# Action + What + Impact — Resume & GitHub Portfolio

Source: https://www.skillbyai.com/en/resume-portfolio/b-formula

> A simple pattern for clear bullets.

## Start with a verb, end with a result

A strong bullet usually has three parts: an **action verb** describing your role (built, designed, migrated, led, debugged), **what** you worked on including relevant technology, and the **impact** or outcome (faster, more reliable, cheaper, used by whom, unblocked what). Use your own contribution: write "I designed" level verbs only for work you designed, and say "with two teammates" or "contributed to" when the work was shared. Keep each bullet to one or two lines, put the most important bullets first in each role, and avoid starting with weak phrases like "responsible for" or "worked on", which describe duties rather than achievements.

## Every line shows what you did and why it mattered

Strong bullets combine an action, the work itself and its result, stated honestly.

![Three ideas: the bullet formula, honest quantification, and rewriting weak bullets.](assets/figures/resume-portfolio/section-3-map.svg) — Figure 3.1 — Action, what and impact; honest numbers; before and after rewrites.

## The pattern with examples

Fictional company and numbers.

```text
Pattern:  <action verb> + <what, with key tech> + <impact / outcome>

- Built a CSV import tool in Python for the support team at Northwind Logistics,
  replacing a manual copy-paste process for weekly carrier updates.
- Migrated the order service from a cron job to a queue-based worker (RabbitMQ),
  which removed the nightly backlog reported by operations.
- Led, with two teammates, the redesign of the checkout form in React,
  adding validation that reduced support tickets about failed payments.

Weak openers to avoid: "Responsible for...", "Worked on...", "Helped with..."
```

## A headline with a subtitle

The verb and the work are the headline; the impact is the subtitle that tells the reader why the story matters.

**Quiz:** Which bullet follows the action + what + impact pattern?

- [x] Built a caching layer with Redis for the product API, cutting repeated database reads for popular pages
- [ ] Responsible for backend
- [ ] Worked on many projects using various technologies
- [ ] Team player with good communication skills

*Answer:* Built a caching layer with Redis for the product API, cutting repeated database reads for popular pages. It names the action, the work and the outcome.