Tips to write the perfect resume summary

resume
resume

If you wonder how you are supposed to bag more employment interviews, you are not alone. Many people pass out each year and get stuck while applying for a job. The solution to this roadblock is a good summarization of the best aspects of the resume, usually referred to as the professional summary.

This segment of the resume, also referred to as the resume summary and other names, gives an account of the skills, practical experience, and major accomplishments concisely. Here, the person forwarding the resume is the product. If things are taken care of and done well, employers will develop the interest to go through the rest of the details in the resume.

This post will primarily deal with a few valuable tips for writing the perfect resume summary that will help to land more job interviews and land the job one might be aspiring for.

Understanding The Basics Of A Professional Summary

A professional summary, also referred to as the resume summary, gives the HR (Human Resource) manager an overview of the accomplishments and skills of a candidate without the need to scan through the rest of the resume.

The resume summary is always placed at the top of the resume, right below the name and the contact information. You may consider it as a teaser for the rest of the details provided. This section may also be called the qualifications summary, resume statement, competencies, heading statement, experience summary, career summary, and personal statement.

However, it is worth taking note that you do not mix it up with the resume profile or resume objective.

The Need Of A Resume Summary

You need to understand that people who hire are busy individuals. They are required to go through hundreds, sometimes thousands, of resumes before pinpointing a suitable candidate. Since there is always a time constraint, the recruiters do not have so much liberty to go through every resume in detail. Research has indicated that a recruiter gets to spend only about 6 seconds, on average, on a resume.

 

Such a situation indicates just one thing – a shortcut. Instead of going through a resume thoroughly, a recruiter will be making the process short by sailing through the resumes to look for the desired phrases and keywords that align with what the business or the employer might be looking for. It is why an applicant must develop the best possible resume summary.

After all, a good summary will hardly cost anything, but if the right and juicy keywords and phrases are properly placed, the recruiter will be able to see it at a glance. In other words, a professional summary allows turning a recruiter’s time constraints into an advantage.

How To Come Up With A Professional Summary

As told before, a good professional summary compels a recruiter to move to the other sections of the resume. Sounds simple, isn’t it? Well, if it can be managed, there’s nothing like it. Mission accomplished.

However, it is easier to say so than actually doing it. After all, it takes a few tricks to stuff the most relevant bits of one’s career into a summary. However, there are a few proven tips and tricks to do that:

  • The professional summary must be prepared in the end. Surprisingly, it is easy to do that once the resume sections are done. All that is needed is to cherry-pick the most relevant stats and information. The other way round, you need to tailor things so that it fits with a specific job opening.
  • The best approach is to start with the job listing you are applying for. Then, if required, go through it multiple times and determine the most relevant keywords. These would be nouns or phrases that best describe the job position, required skills, and the kind of candidate the recruiter is looking for. Then, before writing anything, understand how they relate to your own experiences and skills. That way, the probability of the application getting through the ATS system becomes high.
  • The first point must always be related to the professional title. Ensure that you mention the years of experience since it is directly related to your professional identity. Better if you make it bold.

 

  • Select the most impressive portions of the resume and rewrite them in snappy bullet points. Then, you must tease the recruiter to read further. Things like winning an award or achieving a 98 per cent target for a few consecutive years must be mentioned upfront.
  • Do not simply stick with achievement details. Include numbers as much as possible. Every point you make must have at least one quantifiable data. Go for numbers, percentages, or sales figures to the maximum extent possible. It gives the person going through the resume a better idea of how you may have performed previously. Keep in mind that numbers can attract attention more quickly than anything else. Therefore, you take advantage of that.

Never focus on saying what you want. Instead, think of what they are looking for. Make it clear what value the organization will get by having you on board. Seek out the common things in the work history and skills relevant to the job you are applying for.