If you are a job seeker, the single most important starting point to further your career is a compelling resume. Every element of your resume matters, specially a resume introduction, also called a resume profile. A resume summary is one of the important parts of your resume. To write an impactful resume summary you should follow some aspects. In this article, we will share some tips and tricks to create a better resume summary.
What exactly is a resume summary statement?
A resume summary statement is a short paragraph that has been written at the beginning of your resume. It defines your professional skills and experience in the field. It particularly highlights your experience and skills to the job recruiters. Through the resume summary, a hiring manager can have an overall idea of your skills and accomplishments. The purpose of the resume summary is to illustrate why you are a qualified candidate for this job.
How to start a resume summary
A resume summary statement is written under the contact information of a job seeker and right before the body of the resume. You can also use some synonymous words for a resume summary such as, a summary of experience, personal statement, professional statement, etc.
Your hiring manager will go through several resumes each day. So when you write your resume, keep in mind that it has to impress your hiring manager.
When to add resume summary statement?
A resume summary is basically for job seekers who have many years of work experience in the same field that they are applying for. However, it is not appropriate for candidates who have little experience or might want to switch career paths.
If you have the experience of years in a particular field it will uplift your resume.
Do not get confused between a resume objective and a resume summary.
There is a subtle difference between a resume objective and a resume summary. A resume objective usually states a job seeker’s objective or goal of his or her career. It mostly focuses on the job seeker’s desired position from any company (you cannot mention the company name)
On the other hand, a resume summary illustrates a candidate’s skills, achievements, and experience.
After reading your resume summary, the hiring manager should have a better idea about the candidate’s professional skill set.
How to write a resume summary objective:
You can’t ignore the importance of a resume summary, you might have no idea how significantly it can change your whole career. When you write a resume summary how can you put the best in it? We will give you the idea here.
Think of your dream job, the job you have been dreaming of getting since you started thinking of your career. Then assume yourself in the interview board, how well you can describe yourself, your experience, and the skills that are relevant to the job. Brainstorm and sum up all the ideas in 3-4 lines. When you write the resume summary, try to stick to the following aspects.
Your work history: Describe what type of company you worked for, what was common in them, your role in those companies, and connect them to the current company that you wished to work with.
Your skills: What are your best skills and which skills are best and relevant for the post.
Your achievements: What are the impressive accomplishments from your past work, mention them. It is better if you can describe those using numerical orders or percentages. For instance, increased the subtotal sale of my company by around 4% in 2019.
A few important notes to make your resume summary up to the mark
Write your resume in an active voice, and use numbers to seek the attention of your job recruiters. Do not elaborate too much, unnecessary words can kill the whole impression. Keep it short but precise. Your resume summary statement should not be more than five sentences.
Think of the questions when you start writing your resume summary
- Who are they looking for?
- What value can add the person to the company
- How does your resume summary line up with the job description?
- If you were the hiring manager, what quality would you want from the candidates? Once you find out the stuff, you will reach more close to your destination.
- What is mandatory to highlight in your resume summary statement? Only mention the most significant points as you have limited words to express.
- How much experience do you have in the particular field and how do those experience affiliate with the job post.
- What achievements do you have that separate you from the regular crowd?
Mistakes must be avoided to create an impactful resume summary.
- Do not provide any cliché or usual skills that are not relevant to the job post. For example, do not write that you are hard-working and punctual. These are some basic humanitarian characteristics that every candidate must have.
- You might be very proficient in English or Microsoft office. But do not mention them in your resume summary. There are other sections to provide your extraordinary skills, state them there. Do write only the relevant skills in the section of the resume summary statement.
- Do not write anything false or completely made up.
After completing writing the resume summary, ask yourself why they should hire you and try to find the answer according to your resume. Once you find out the answers by yourself, give a pat on your shoulder, many candidates cannot even think of it, so you are completing them with greater possibilities.
Lastly, when you write your resume summary statement, follow the steps and avoid those mistakes that have been mentioned above, you will certainly make an outstanding remark in your job career.
