What To Say In Professional Summary On Resume

+40 Resume Summary Examples

Have you ever wondered how recruiters decide which resumes reading and which ones to discard?

They scan resumes for up to 5-6 seconds, at most, and in that timeframe, they decide if the resume is relevant or not.

They scan for things like your career highlights, qualifications, and specific skills.

And unless they can see that youre relevant in a single glance, chances are, youre not getting the interview.

And this is where your resume summary comes in.

This is the first section theyre going to check. Look at it as an introduction to your resume.

Do this right, and your resume summary will be a giant flashing sign that says Hire Me!

So, are you ready to create a convincing resume summary?

In this guide, were going to cover:

• Whats a resume summary
• How to write an effective resume summary
• 40+ inspiring real-life resume summary examples

Do I Need A Resume Summary

Not necessarily. If your skills and job history are relatively straightforward and in line with the type of jobs youre applying for, you probably dont need one. Despite the name, a resume summary isnt just a place to rehash the information already in your resume, which should already be a concise summary of your achievements. A resume summary should only be used to add extra information or context, like drawing attention to the fact that youre changing careers or illustrating how seemingly-unrelated experience is relevant to the role youre seeking.

Finance And Accounting Resume Summary Examples

Financial Analyst Resume Summary

Dedicated financial analyst with a track record of successful investments. 5+ years of experience in investment banking, with a focus on the oil industry. Responsible for analyzing potential investments, as well as conducting industry, market, and company-specific research. MBA in Finance.

Click here for the full finance analyst resume example.

Accountant Resume Summary

Licensed Certified Public Accountant with 10+ years of experience in budget analysis, financial audits, and forensic accounting. Created financial reports within a five-person finance team and managed a $500,000 budget. Over the two years working there, helped cut annual company expenses by 15%.

Click here for the full accountant resume example.

Bank Teller Resume Summary

Bank teller with 2+ years of experience in client-facing roles at Bank X, where I was handling customer transactions, cross-selling bank products, and keeping customers happy by providing a professional and efficient service. Followed a strict and safe deposit box operations and guidelines, and processed 100+ customer transactions daily.

Click here for the full bank teller resume example.

Data Entry Clerk Resume Summary

Data entry clerk with 3+ years of experience in verifying complex data, maintaining databases and producing monthly reports using advanced Excel functions. Known for quick typing skills, eye for detail, and the ability to keep clients and employers happy.

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Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews

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A resume summary statement usually comes right after a job seekers contact info and before other resume sections such as skills and work experience. It provides employers with a brief overview of a candidates career accomplishments and qualifications before they read further.

Because of how early it appears on the document, your resume summary statement is one of the first places recruiters and employers look.

And without the right information, theyll doubt that youre qualified and may move to another resume.

So I got in touch with a select group of professional resume writers, coaches and career experts to get their best resume summary examples you can use and adapt to write a resume summary that stands out and gets interviews.

As a former recruiter myself, Ill also share my best tips to write your resume summary effectively.

Use A Resume Summary Statement

Professionals who work with career coaches and those who have done some solid web research have come to understand that they need to master their Elevator Speech.

This speech is a short summary of an employees value proposition and should be thought of as a sales pitch that is ready to go anytime you run into a potential hiring manager or networking contact.

A carefully prepared Elevator Speech is customized to the person giving the speech and contains information that makes the professional stand out while still focusing on things the employer wants to know .

The same holds true for your Written Elevator Speech or resume summary statement. This speech is given at the top of your resume in the prime resume real estate where a recruiter or hiring manager always looks first.

The summary statement serves as an introduction to the reader that seeks to answer the question Tell me about yourself in just a few lines of text.

The resume summary statement will help your resume stand out by:a. Catching the readers attention immediately

b. Ensuring a clear understanding of your top selling points at a glance

c. Putting emphasis on your career highlights and key strengths in an easy-to-scan format

d. Briefly communicating your professional objective if relevant

Every resume can benefit from a summary statement. For some candidates, it can be critical.

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Customize Your Resume For Your Industry

People are often encouraged to include personality in their resume, but unless they are applying for a job in a creative industry, they may want to rethink that strategy. A lot of pictures and fonts and colors and a whole lot of personality just doesnt align with the jobs we have here, says Schweikert, whose team recruits for positions in sales, product and marketing. If I was in an organization that, for example, was in web design, then I would want to see those design elements in a resume.

Kim agrees that resume layout is wholly dependent on the position you are applying for. If you are applying for a designer role, I want to see something creative there. If youre applying for a finance role, I want to see numbers, she says.

