How To Write A Resume Summary With Examples
You should know how to write a resume summary if youre writing a resume and applying for jobs. Resume summaries show busy hiring managers and employers what you can offer them quickly and easily on a resume. This article will explain what a resume summary is, who needs one in their resume and how to write a resume summary.
Make The Resume Summary Relevant To The Job
Your resume summary can only stand out if it includes experience, skills, and achievements that are relevant to the job opening.
Resume summaries that stand out the most are tailored to the job description. Itâs good practice to extract the top keywords from the job description and put it in your resume summary.
The more specific your summary is to the job description, the better. This also helps your resume score points for passing the screening of an Applicant Tracking System.
Thatâs why the first and most important step to write a compelling resume summary is to read the job description.
A common mistake that candidates make is writing a generic resume summary that is irrelevant to the exact job opening.
âIncorrect Example
Social media professional looking to grow an audience at a company…
Correct Example
Social media expert with experience in Facebook and LinkedIn Marketing looking to apply audience development skills…
Use Action Verbs In Your Resume Summary
Another impactful tactic for a resume summary is to describe your statements as actions.
Employers want to know about what you actually did in your career. Not necessarily what your current company did. Save those points for your work experience section or for the actual interview.
Use strong action verbs to help emphasize your points. Especially verbs mentioned in the job description! Take a look at our list of 350+ action verbs to get a head start.
Tip: Use action verbs on your resume. Try to stay away from phrases like “Responsible for” and “Worked on”
Let’s apply our learnings. A bad example of a resume summary might look like this:
Bad example of a Healthcare Sales Resume Summary
I am an experienced Healthcare Sales Rep responsible for selling software to large hospitals. I closed many deals and generated a lot of revenue for the hospital. I want to continue selling healthcare software but to larger hospital chains.
This candidate is definitely not going to pass the 6-second glance. Let’s turn that into a better resume resume based on our guidelines:
Good example of a Healthcare Sales Resume Summary
Healthcare sales executive with 5+ years of experience generating over $2M in revenue selling to large hospitals. Skilled in winning deals in a competitive space with slow adoption. Hired and currently manage a team of 15 sales professionals who have collectively sold $5M of software. Looking to apply skills and experience in selling EMR systems to large hospital chains.
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Education And Academic Achievements
After your key skills, create a resume section for your education. List any degrees you have obtained or any degrees you are currently pursuing. If you stopped going to school before obtaining a degree, you can list the credits or hours you have completed.
For each degree, list the school, the location, your degree, your field of study and the dates you attended. You should also include academic honors and awards, such as graduating Cum Laude.
Example of how to list education in a resume #1:Coral Springs University, Coral Springs, Florida Bachelor of Science in Biology Minor in PsychologyGraduated Magna Cum Laude
Example of how to list education in a resume #2:Coral Springs University, Coral Springs, Florida In ProgressAssociate of Arts
Example of how to list education in a resume #3:Coral Springs University, Coral Springs, Florida Bachelor of Arts in Art History 200 Credit Hours Obtained
What Else Can You Include
Ask yourself one question..
Is your resume the BEST it can be?
Although we have completed every essential resume section, we have to do everything it takes to win that interview.
Adding the following sections could be the deciding factor in whether youre interviewed for the customer service representative role or not.
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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.
How To List Skills On A Resume
There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to deciding where to put the skills on your resume. According to our friends over at online resume-builder Zety.com, skills are so very, very important that they should show up all over your resume. Not just in the resume skills section.
In other words, it is imperative that there are elements of your skills throughout your resume, including your resume objective/summary and experience sections.
In addition, there isnt one right answer for where to include your skills, because just like everything else in the job interview world
It depends on the industry, company and position you are interviewing with/for.
For example, for a job where technical competencies are of the utmost importance, it is often beneficial to list the skills closer to the top of the resume, right underneath the resume objective or resume summary statement.
However, if through your research you determine that the hiring manager will put more weight into your experience, you may want to lead with your experience and put the skill section further down your resume.
At the end of the day, the selection of the skills themselves is the most important thing.
After all, most hiring managers will easily find your skill section regardless of where it is on your resume.
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An Example Of How To Write Your Resume Summary With No Experience
Engineering graduate of the prestigious College of Engineering at Iowa State University with leadership training from Rotes Leadership Academy in Rochester, MN. Skilled in research, project management, and organizational efficiency. Have previously managed budgets of more than $1 million, and teams of as many as 20 people. My focus on team-oriented cross-platform solutions for project needs has reduced company research and development costs by 20%.
In this resume summary statement example, our engineering grad–who was a student and finished school while working in an entirely different industry–can highlight not only his educational achievements, but specific accomplishments that he achieved in his previous employment. All the while, he presents himself as someone with the proven commitment to bring that same level of value to his new employer.
Third Capture Job Posting Keywords
Adjust your resume summary for each job you apply to by scanning and capturing the job posting keywords. Carefully read the job description and select the key words from the requirements or education sections of the posting. This will demonstrate you prepared for, and are excited about, a particular position and you clearly meet the requirements the hiring manager is looking for in a candidate.
