The XYZ formula: how to describe your experience with results
"Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]": this sentence from Laszlo Bock, Google's former head of People Operations, turns a list of duties into achievements. It works in every profession, on one condition: never make up the measure.
Where does the XYZ formula come from?
In September 2014, Laszlo Bock, then SVP of People Operations at Google, published a LinkedIn article called "My Personal Formula for a Winning Resume". His advice was to write each achievement as "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]".
In his words: start with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal. His own example goes from "Studied financial performance of companies and made investment recommendations" to "Improved portfolio performance by 12% ($1.2M) over one year by refining cost of capital calculations…".
The three parts: X, Y and Z
| Part | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| X: the result | What did you achieve or change? | Cut late deliveries |
| Y: the measure | How can someone see it? How much, compared with what? | from 9% to 3% of orders in six months |
| Z: the method | What exactly did you do? | by redesigning delivery rounds and the picking schedule |
You don't have to keep the words "as measured by": most good lines simply start with a verb and a result, slot the figure in where it reads best, and end with "by…". What matters is that all three parts are there.
Before and after: examples from six jobs
The examples below are made up: the figures show the shape of a good line, they are not numbers to borrow. Yours have to come from your own results.
Before: Responsible for prospecting new clients and managing accounts. After: Won 18 new SME accounts in a year (portfolio up from 40 to 58 clients) by targeting business parks in my territory and following up every quote within 48 hours.
Before: Delivered patient care on a busy ward. After: Cared for up to 8 patients per shift on an acute medical ward and reduced missed handover items by introducing a handover checklist adopted by the night team.
Before: Served customers, handled tills and replenished stock. After: Raised average basket value in my department from £34 to £41 over a quarter by recommending matching accessories and moving add-on products next to the tills.
Before: Processed supplier invoices. After: Brought supplier invoice processing time down from 15 to 5 working days by setting up an e-mail approval route and a shared tracking spreadsheet.
Before: Taught a Year 2 class. After: Helped 20 of 24 Year 2 pupils reach the expected reading standard, measured by autumn and summer assessments, by running daily small-group phonics sessions.
Before: Picked orders and loaded lorries. After: Picked up to 180 orders a day with an error rate under 1% by applying double scan checks, and trained two agency workers in the method.
No numbers? Six other ways to measure
Many jobs don't come with a dashboard. The measure (Y) can then be something other than a percentage, as long as it is true and checkable:
- Scope: a budget, a number of sites, a floor area, a catalogue ("a fleet of 300 laptops").
- Frequency: daily, weekly, every month-end ("40 inbound calls a day").
- People: how many customers, patients, pupils, or colleagues you managed or trained.
- Time: a deadline met or shortened ("delivered two weeks before opening").
- Quality: zero complaints, a passed audit, a procedure the whole team adopted, an award.
- Before / after: something that didn't exist and does now because of you ("the department's first shared rota").
If you don't know a figure, don't guess one to sound impressive: an interviewer may ask where it comes from. Write the result without a measure, or with one of the forms above. A rough figure you can justify ("around 30 cases a month") is fine.
How many bullet points per job?
There is no official rule, but a simple guide: three to five bullets for recent jobs or those closest to the role, one or two for older ones. Not every line has to follow XYZ: a context line ("team of 6, 800 m² store") helps the others make sense. Put first the achievements that speak to the job you want, as explained in our guide to tailoring your CV to a job.
Strong verbs to start with
An action verb in the past tense (present tense for your current job) says straight away what you did. Pick it to match the result:
| To show… | Verbs |
|---|---|
| growth | increased, grew, doubled, won, expanded |
| lower cost or time | reduced, cut, shortened, saved, streamlined |
| something new | set up, created, launched, designed, introduced |
| leadership | led, coordinated, managed, organised, planned |
| passing on skills | trained, coached, mentored, onboarded |
Mistakes to avoid
- Inventing or inflating the measure: the one mistake that can cost you the job even after you are hired. Be ready to explain every figure in an interview.
- Numbers everywhere: "3 meetings a week" says nothing about a result. A figure should show an effect or a meaningful scale.
- Forgetting the Z: a result without a method looks like luck. The "by…" part shows your skill.
- Taking credit for a team's work: write "as part of a team of 5" or say what your share was.
- Three-line bullets: an achievement should be readable at a glance. Cut anything that doesn't help.
These lines also pay off in interviews: each one is the opening of a story you can tell. See our guide to preparing for an interview.
Frequently asked questions
Should every bullet on my CV follow the XYZ formula?
No. Keep it for the achievements that matter for the role; a context line or a simple responsibility can stay short. A CV where every line has the same shape quickly reads as repetitive.
Does the XYZ formula work for a first job or an internship?
Yes: a university project, a part-time job, volunteering or an internship all have results too (a report delivered, an event organised, a number of participants). Apply the same logic to what you actually did.
What if my employer doesn't allow me to share figures?
Respect confidentiality: use proportions ("+20%"), rough figures you can justify, or a non-financial measure (time, quality, people involved) instead of amounts.
Is it the same as the STAR method?
They are close: STAR (situation, task, action, result) is mostly for telling a story out loud in an interview, XYZ for summing it up in one written line. A good XYZ bullet is often the summary of a STAR story.