A summary of qualifications on a resume (also called a resume profile or resume introduction) is a short, introductory paragraph that sums up your best professional achievements and your motivation. Its purpose is to catch the reader’s attention and immediately show your value to recruiters, hopefully convincing them to read on. No matter which resume format you decide to use, your resume summary should always go near the top of the page, below the resume header. If your resume template features a sidebar rather than a header, put the summary statement at the top of the main column.
How to write a resume summary?
Here’s how to write a professional summary for a resume:
- Start with an introductory sentence that mentions your job title and years of experience.
- Add 2 or 3 of your best achievements to date. Include numbers to quantify your achievements, e.g. increased sales by 15%. Numbers attract attention!
- Use action verbs to make your summary more dynamic and impactful.
- Offer to use your skills to achieve specific goals for the company. Customizing your resume in this way significantly increases your chances of being invited for an interview.
- Make sure you mention the name of the company you are applying to: a targeted resume is always better than a generic resume.
- Include some of your key professional skills that are relevant to the job ad – they can be your resume keywords.
How to write a resume summary without experience?
If you are creating a resume with no work experience, such as a fresh graduate resume, consider writing a resume objective instead of a summary. A resume objective is essentially a starter summary for a resume: it also aims to showcase your skills and grab the reader’s attention, but uses academic achievements and transferable skills rather than work experience. Objectives also work well for career change resumes.
How to start a resume summary?
Writing a resume summary can be tricky, so we recommend doing it last. Complete the other sections of your resume first, with a special focus on work experience. Then, read through your resume and highlight the most important facts that you can use to create a summary. You can start your summary with adjectives that describe your approach, such as Creative, Driven, Data-oriented, etc. For more inspiration, check out our list of words to describe yourself.
How long should my resume summary statement be?
A good resume summary should be a short paragraph, about 2 to 4 sentences. This means you only need to include key facts and provide more details in the body of your document. For more information, check out our guide on what a resume should look like.
Where can I find more resume summary examples?
You can browse our free resume examples directory – there, you’ll find sample resumes for 500+ specific jobs. Just select your profession to see examples of professional (and/or objective) summaries written by our career experts. Each example comes with a writing guide, so you can learn exactly how to write a resume for your profession or experience level.