How to Describe Work Experience on Your CV (With Powerful Examples)

The biggest mistake people make in their work experience section? Writing job descriptions instead of achievement statements. "Responsible for managing social media" tells employers what you were supposed to do. It says nothing about whether you were actually good at it.

The Achievement Formula

Every bullet point should follow this structure:

Action Verb + What You Did + Result/Impact

Instead of "Responsible for sales," write "Increased regional sales by 34% ($1.2M) through implementing new client outreach strategy."

Before and After Examples

• Responsible for managing team of sales representatives • Handled customer complaints • Created monthly reports

• Led team of 8 sales representatives to achieve 127% of quarterly target, ranking #1 in region • Resolved customer escalations with 94% satisfaction rate, reducing churn by 18% • Developed automated reporting dashboard, saving 10 hours weekly across department

Power Verbs by Function

• Leadership: Led, Managed, Directed, Spearheaded, Orchestrated
• Achievement: Achieved, Exceeded, Delivered, Surpassed, Earned
• Creation: Built, Created, Developed, Designed, Launched
• Improvement: Improved, Enhanced, Streamlined, Optimized, Transformed
• Analysis: Analyzed, Identified, Discovered, Evaluated, Assessed

How to Quantify When Numbers Aren't Obvious

Not every job has obvious metrics. But you can almost always find numbers:

• Team sizes you worked with or managed
• Budget amounts you handled
• Number of projects completed
• Percentage improvements (even estimates)
• Time saved through efficiency gains
• Number of clients/customers served

Formatting Work Experience

For each role, include:

• Job title — Clear and accurate
• Company name and location
• Dates of employment — Month/Year to Month/Year
• 3-5 bullet points — Your key achievements

SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER Acme Technology Inc., San Francisco, CA | Jan 2021 – Present • Grew marketing-attributed revenue from $2M to $8M annually through integrated campaign strategy • Built and led team of 5 marketers, establishing processes that improved productivity by 40% • Launched product positioning that increased conversion rates by 65% across all channels • Reduced customer acquisition cost by 28% while scaling spend from $500K to $2M annually