How to Write a Resume Summary Statement

A professional statement at the start of a resume is called a professional summary for resume. It outlines the candidate’s accomplishments, talents, and experience that are pertinent. This career summary outlines your qualifications for the position in 3-5 sentences to convince the manager to read the entire resume document.

What exactly is a professional resume summary?

An overview of who you are, what you bring to the table, and how your experience, abilities, expertise, and accomplishments can help the firm address its challenges is contained in a CV summary, which is also known as a professional summary or summary statement.

This is an elevator pitch (consisting of 1-4 sentences) located directly below your name and contact information. This proves why you are right for the job and makes recruiters want to read your resume and learn more about you.

Why a resume summary?

It must include relevant experience, achievements, and skills. This suggests that the summary should highlight the qualities related to the duties and responsibilities listed in the job description.

So what about an entry-level resume or a career change resume? Should candidates write them to skip this profile section entirely?

No.

If your experience is limited, it would be better to write a career objective as it highlights your skills rather than your experience.

Sound like you? Learn more about an alternative way to introduce your resume here: objective career examples for your resume

That said-

We live in a time when definitions are becoming blurred, clear career paths are a thing of the past, and employers expect fresh graduates to have work experience already.

This second reason, in particular, has led to an increase in the number of students, entry-level candidates, and career changers choosing an objective CV summary over one regardless.

That’s why, in addition to examples for all experienced candidates, you’ll find an entry-level resume summary, a college student resume summary, and a career changer resume summary in the examples below. This is actually one of the most flexible resume sections.

Think an introductory paragraph isn’t the perfect addition to your resume? Then, there is another way to introduce your CV; check it out here: Summary of CV qualifications.

You can also make an even more significant impact with your resume title.

Advantages of a resume summary statement

Here are three justifications for why you ought to write a powerful, keyword-rich resume summary.

1. You will be noticed faster

Since the resume summary is located at the top of your resume, directly below your contact information, it’s easy for a recruiter to spot and read. 

In addition, a strong resume summary gives you a better chance of standing out and landing an interview because the hiring manager can already see what you bring to the table.

2. You sell your most vital qualities and top achievements

The skill summary section of your CV showcases your best achievements, key skills, and experience. This helps recruiters quickly size you up and find the key attributes they’re looking for in your resume. It takes advantage of a 7-second window in just a few sentences by showing the recruiter why you are the best person for the job.

3. You can add high-impact keywords and beat the ATS

99% of Fortune 500 companies use a simple applicant tracking system to track candidates and narrow the list to the best job seekers. This means that recruiters and hiring managers aren’t the only ones you need to impress. 

A resume summary is a great place to capture relevant keywords that will help you beat the ATS, outsmart the bots, and get your resume in front of the recruiter.

How to outline a resume for a job

To write a resume summary, do the following:

Wondering what to put in a resume profile? So how do you create a winning professional resume summary? Here’s how.

An effective resume summary follows this formula:

Job title (if applicable) + key experiences (with total years worked) + top achievements (preferably measurable results) + top skills/expertise/unique values (job and industry related).

• In a few words, briefly describe your strong character attributes.
• Please indicate your current job title and work experience.
• Describe how you want to support the employer’s objectives.
• Include information about your key accomplishments to prove you can deliver results when hiring.
• Limit it to 3 or 5 sentences and use numbers whenever possible.

Other important notes for summarizing your CV

• Begin your resume summary with your job title, if applicable. (Recent graduates can mention their degree.)
• Be specific about your top accomplishments and significant contributions from previous employers.
• Third person, past tense, when writing.
• This is very important: make sure the bullet points in your resume are job-related!
• Do not lie. Be honest about what you put in your resume summary and throughout your resume.
• Customize your resume summary for each job application that interests you.
• Your CV summary can contain bullet points.
• View a selection of professional summary illustrations to learn how you may enhance your own.
• Make sure your resume summary contains relevant and high-impact keywords.

How to use keywords in your resume summary

Employers receive a large number of resumes for each job opportunity, so hiring managers and recruiters utilize applicant tracking tools to make their jobs simpler and more effective. In addition, ATS screens applications for specific keywords and skills and selects the best job candidates from the filtered information.

The keywords recruiters usually use the skills and qualifications listed in the job description.

Learn how to create a keyword-rich resume summary that beats the ATS.

• Read the job description and write down keywords and phrases that are relevant to the job, company, or industry. Next, write down keywords, phrases, or skills you think the recruiter might be looking for.
• Include these keywords and phrases in your resume summary (if relevant and applicable).
• Don’t overdo it to avoid seeming spammy and unnatural.

FAQs

Conclusion

The CV summary is your first chance to tell the recruiter why you are the best fit for the job. It summarizes your best qualifications and skills. So try to keep your professional summary to a two- to three-sentence resume. Along with that, tailor each resume summary to the job by using keywords and phrases from the job posting. 

Use the resume objective if you don’t have much work experience and want to tell the recruiter about your career goals. Meanwhile, do not repeat information. A good resume summary complements the other sections of your resume.