How To Write A Resume Summary

When To Use A Resume Summary Section

Resume summaries are ideal for job seekers who have many years of work experience in the same field , as they help organize and focus years of relevant job experience.

On the other hand, resume summary statements are not always ideal for job seekers with little experience or notable gaps in their resumes.

If you have been working in the same field for less than 10 years, it might serve your resume best to forego the summary statement and use the extra space to expand your work experience. Since a resume summary section takes up space that could be used in the body of your resume, its not recommended for everyone.

Many of Jobscans free ATS-friendly resume templates have space for a resume summary.

Who Needs A Resume Summary

Not every resume needs a resume summary. If you are new to the job market, do not yet have a great deal of experience, or have a pretty simple career path, you may be better off saving the space for something else.

However, if you are an experienced professional with several years of experience, or if you are hoping to switch career paths, a resume summary can help to organize your resume. A resume summary can tie together different pieces of your experience or indicate how your skill set is transferrable to the role you are seeking.

Education Resume Summary Examples

• Self-motivated university graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and critical experience in learning technology.

• Compassionate and organized Caregiver with 3+ years of experience in providing expert care to both English and Spanish-speaking children aged 0-5. Experienced in working with special needs children and maintaining their emotional comfort and safety.

• Imaginative, patient Special Education Teacher with 3+ years of experience focusing on meeting IEP goal requirements for students with special educational, behavioral and mental health needs.

• Dedicated Tutor with 3+ years of experience improving student grades by focusing on total comprehension with targeted lessons in a variety of subject areas. Quickly identifies individual student learning styles to tailor exercises to their needs.

• Motivated Teaching Assistant with 3+ years of experience promoting collaboration with the lead teacher to support student educational needs.

• Conscientious Counselor with 3+ years of experience staying attentive to the needs of children, students, and parents, while ensuring a welcoming, trusting environment. Enjoys creating customized plans and programs to spur educational and emotional growth.

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Officer Manager Resume Summary:

While in the first summary example we can see the utilization of buzzowrds, because of the lack of accomplishments, the summary falls short.

How To Use Keywords In A Resume Summary

Your professional summary is a great place to start using keywords, keywords are skills and qualifications from the job description that employers are looking for on your resume. However, keywords are important to your other audience, too: Applicant Tracking Systems, also known as the ATS.

Most companies use an Applicant Tracking System to scan your resume. An ATS can look for keywords in your resume and send forward the ones it feels are a good match for a job or candidate search. A resume summary is a natural place to throw in those keywords. You should state your occupation as well as some common keywords in your industry.

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Start With Your Current Role Or Title

Start your summary with your current role or title. This detail will tell the hiring manager what you currently do and give them a sense of your experience level.

When you open your summary by saying you are a “Detail-oriented account manager” or a “Metrics-driven marketing manager,” recruiters will have a good idea of who you are and your suitability for a particular role.

Project Management Executive Professional Summary Example:

15+ years of initiating and delivering sustained results and effective change for Fortune 500 firms across a wide range of industries including enterprise software, digital marketing, advertising technology, e-commerce and government. Major experience lies in strategizing and leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy, process, and profitability both as a leader and expert consultant.

Why this resume summary is good:

Project Manager is one of those job titles thats REALLY broad. You can find project managers earning $50K, and others earning $250K. The client I wrote this for was at the Director level, and had worked for some of the biggest and best tech companies in her city. So this resume profile section shows her level and experience, and the wide array of areas she has responsibility for in her current work. You can borrow or use some of the phrasing here to show that youve been responsible for many important areas in your past work.

By: Biron Clark, Founder of CareerSidekick.com.

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College Professor Professional Resume Summary

Versatile, charismatic, College Professor highly regarded for a proven history of faculty collaboration and commitment to research, illustrated over a lengthy tenure in academic roles. Adept in driving thought-provoking class debates to promote student engagement and learning. Leverages strong communication skills to foster meaningful and trusting relationships with students, colleagues, and administrators. Student-centric instructor, academic facilitator, and motivational coach who champions student achievements while promoting a safe and positive learning environment. Thrives in fast-paced, diverse, and research-oriented environments.

Source: College Professor Resume Example & Template for 2021

Paid Ads Resume Summary:

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Include A Skills Section

Hard skills are measurable and include knowledge of operating specific software or using a particular device. You typically list these skills first. Soft skills are non-measurable, such as character traits and attributes. Examples of these are time management and leadership skills. Modern resumes typically show your proficiency level for each skill. Choose between beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert for each. Highlight the skills that you think are most relevant to the position you are applying for and the ones in which you are the most skilled.

Related:Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

Customer Support Resume Summary Examples

Customer Service Specialist:

“High-performing and knowledgeable customer service specialist with 5+ years in SaaS customer care, tech support, and troubleshooting. Proficient in Intercom, Sprout Social, and Zendesk. Holds a customer service satisfaction average of 81%, which is within the highest percentile at .”

Account Manager:

“Attentive, experienced account manager with a proven track record in the logistics industry. Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with an ability to manage client expectations and meet KPIs. Managed accounts worth over $300K, including blue-chip clients like Morgan Stanley and Facebook.”

Software Support Specialist:

“Software support specialist with 7+ years of experience with Microsoft. Duties include supporting clients, user account management, and training new interns. Built several long-term relationships with a variety of B2B clients. Skills include problem-solving and translating complex issues into layman’s terms.”

