Treat contribution, scale and result as questions to answer, not as boxes to fill in every bullet. Below are four rewrites with the reasoning behind each one, and a checklist for your own CV.
- Replace the responsibility with the action you took yourself.
- Start from the facts of your work, then choose the most significant evidence: a result, the scale, a decision or your contribution.
- Use a number only when you have one you can defend; do not force one into every line.
- Where there is no financial result, the scale, the decision taken or your own part can make the bullet concrete.
What a recruiter can use in a single bullet
Consulting firms screen for evidence of problem solving, ownership and impact. A bullet is useful when it answers at least one of the screener's implicit questions with specific facts.
| Part of the bullet | Question it answers | Weak version | Useful version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action | What did you do? | "Involved in", "responsible for" | "Analysed", "redesigned", "led", "negotiated" |
| Scale | How big or complex was it? | No context | Spend, volume, team size, sites, time frame |
| Result | What changed because of it? | "Improved the process" | The measured change, or the decision adopted |
A bullet can be strong with two of the three parts, or even one, if what it says is specific and true.
Four before-and-after examples
All four examples are fictional and written for this article. The context note before each rewrite lists the facts the candidate would have; nothing appears in the "after" version that is not in the note. Bold marks the facts the rewrite uses.
Three-month summer internship at a logistics company. The intern analysed picking data from two warehouses over three months, found that fast-moving items were stored far from packing stations, and proposed moving them. The manager piloted the new layout in one warehouse, where average picking time fell from 6.0 to 5.1 minutes per order.
Helped the warehouse team with data analysis.
Analysed three months of data across two warehouses and proposed a layout change; pilot-site picking time fell from 6.0 to 5.1 minutes per order.
"Helped" becomes a specific analysis and a recommendation. The scope shows the work was substantial for an intern, and the result is limited to the pilot site, which is exactly what the candidate can claim.
Head of a six-person sector team in a student investment club for one academic year. Introduced a shared screening template for the team and presented nine stock pitches to the club, four of which the club voted into its portfolio.
Member of the student investment club.
Led a six-person sector team in the student investment club, introduced a shared screening template and presented nine stock pitches, four adopted by the club.
"Member" hides the leadership role. The rewrite shows team size, an initiative the candidate started and an outcome judged by others, without inventing investment returns.
Procurement manager at a manufacturer, responsible for the packaging category, about €12M annual spend. Over one year, reduced the supplier base from nine to four and renegotiated contracts, generating €0.9M in recurring annual savings, confirmed by finance.
Responsible for supplier negotiations in the packaging category.
Consolidated packaging suppliers from nine to four across a €12M annual spend and renegotiated terms, delivering €0.9M (7.5%) in recurring annual savings.
The responsibility becomes two actions. The €12M spend gives the savings their weight, and the percentage (0.9 ÷ 12 = 7.5%) shows the size of the result at a glance. Here the number is the strongest evidence available, and finance has confirmed it.
Project coordinator at a public hospital. No financial data was tracked. Led a working group of nursing, IT and administrative staff from three departments to redesign patient intake. Compared two options, a central admission desk and digital pre-registration; management approved digital pre-registration on the group's recommendation. Trained 40 staff for the rollout.
Worked on the hospital's new patient intake process.
Coordinated three hospital departments to redesign patient intake, secured approval for digital pre-registration after comparing two options, and trained 40 staff for the rollout.
There is no saving to quote, and none is invented. The bullet becomes specific through scale, a real decision between two options, and the candidate's own contribution.
The four pairs side by side
| Profile | Before | Evidence brought out |
|---|---|---|
| Student, internship | Helped the warehouse team with data analysis. | Specific analysis, scope, result limited to the pilot |
| Student, leadership | Member of the student investment club. | Role, initiative, outcome judged by others |
| Professional, financial result | Responsible for supplier negotiations. | Actions, scale, verified result |
| Professional, no financial result | Worked on the new patient intake process. | Scale, decision, contribution |
Each rewrite brings out different evidence, because each piece of work had different facts behind it.
How to read a rewrite: an annotated example
The annotation below takes example 3 apart. It shows why each element is there in this particular bullet, not a pattern that every bullet must copy.
"Delivering €0.9M in savings" invites the follow-up question "How did you measure that?". If finance confirmed it, you have a good answer. If the figure is your own estimate, say so ("estimated"), or describe the change without the number.
Interviewers often pick a bullet from your CV and ask you to explain it in detail. A number you cannot explain does more damage than no number at all, so never invent or inflate one.
When your work has no number
Many roles never produce a financial result you can claim: research, public sector, early-stage projects, internal tools. That does not make the bullet weak. Look at what is most significant in the work, and use one or more of these kinds of detail, as far as they are true.
How many people, teams, sites, users, documents or weeks the work involved.
The options you compared and what was chosen as a result.
What you personally did, as opposed to what the team did.
Example 4 happens to use all three, but one well-chosen detail is often enough. For the structure of the whole CV around these bullets, with a complete annotated example, read the consulting CV guide.
Rewrites that do not help
- Invented or rounded-up numbers. If the "after" contains a figure that is not in your records, remove it.
- Forcing every bullet into the same shape. A number squeezed into a line where it does not matter makes the bullet longer, not stronger.
- Stacking every result into one line. Two bullets with one clear result each read better than one bullet with four.
- Vocabulary instead of evidence. "Spearheaded" in place of "worked on" changes nothing if the bullet still does not say what you did and what it achieved.
- Team results written as personal ones. Say "led", "contributed to" or "as part of a team of five" according to what actually happened.
Checklist: review your own bullets
Go through each bullet of your CV and tick what is true. Reset the list for the next bullet.
CV review by a former BCG recruiter
Turn your experience into stronger CV bullets
Franco personally reviews your CV line by line, identifies your strongest achievements and rewrites the bullets on a consulting-specific template. The review can cover consulting applications broadly or target your chosen firms. If a result or detail is missing, he asks you for it. Your cover letter is included.
- US$239 for the CV and cover letter review
- First version within 3 days of having all the information needed
- One round of final adjustments, with personal follow-up by email
Satisfaction guarantee: ask for a refund within 2 days of receiving the first version. Review terms.
Make your achievements easy to recognise and your contribution easy to understand. Start your CV and cover letter review for personal help with both the wording and the template.
About Franco
Franco Borgonovo
Former BCG Principal · 10-year tenure · Official BCG coachFranco spent ten years at BCG, from intern to Principal, interviewing and selecting candidates as a global lead recruiter. He is still an official BCG coach for new hires, and today works one to one with candidates on applications, McKinsey Solve and interviews.
More about Franco →