Example:
For a job posting that says the employer is looking for someone with at least 5 years of experience:
Compassionate registered nurse with 5+ years of professional experience and certifications in neonatal resuscitation.
For a job posting that says the employer is looking for someone with experience working with major brands:
Social media communications and advertising expert with experience in creating and managing social media strategies for global companies.
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Putting It All Together
So there you have it.
The most important thing to remember is to select skills that are relevant to the position you are interviewing for, and more important than that, skills that your company puts a tremendous amount of value in.
Once you get your skills straightened out, you should make sure that the rest of your resume is congruent with the skills you just selected, namely, that your experience shows that you both used those skills in a work environment and developed the skill with on-the-job tasks.
The next thing you should do is download our action list below!
Good Luck!
How To Create Your Prole
To chose what to highlight in your summary, research positions of interest and write a list of the common requirements and qualications.
Assess your skills and credentials. How does your background and experience align with the qualications outlined in the job description? Select skills, experiences, special knowledge, and accomplishments that you want to highlight in your prole selection.
Next draft a few phrases that summarize your Skills/Experience/Accomplishments/Knowledge/Education
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Now write a sentence describing your professional role, which you can use as the opening line in your prole. For example:
- Accomplished Marketing Executive with over 10 year experience in
- Fully knowledgeable in
- Experience managing professional sta including
Finally, put all of the sentences together and edit for a clean, concise, and compelling prole statement.
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Looking For More Information On Resume Accomplishments
How To Write A Resume Summary
To write a good resume summary statement, first think about your greatest professional, academic, and personal achievements.
Are any of those achievements related to the type of job you want? On their own, do they prove youre qualified to handle such work?
Whether youre an experienced manager, a mid-to-senior level job seeker, or even have no work experience, well show you exactly how to write a professional resume summary that showcases your ability to succeed in your field.
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Social Media Marketing Cv Profile Example :
Social media expert with successes in the creation and management of social media strategies and campaigns for global retail organisations. Extensive experience in the commercial utilisation of multiple social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube I build successful social strategies that increase brand awareness, promote customer engagement and ultimately drive web traffic and conversions.
Why this summary is good:
This summary is well-written, short, sharp and gives recruiters a high-level explanation of the candidates core offerings in a persuasive and punchy style. A quick scan of this profile tells you the exact type of social media platforms the candidate is an expert in, as well as the campaigns they have experience of running and types of organisations they have worked for. Most importantly, the summary is rounded off by showing the results that this person achieves for their employers, such as increased web traffic and conversions.
Editors note: This CV profile summary was written for the UK market this is a great one to use/copy, but make sure you put it through a spell-checker if youre applying for jobs in the US
By: Andrew Fennell, Director at StandOut CV, contributor for The Guardian and Business Insider
It Project Manager Resume Summary Example:
Experienced Project Manager with vast IT experience. Skills include computer networking, analytical thinking and creative problem solving. Able to apply customer service concepts to IT to improve user experience for clients, employees and administration.
Why this resume summary is good:
Because this candidate is switching career paths, its important he or she take skills used for previous positions and apply those skills to the new job listing. This is a great example because the candidate makes it clear that his or her experience is not in the new field, but that they are still able to bring relevant experience to the table.
When writing your resume summary, keep these tips in mind: Use writing that is straight to the point, clear and concise, youll have a higher chance of getting noticed by the hiring manager.
By: Sarah Landrum, Founder of Punched Clocks, contributor at Entrepreneur.com and Forbes
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Key Skills Youve Learned In School And Other Experiences
After your professional summary, list your skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for. To get a good idea of the skills required for a job, simply browse job descriptions for that specific job title. Typically, within the requirements or qualifications section, there will be many skills listed that you can copy.
Dont be afraid to list skills that you havent used in a professional setting. If you have learned about them in school or if you have practiced these skills during an extracurricular activity, list them! Just make sure you are honest during an interview about your level of competency.
Example of how to list less than 10 key skills in a resume:
- Time Management
Example of how to list more than 10 key skills in a resume:
- Leadership: Team Management, Resource Planning, Budgeting
- Math: Data Entry, Data Analytics, Statistics
- Professionalism: Active Listening, Office Etiquette, Professional Communication, Time Management
- Languages: English , Spanish
Think About Your Skills And Experience
When applying to a student job or entry-level role, employers understand that you might not have much work experience. In this case, you need to highlight other experiences and skills that make you a top candidate. For instance, if youre applying to a customer service job, then your attentiveness to detail and communication skills could make you stand out. If you want a job as a dog walker, then your experience volunteering at the animal shelter would be good to include in your summary.
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Best Resume Summary Examples You Can Apply
What Is A Career Summary
Also called a career objective or professional summary, a career summary replaced the outdated objective statement. Hiring managers are busy people, which means they don’t want to read about how much the candidate wants the job. Of course they want the job, why else would they apply?
Career summaries, on the other hand, subtly reveal the desire for a job while showcasing the best hard and soft skill sets a candidate has to offer. It serves as the introductory paragraph to the resume, gives a basic outline for the hiring manager to follow, and explains what the candidate has to offer to the position.
The following six steps will guide you when creating your career summary and help set your resume apart from the others in the pile.
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