

Action verbs set the tone for each entry. Words like "led," "built," "launched," "reduced," "delivered," "negotiated," and "redesigned" imply ownership and initiative. Words like "assisted," "helped," and "supported" imply a supporting role. Choose your verbs deliberately. If you actually led something, say you led it. Self-deprecating language in a CV does not signal humility; it signals that you may not have done much.

Quantify wherever possible. Numbers stand out visually and they make abstract claims concrete. "Managed a budget" is weaker than "Managed a marketing budget of two hundred thousand euros annually." "Improved customer satisfaction" is weaker than "Improved Net Promoter Score from forty-two to sixty-eight over twelve months." You do not need numbers for every bullet point, but aim for at least one quantified achievement per role.

Tailor the emphasis of each experience entry to the role you are applying for. You do not need to rewrite your entire work history for every application, but highlighting different aspects of the same role for different jobs is both legitimate and effective. If you are applying for a management role, emphasise the times you led teams. If you are applying for a technical role, lead with the technical depth of your work.

For older roles, shorter entries are appropriate. Your role from fifteen years ago matters less than your last two positions and should take up proportionally less space. A general rule is that roles more than ten years old warrant three bullet points at most, and roles more than fifteen years old can often be summarised in a single line without detail.

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