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How To Write A Professional Summary If Youre Changing Careers

As a career changer, try to show how your past experience relates to the position youre applying for or how it can help your future employer grow.

Are you a software developer who wants to work with a new programming language, lets say Python? You can mention how youve already developed 7 mobile apps using JavaScript and HTML. Even something as small as completing a Python online course on CodeAcademy can work wonders.

But if you still feel like you dont have any relevant job experience, you consider writing a resume objective instead. Instead of past achievements and experiences, it highlights your transferable skills and motivation. Moreover, it explains why you seek to switch to a different industry.

Heres an example of a professional summary for someone changing careers:

• Certified Human Resources Associate aiming to leverage an extensive background in experience in digital marketing to develop a career in human resources.
• Knowledge of multiple HR software programs, such as Bamboo HR and Zenefits.
• Results-oriented and self-driven professional with exceptional communication and leadership skills, and the ability to adapt quickly to change.
• Looking for a human resources-related job within a company that offers flexibility and opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.

Sales Representative Resume Summary:

Both of these resume summaries are effective because theyre tailored for the vacancy. And two, its emphasizing their soft skills and includes technical details to support their statements.

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How To Write An Accountant Resume Summary That Stands Out

Accountants require an exceptional amount of technical knowledge, so summarizing those points is important to get a potential employer’s attention during your job search. An accountant’s resume summary not only organizes and highlights these attributes but aligns them with definable goals that you may share with the company. Accountants need an effective resume summary to express their most important certification and experience-based qualifications in a line or two. In this article, we discuss structuring an accountant resume summary and provide examples of how to craft effective resume summaries for different accounting positions.

Related:A Guide to Entry-Level Accounting Interview Questions

Example Resume Summary Templates For Career Changers

Writing anything from scratch without a guide can be daunting, so weve put together a handy template you can use to structure your resume summary. This template has everything your summary needs to include it quickly explains that youre changing careers, emphasizes the transferrable skills youll be bringing with you to the new role, and draws attention to a specific accomplishment to help you stand out. What it doesnt do is exhaustively list your past experience or explain in detail why youre changing careers those things are better suited to the body of your resume and cover letter.

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What Is Profile Summary

Profile summary is a summary of your education, skills, career experiences, and goals. It is usually written in a few sentences and phrases. Easy it may sound, however, when you set out to write it, you can possibly get overwhelmed.

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Include Your Relevant Non

Job hunting can feel like an uphill task when you dont have work experience. How are you supposed to write an entire one-page resume with no experience?

Fortunately, many recruiters are looking for more than just formal work experience. Other things you can put on your resume to help you land work include relevant skills, life experiences , and your educational background. A combination of these elements can help you demonstrate how youre still an excellent fit for the job.

While these experiences and skills arent tied to your work experience , they still help you demonstrate what you have to offer a company if hired. Some professional abilities you may have honed in your life include:

• Managing or directing
• Research

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How To Write A Resume Summary: Steps And Hints

Weve looked at 10 great resume summary examples above. As you begin writing a resume summary for yourself, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:

A Relevant Section Title

The first part of the Highlight Reel resume summary is the section title.

This is going to be the title of this section, similar to how you’ve titled your experience section something like Work Experience and your education section Education.

But we’re going to make things personal

Instead of using some boring title, we’re going to show the reader that we are the exact candidate they are looking for!

How?

Summary

For example, if your target role is Business Development, your resume summary section should be titled Business Development Summary.

If your target role is in graphic design, your resume summary section should be titled Graphic Design Summary.

If your target role is in software engineering, your resume summary section should be titled Software Engineering Summary.

You get the point.

Now, when that recruiter or hiring manager looks at your resume, the very first thing they’ll see is the job title they’re hiring for.

That’s an immediate check in the qualifications box!

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Writing A Summary When You Have Experience

If you already have experience in your field, you probably have the skills the company is looking for. Your only difficulty will be identifying which skills to pick for this application. To figure out what skills to showcase:

Sales Resume Summary Examples

Sales Associate:

“Driven and target-focused sales associate specializing in SaaS payroll software subscriptions. Strong knowledge of the accounting industry and expert in upselling and dealing with customer onboarding. Exceed sales KPIs by at least 30% over the last 18 months.”

Cashier:

“Sunny, meticulous cashier with 4+ years of experience in clothing retail. Skilled at operating a variety of cashier systems and dealing with problems and returns. Attention-to-detail and excellent communication skills, alongside a perfect attendance record.”

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Final Tips And Tricks

We’ve already mentioned almost everything you need to write an effective professional summary. These are some of the final tips that didn’t fit anywhere else in this guide.

Match The Job Description

Examine what traits and qualities the hiring manager is looking for in the job description. Make sure to tailor your response appropriately by matching your qualifications to the specifics of the role. If you’re applying for a senior accounting position, consider highlighting leadership experience. For entry-level or junior accounting positions, consider highlighting any technical knowledge that could help you stand out among your competition. Consider the order of the job description, this might give you an insight into the hiring manager’s priorities.

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Formatting Your Resume/cv Career Summary

You may have noticed a variety of different formats in the career summary examples above. There isnt one right way to format this section on your resume or CV. However, I recommend either using one or two brief paragraphs, or combining a short sentence or paragraph with bullets.

Avoid writing three or four long paragraphs with no special formatting like bullet points. Thats simply too much text for your summary section and will cause recruiters and hiring managers to skip over it in some cases.