LEARN TO WRITE A RESUME SUMMARY

A resume is a crucial thing for the job application, and it is the first impression that you leave on the future employer. All people want to get a good job offer, and many job seekers apply for the same position. By doing this, you join the first round of the contest of resumes. Yours must outplay the rivals at that stage and interest the hiring managers.

You should keep in mind that professional managers don’t read each resume they receive. Usually, they only give a glimpse and decide if they need to learn more within 5-7 seconds. Thus, they only scan the name, and the beginning of the resume – the contents of these areas become vital for your success. Here you write the so-called “Resume Summary” – a very brief statement of your skills, experience, and the potential value of you as a candidate. The goal of the professional summary statement is to tell what you are and why the managers should search more about you.

What is a Resume Summary?

A resume summary statement is the introduction of your resume. It tells about your professional level and experience. Note that еру statement must not double the data from the further detailed sections. Instead, it should tell about the most important qualities you have as a professional.

The size of this summary statement is no more than a couple of paragraphs, up to five lines in general. The format may vary: you can present the statement as a text paragraph or a set of bullet points. The bulleted list is the preferred variant for the job seeker, as this layout is easier for perception. You can combine the text with the list if this option helps you present yourself better.

Almost all templates include the dedicated section for the career summary on top of the resume. It is a common and beneficial practice. That’s why we’ve prepared this complete guide on doing this opening in the most efficient way.

Why do you need a professional Summary statement for a resume?

• It contains essential details about your experience and skills. Thus, the company’s representative can estimate immediately if your profile matches their requirements. It is useful if your employment history is long, and you did lots of duties – it might be challenging to sort all your technical skills, soft skills, and achievements. The summary states your trumps.
• It attracts attention. A concise and meaningful fragment can be striking. If you have it written in proper language, your chances to get to the next stage will increase significantly.

Resume Summary Statement or Career Objective Statement – what is the difference?

There is one more type of resume opening part called the Career Objective. Some candidates mix these options, but you shouldn’t. These are things relating to the opposite concepts:

• The Resume Summary is for the experienced candidates. It focuses is on your previous work history and your accomplishments in the past positions. If you change your career, you need to prove that you have skills and experience for the new job. Apply for the previous jobs and relate them to the demands of the vacancy you want to get. Thus, the goal of the professional summary format is to stress that you are already an excellent candidate who will bring a lot of profit to the company.
• The Career Objective is the option for seekers with little or no experience. Instead of telling of your achievements, it concentrates on your education and other skills that can be relevant. In the Objective statement, you describe what you aim to as a job seeker and professional, and persuade them that you are capable of doing the duties.

Thus, if you have a decent record and an impressive set of professional and soft skills, you should choose the Resume Summary. Besides, hiring managers also prefer this type.

Resume keywords

One of the vital things for the career summary is the presence of the so-called keywords. They refer to the fact that we’ve mentioned before: the hiring people don’t read the applications – they scan them at first. Thus, your aim is to win their interest at the very beginning. For this, you need to include in the summary statement some hooks for the managers.

When we speak of keywords presence in the summary statement, we mean the same words and definitions that were present in the description of the vacancy. These words reflect what exactly the company will search for. And these are the same words they will note in your summary at once.

You can use many ways to describe the same thing, but you need to choose the right one.

Taking this into consideration, do the following:

• Refer to the vacancy description again and check which skills and knowledge you must possess. Pay more attention to the words used there. The managers write these claims themselves, and the words and phrases are those they find related.
• Use the same words in your resume recap. This way, you ensure “speaking the same language” with the manager and offer right what they need.
• Also, include these keywords into other areas of the professional resume statement. If your opening grasps their interest, the hiring people will read further. Provide them with more proofs of matching the job with the right words, and this will help you to get to the interview stage.

How to create a summary statement for a resume

Best of all is to write the summary after you complete to write resume itself. Then you can check all the pluses you possess and focus on the essential things to present to the hiring manager.

Your career recap needs to answer the following questions:

• What are you?
• What is your professional experience?
• Why should they view you as a candidate?

Search for the following data to include in the summary statement:

• What are your traits and how they meet the requirements of the vacancy;
• What is your current job;
• How many years of practice you have;
• Which professional achievements you can apply for the job;
• Which soft and technical skills you have;
• What you can offer to the employer.

Writing step by step

• Put the name of your job title in the first place. Add the years of professional experience.
• Choose three or four facts from your prior career that impress most.
• Compose a brief description of those facts – one or two sentences for each point. This list will be the pillars to base on when you write professional Resume Summary.
• Check if all the details you mention are relevant to the requirements and delete all inapt fragments.
• Check this career statement once more from the manager’s point of view. You might need to improve it and make more persuasive.
• Shorten the sentences and leave up to five bullet points in the list that sum up everything.

Hints on style

• Be specific and provide details and exact numbers where applicable (years of practice, successful projects, professional publications, and so on);
• Write in a very clear and concise language – your career statement must be easy to read;
• Use keywords!
• Use active voice and verbs;
• Avoid using “I” if you apply for the job in the USA. However, it is different for the EU – they encourage you to use the first person;
• Revise the summary and edit it – it must be precise in grammar and style.
• Leave it for at least a couple of hours, or better a day to let your mind rest and get refreshed. Then return to the text and review it again with a fresh eye. You will most likely need to edit it more.

Examples of Resume Summaries

Here we offer you some ready examples for you to refer and base your Resume Summary on them. Note the structure and the style of the professional summary and choose the one that suits you best.

Language Teacher

English and German teacher with 7 years of professional experience. Trained in teaching languages in groups and personally. Author of the 2 language course textbooks and 10+ school tutorials. Who have been preparing the school team for the country-level foreign language contests, won three of them. Winner of the 2018 state teaching contest.

Business Analyst

• Business Analyst and IT Consultant, over 10 years of work.
• Proficient in setting and managing business processes.
• Expert in creating the user stories and compiling the Software Requirements papers.
• First-rate problem solving and communication skills.

Account Manager

Trained customer service pro with 5+ years of practice. Strong skills in team management and coordination. At the prior job gathered and ruled the team of 4 members that helped to increase the company’s revenue by 40%. German as the second language.

Team Leader

Dedicated software engineer and team leader with 12 years in the apps development field. More than 80 successful projects. Experienced with Android and iOS platforms. Search for the opportunity to join your company and contribute the coding and project management skills to creating new products. Trilingual, speak English as a second language.

Chef

• Culinary expert with over 20 years of work in the best restaurants.
• Master almost 1000 recipes from 30+ cuisines.
• Capable of serving up to 100 tables.
• Great practice with leading the staff.
• Winner of the 2016 world culinary contest in Paris, France.

Unfortunately, even the best professional summary can’t guarantee that you receive the job offer. But your goal is to get the invitation to the interview, and here your resume summary can help. Make the hiring manager look closer to your application. Use this chance, and good luck!