CV section: bullet points or paragraph?

[KetchupQueen]

I was under the impression that the CV section of one's application should be kept succinct, and well, in CV-like form with bullet points. However, a friend who has been successful in securing a TC at a top firm told me she had written out her work experience more elaborately, as an explanatory paragraph. Is one method preferable over the other? Do bullet points look lazy or organised?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I was under the impression that the CV section of one's application should be kept succinct, and well, in CV-like form with bullet points. However, a friend who has been successful in securing a TC at a top firm told me she had written out her work experience more elaborately, as an explanatory paragraph. Is one method preferable over the other? Do bullet points look lazy or organised?

I’d say bullet points are best in the vast majority of situations when it is a CV.

It is different if you are writing it within an application though. If your friend wrote this in an application form it would be a different approach.

 

[axelbeugre]

I was under the impression that the CV section of one's application should be kept succinct, and well, in CV-like form with bullet points. However, a friend who has been successful in securing a TC at a top firm told me she had written out her work experience more elaborately, as an explanatory paragraph. Is one method preferable over the other? Do bullet points look lazy or organised?

@Jessica Booker is right in this, using bullet points on CV is widely accepted and way better to structure everything in a succinct and concise way.

The situation changes when it comes to law firm applications. Many in fact seems to prefer more written out descriptions of what you did and also the skills you've developed.

I totally understand your confusion because when I started applying last year I was using bullet points, however attending an event at a law firm made me aware that graduate recruitment themselves do want written descriptions and tend to disregard bullet points.