How to Write the Work Experience Section of Your CV
For most candidates, the work experience section is where the interview is won or lost. It's also where people make the most mistakes — listing duties instead of results, or burying their best work in a wall of text. Here's how to write it so a recruiter sees your value in seconds.
Pick the right order for your situation
Before writing a single bullet, choose the structure that flatters your situation, because the same experience can land very differently depending on order. Reverse-chronological — your newest job first — is the default, and it's what recruiters and ATS software expect, so use it unless you have a clear reason not to. If you have employment gaps or you're switching fields, a skills-led (functional) layout can shift focus toward what you can do rather than a patchy timeline. A combination format works best when you have a strong, continuous history and want to highlight key competencies up top.
Whichever you pick, every entry needs the same header so a recruiter can orient instantly: job title, company, location, and start-to-end dates. Keep the date formatting identical throughout — mixing styles looks careless and can confuse an ATS. Get the structure and headers right first, and writing the bullets underneath becomes the easy part.
Write achievements, not a job description
Under each role, add three to five bullets — and make them results, not responsibilities. Anyone can be "responsible for managing social media." Far fewer can say "Grew Instagram following from 4k to 22k in eight months, driving 15% of new signups."
Use the simple formula: strong verb + what you did + the measurable result. Lead with the verb, end with the number.
Quantify everything you honestly can
Numbers turn vague claims into proof. Percentages, amounts, team sizes, timeframes, and volumes all work: "reduced costs by 18%," "led a team of 9," "shipped 3 releases per quarter." If you don't have exact figures, a reasonable, honest estimate is still stronger than no number.
Tailor and trim for the role
Mirror the keywords from the job description where they genuinely apply — the ATS and the recruiter both reward the match. Give your most relevant roles the most space, and compress or drop old, unrelated jobs. Recent and relevant beats complete.
Polish your bullets with write.cv
Stuck turning a duty into an achievement? write.cv's AI rewrites flat bullet points into sharp, results-focused lines while keeping them true to you — in Arabic and English. Paste your draft, refine, and watch your ATS score climb.