What Should Be Included In Your Nursing Resume Summary

There are many possibilities for your summary and there is no exact science as to what to include. Different people will have different cards to play based on their level of experience and the specifics of their job search. The only certainty is that you should always due your best to match your skills and the information you convey on your resume with the qualifications and job description in question.

You might include the following in your summary:

• Years of relevant experience.
• A summary of your qualifications for the job in question.
• A sense of your work or management style.
• Personal characteristics that make you a good fit for the job and/or company.
• Professional achievements.
• Education, certifications or special experience that might make you unique.
• Measurable improvements that youve made for previous employers.
• Accolades or awards that youve received from previous employers.

When considering what to write in your summary, do your best to avoid stand-alone cliches like team player or results oriented. Instead, try to convey these concepts with concrete examples. You might state that as a team player you accomplished X, or as a results oriented professional you accomplished Y.

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Tips For Writing An Effective Resume For A College Student

Highlight your education. As a student, you should highlight your academic successes at the beginning of your resume, before the Experience description. If you have completed any projects or taken courses related to the job you are applying for, you can include these as well.

Finesse your experience section. Even if you dont have actual work experience, you should still include an Experience section in your resume. In this section, you can describe your college program, internships, or volunteer work you have performed. Instead of using the header Professional Experience for this section, use a more general title such as Research and Analytical Experience, Related Experience, or Experience Highlights.

Look at other Resume examples. Look at some resume examples or templates to guide your writing. A resume example can help you decide what kind of content to include, and a template can help you format your resume. However, be sure to tailor a resume example to fit your own experiences and the job you are applying for.

Proofread.Proofread your resume carefully before submitting it. A clean, error-free resume will show that you are professional and that you pay attention to details. Ask a friend or family member, or a college career counselor, to read the resume for you as well.

How To Write A Resume Summary If You’re Changing Careers

A resume summary is especially useful if youre changing careers, and it helps hiring managers and recruiters understand why youre a good fit. Heres how to write one with a few examples for inspiration.

7 months ago 5 min read

A resume summary is especially useful if youre changing careers, and it helps hiring managers and recruiters understand why youre a good fit. Heres how to write one with a few examples for inspiration.

A resume summary is a short, optional section at the beginning of your resume highlighting something that might not otherwise be obvious. It can be used to direct a recruiters attention to a specific role youre interested in or to highlight specific skills or achievements that dont have a place elsewhere in your resume. Its also commonly used as a space for career changers to explain the context of their application and why theyre a good fit for the role, even if their experience is in a completely different field.

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Foodservice Resume Summary Examples

• Motivated and inspired Cook with 15+ years of experience in high volume casual and fine-dining restaurants. Dedicated to increasing kitchen efficiencies and delighting customers while continually striving to improve culinary expertise.
• Punctual Delivery Driver with 3+ years of experience meeting strict deadlines in fast-paced environments while focusing on increasing productivity to drive brand loyalty.
• Prep Cook with fifteen years of experience in food handling. Expert at slicing, keeping inventory stocked and ensuring the cleanliness of kitchen counters and utensils.
• Adaptable Hostess with 3+ years of experience upholding excellent customer service standards across lunch and dinner service. Organizes seating and reservations with care to improve workflow.
• Organized and friendly Restaurant Team Member with excellent organizational skills and three years of experience in customer service, sales, inventory, stocking, cleaning and maintaining store compliance.

What Is A Good Headline Or Summary For A Resume

A resume headline should be one brief phrase it should not even be a complete sentence. The goal is to concisely state your value as a candidate anything longer than a phrase defeats the purpose of a headline. Use keywords. Use keywords that demonstrate your skills or experience as related to the job application.

Also Check: How To Build A Acting Resume With No Experience

Use Numbers In Your Resume Summary

Great resume summaries include quantified achievements. Attaching numbers to your resume profile helps recruiters see your potential.

For example, some powerful numbers that you can include on your resume summary:

• Number of years of experience
• Number of people youâve managed
• Number of customers youâve acquired or served
• Size of team that you worked on
• Productivity or efficiency gains as a percentage

Quantify your results

Made supply chain of my company better while managing a team.

Correct Example

Supply Chain Manager with 5+ years of experience. Achieved a 20% reduction in inventory days. Managed a team of 5 direct reports.

Graphic Design Resume Summary Examples

Graphic Designer Resume Summary

Senior graphic designer with 6+ years of experience in website design and branding, across a wide range of industries. Extensive experience in multimedia, marketing, and print design. Highly skilled in communications, digital storytelling, and Adobe Creative Suite.

Click here for the full graphic designer resume example.

