I really like the design of that resume, and it really makes it shine. My question is about the formatting of the work experience – the place where they describe what they’ve done at their various jobs. The meat of that sections is just sort of sentences describing work accomplishments and duties. It seems sort of cluttered to me, but I don’t think just single line lists in these sections would look right, either. Does anyone else have any thoughts on that?

If it’s going to be scanned, you want as high of a keyword count as possible while still making sense. The more keywords, the more likely the computer will say “Look at me!”.

If it’s by HR, you need to appear not only competent, but also like the type of person HR is going to want to deal with.

If it’s going to be the person hiring you, you can speak directly about the position and how you’ll make his job easier / improve his department.

No matter which one it is, your resume should always make sense when read, but if you know which group it’s going to, it should focus on the target audience.

A Microsoft template is known in recruiting circles as a ‘Bill Gates’ resume, avoid at all cost!

Yes, its correct to always start the bullet with an action verb. One of the benefits of the English language is that it allows so many other words for one action verb. Try never to repeat an action word.

Here is some food for thought. Instead of the word increased, how about: boosted, propelled, catapulted, or elevated?

The point of a resume is to get called for an interview. If your resume ‘hypes’ your candidacy, recruiters and HR will see through it. Instead concentrate on action verbs, skills and accomplishments that speak for themselves without hyperbole.

In terms of design, I just posted an article about beautiful resumes that is intended to inspire people updating theirs:

36 Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work