A resume summary is a concise summary of who you are and the value you can bring to an organization. Today (2018), all strong resumes are expected to have resume summaries instead of the old-fashioned “Target.” The resume summary is essentially your elevator pitch, which is a very short “commercial” of who you are and how you can benefit an organization.
What to include
First, be sure to include a resume summary immediately after your contact information. Excluding a résumé or just listing a few bullet points about your qualifications (or worse, listing an objective) will almost guarantee that your resume will get approved, unless you personally know the hiring manager. The resume summary is essentially a condensed version of the “Question about yourself.” When writing a summary, you should be sure to include relevant and specific information that shows who you are without being too generic. A great summary will include who you are, what you have done, what value you bring, and what your strengths are. Also, you should always include your resume title above the resume summary to make it clear who you are (i.e. sales professional, IT executive, project manager, etc.)
Keep it short
You may have been in an industry for more than 20 years and have done enough to fill more than 100 pages of text; however, your summary should not be longer than five or six sentences. TheLadders (2017) conducted a study and showed that the average recruiter spends 6 seconds going through a resume, so your resume summary needs to be concise and compelling. You need to quickly grab the attention of hiring managers and highlight your best selling points or unique value proposition. Avoid being redundant and including too many generic sentences that can be applied to anyone.
Three great resume summary examples:
Example No. 1: global vice president
Results-oriented global executive with a proven track record of successfully building and leading communications businesses in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. Experience in corporate trust and reputation, operational leadership, business development, strategic planning and operations optimization to significantly increase revenue and profitability. Prestigious commentator on corporate trust, crisis and corporate reputation issues for CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, BBC and Channel News Asia, as well as providing information for print, commercial and other broadcast media on five continents. Presenter at the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Economic Forum Anti-Corruption Conference, the FSG Shared Value Conference, and countless industry and customer events.
Example No. # 2: Senior Sales Executive
Award-winning sales executive with vast experience in global sales / marketing and financial management. Experience in finding and retaining new business as a deal leader and in the framework of completing KYC due diligence for specialty clients. Proven track record of generating over $ 100 million in profit and reserves. Successful customer relationship manager who understands customer needs, manages expectations, builds lasting relationships, instills trust, and ensures delivery of integrated solutions. Very skilled working in the FinTech industry.
Example No. 3: technical director
Highly talented IT executive with a proven track record of designing, building, and implementing multi-million dollar, tactical IT strategic and operational solutions that contribute significantly to organizational performance. Oversaw the construction of more than 450 retail stores from a technology perspective including hardware, software, LAN / WAN and telephony, as well as managing more than 350 project lifecycles from inception to launch. Experience in leading teams effectively, instilling passion and developing people to achieve excellence. Great ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences.
All three examples clearly exemplify who the candidate is, what the candidate has done, what value the candidate brings, and what the candidate’s strengths are in a concise and compelling way without unnecessary nonsense. Fluff is a resume summary that is filled with generic sentences like the following example:
Example No. 4 – Generic Lint Summary
Energetic and creative professional with cross-functional experience in operations. History of working well with all levels of leadership and developing effective relationships. Great ability to make immediate and valuable contributions to an organization. Flexible and open-minded with an outstanding ability to adapt to any situation. Excellent research, strategic thinking, communication and presentation skills.
conclusion
Think of your resume summary as the only thing a hiring manager will read, because in many cases it can be. Your resume summary is your elevator pitch, and it should include who you are, what you’ve done, what value you bring, and what your strengths are in a concise and compelling way. Remember to include your title above your summary to immediately identify who you are. You can use a generic “Career Summary” or “Qualifications” if you have a very diverse background and it is difficult to define who you are in a single title. Always remember to include a resume summary as candidates without one will surely be approved.