Creative Director Resume Summary

Experienced creative director, with 10+ years of experience in the advertising industry. Over the past 3 years, managed 2 separate creative teams, creating video ads for company clients. Worked with some high-profile clients, including IBM and Phillips.

Product Designer Resume Summary

Creative designer with 7 years experience in product design, packaging, and graphic design. Expertise in new product design, brand identity, and market research. Created and launched a new line of award-winning tableware that generated over $1 million in sales the first year.

UI/UX Designer Resume Summary

Proactive UX designer with 5 years of experience in delivering enjoyable web and mobile products for the FinTech industry. Designed UI, UX and marketing materials for 6 apps and 3 games at Company X, 2 of which were featured in Apples App Store. Skilled with Sketch, and Adobe Creative Suite.

Also Check: How To Mention Promotion On Resume

What Makes A Good Resume Summary

A good resume summary provides a recruiter with at-a-glance information about why youre applying for a specific role. To do that, it needs to be concise generally, no more than 2-6 lines or 100 words, and shorter is better. Anything longer than that means that youre probably including way more details than is necessary and will prompt a recruiter to skim over what youve written, which you dont want. If you find yourself having to leave out information you consider essential like why youre changing careers or what draws you to the new role consider featuring it in a cover letter instead.

Your resume summary should draw particular attention to any transferrable skills that youve acquired. These can include technical skills for example, proficiency in specific programming languages, graphic design skills or experience with software programs or social media platforms as well as soft skills. Make sure these skills are relevant to the role youre applying for for example, a data analyst is better off highlighting their experience with machine learning than their video editing skills. This also depends on what industry youre in a creative director for an advertising campaign likely has no need for C++, but it might come in handy for the creative director of a video game.

+ Year Business Owner Resume Summary Statement:

Dynamic and motivated marketing professional with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, designing educational strategies, and coaching individuals to success. Skilled in building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and making critical decisions during challenges. Adaptable and transformational leader with an ability to work independently, creating effective presentations, and developing opportunities that further establish organizational goals.

Why this is a good summary section:

This is a resume summary statement that was for a candidate returning to work after having her own business for 15+ years. Because of this, we needed to emphasize her soft skills and what she can bring to this potential position. In addition, we highlighted the skills she has honed as a business owner so that she can utilize these qualifications as a sales professional, account manager, and someone knowledgeable about nutrition, medicine, and the overall sales process.

By: Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish. MBA, Ph.D., CPRW, and Founder of Feather Communications

Also Check: How Do You Add References To A Resume

Quick Tips: Heres What Does Not Belong In Your Resume Summary

• Personal pronouns. This is a formal document, which means no I, my, or we. Save the personal touch for your cover letter, where it belongs.
• Details that are already included in the body of your resume. The resume summary is a place to highlight information that doesnt have a place elsewhere, not to repeat information the recruiter already has access to.
• Buzzwords. Phrases like team player, flexible, and hardworking might sound like what a recruiter wants to hear, but the reality is that theyre vague, overused, and ultimately meaningless. Theres no quicker way to make a recruiters eyes glaze over than by filling your resume with endless fluff. Instead, demonstrate these qualities through well-chosen examples of your experience and achievements.

I’d recommend uploading your resume to Score My Resume. It takes a minute to scan your resume for common errors that cause your resume to get instantly rejected.

Remember: Not everybody needs a resume summary. If youre including it just because you think you need one, consider what purpose its serving.

If youre applying for jobs in line with your industry experience and background and can highlight relevant achievements in the body of your resume, leave it out. On the other hand, if youre looking to change careers and want to draw attention to transferrable skills and achievements that might not otherwise be readily apparent, a concise, well-written summary might be exactly what you need to make the leap.

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Make Your Linkedin Summary Keyword Rich

Recruiters search for a combination of job titles, skills, and other keywords to find the right candidates. LinkedIn even shows you some of the search queries used to find your profile. On your profile, check out the dashboard underneath your summary. One of the stats will be search appearances.

If you dont see any search appearances or relevant search terms on your profile, it means your profile keywords arent optimized for recruiter searches. Review job descriptions that interest you take note of recurring hard skills and keywords. If applicable to you and your career goals, add these words to your summary and profile.

tool helps automate this process by comparing your profile to three or more relevant job descriptions. It then shows you which keywords youre missing. These specific keywords tend to be the search terms used by recruiters when looking for candidates.

LinkedIn Optimization results for my profile. Learn more about the tool here.

If youre not much of a writer and you dont need to be for most jobs using your summary to list your most important skills and technologies in a bulleted list format is a smart alternative to crafting a narrative.

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