Changing jobs
Rewrite your resume around results
A worksheet for turning a list of duties into evidence of what you'd do for them
Go through your resume one bullet at a time and rewrite each as what you accomplished, how it was measured, and how you did it.
- 45 minutes
- Just you
- Before a search
- Worksheet
Why this can work
A resume is read for what you might do next, and what you've already done is the best evidence of it. Duties describe the job anyone in that seat had; results describe what you did with it. Rewriting even a few bullets this way tends to make the whole page easier to believe.
Read moreHow to rewrite resume bullets as achievements
You’ll come away with a resume where each role shows what changed because you were there.
- Pick one role to start with.
Your most recent or your most relevant. Doing one role properly teaches you the pattern, and the rest go faster.
- List what you actually got done.
Projects, fixes, improvements, big and small. Don't write bullets yet. For each one, ask who was better off: your team, your manager, a customer, the company.
Tip: Old reviews, sent emails and project documents are good memory joggers.
- Rewrite each one as a result.
What you accomplished, how it was measured, and what you did to get there. Use numbers when you honestly have them; when you don't, name the concrete change.
You“Cut monthly reporting from three days to one by rebuilding the team's spreadsheet into a shared dashboard.”Tip: If it can't be measured, say what it made possible: faster onboarding, fewer escalations, a client who renewed.
- Keep the strongest and put them in order.
Three to five results per role is plenty. Lead with the one closest to the job you want, and cut any line that anyone in that role could have written.
- Read it as the hiring manager would.
For the job you're applying to, does each line answer the question of what you'd do for them? Adjust the order and emphasis for each application.
Good times to repeat it: before you start a searchwhen you're tailoring for a specific roleonce a year, even when you're not looking
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
The strongest lines often show how you helped a team, a manager or a customer get somewhere. That's also what a hiring manager is picturing: what you'd do for them.
What might make this harder
Look through old reviews, sent messages, project documents and calendars. Ask a former colleague what they remember you doing; they often recall things you've forgotten.
Questions people ask
How do I make my resume bullet points stronger?
Rewrite each as a result: what you accomplished, how it was measured, and how you did it. Lead with the outcome, and keep only the few results per role that matter most for the job you want.
What is the X-Y-Z resume formula?
A way of writing resume lines described by Laszlo Bock, formerly head of people operations at Google: accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z. It turns a duty into an outcome with evidence.
What if I don't have numbers for my resume?
Describe the concrete change instead: what got faster, better, cheaper or possible because of your work. A true result without a number beats an invented one.
Should my resume list responsibilities or achievements?
Mostly achievements. Responsibilities tell a reader what the job was; achievements tell them what you did with it, which is what they're trying to judge.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Most resumes read like job descriptions. Responsible for, managed, supported. That's understandable, because it's what the role asked of you, but it tells a reader very little they couldn't guess from the title. What a hiring manager is really trying to picture is what would change if you joined their team. The best evidence for that is what changed when you joined your last one.
The shape here comes from Laszlo Bock, who led people operations at Google, and what he called the X-Y-Z formula: accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z. It works because each part answers a question the reader already has. What did you get done? How do you know it worked? What did you actually do? Truest's version adds one more question as you go: who was better off? The strongest results usually show you making a team, a manager or a customer more successful, which is exactly what the next employer hopes you'll do for them.
People tend to go wrong in two ways. The first is chasing numbers so hard they stretch them; a figure you can't explain in an interview does more harm than no figure. The second is deciding their work has no results because nobody measured it. Almost every job changes something, even when nobody counted it. A calmer handoff, a process that stopped breaking, a new hire who got up to speed faster.
The rewrite also tends to change how you talk about yourself. After an hour of writing down what you actually got done, the question of what you did in your last role gets easier to answer, and it's hard to finish without feeling a little surer of what you bring. It's worth doing even when you aren't looking, while the details are still fresh.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Changing jobs
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.