How To Write a Stellar Resume Summary Statement
A resume summary is positioned at the top of your resume and gives you an opportunity to make a great first impression on the hiring manager. The best summaries are short and impactful, providing the reader a glimpse into who you are and what you bring to the table. You need to grab their attention and make them want to learn more about you.
Your resume summary is where you can demonstrate your unique skill set, professional experience, and accomplishments. Since it’s usually located at the top of your resume, a summary statement is a great opportunity to create a strong, lasting first impression. It functions like an elevator pitch - a quick and targeted way to show potential employers that you are the best candidate for the job.
Resume summary statements are sometimes called by different names, such as personal or professional profiles, summaries of qualifications, profile statements, career profiles, and so forth. Regardless of the terminology, the purpose is the same - to highlight your personal and professional strengths. Here’s a look at how to write a resume summary that makes you stand out from other candidates.
Should You Include a Summary Statement on Your Resume?
A 2018 study showed that hiring managers spend an average of only 7.4 seconds looking at each resume they receive. Adding a summary statement to your resume can help increase your chances of capturing the attention of whoever is reading it. It distills your resume down into a couple of easy-to-consume sentences.
A summary statement can be beneficial for job searchers in a variety of situations. For instance, if you have multiple years of experience in your industry and you’ll be continuing in the same field, your resume summary can succinctly sum up and organize your years of expertise.
If you are a student, recent graduate, or otherwise new to the professional world, your resume summary statement is an excellent place to highlight your personal characteristics that make you a great fit for the position.
However, there are some instances where you may wish to forgo a summary statement in favor of using that limited and precious resume real estate for other information. For example, if you have gaps in your employment history, an explanation of the gaps may be more relevant.
It’s also generally best to keep your resume limited to one page, so if you are finding it difficult to fit your resume summary on top of all of your work experience and other qualifications, you may want to skip it. If you have more than ten years of experience in your field or extensive qualifications that warrant more space, a two-page resume is considered acceptable. However, it’s always a good idea to be as succinct as possible.
Step-by-step guide for writing a resume summary
Here are a few simple steps to help you create an impactful resume summary statement:
Identify key skills
Start by making a list of what you bring to the table. Focus on skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for. These should be talents that align with the job description. For example, if the role requires leadership and project management, emphasize those skills at the beginning of your summary.
Example: For a project management role — “Experienced project manager with 5+ years in leading cross-functional teams and overseeing end-to-end project delivery.”
Highlight your achievements
Don’t rely on bland, generic language. Use quantifiable achievements that show how you can add value to the company. Think about the impact you’ve made in previous roles.
Did you increase sales? Improve efficiency? Reduce costs? Numbers help recruiters visualize your success.
Example: “Increased sales by 25% in Q1 by implementing a new digital marketing strategy.”
Tailor your summary for the job
One of the most important steps involves customizing your resume summary for each job. Look at the posting to identify specific keywords or skills that the employer is looking for. Incorporate a few of those terms into your summary.
Example: If you’re applying for a data analyst role and the company values efficiency in reporting — “Detail-oriented data analyst with 4+ years of experience in improving data accuracy by 15%.”
What to include in your resume summary
If you’ve decided that it makes sense to include a resume summary, here are some tips for what to include:
Pertinent certifications, experience, or education history
Show employers that you would be an excellent fit for the job by listing your credentials, whether that means mentioning a relevant college degree, outlining your experience working in the industry, or sharing that you hold certifications that are necessary or helpful for the position.
Your skills and abilities
In addition to your more concrete skills and qualifications from the last section, your summary is a good place to mention your soft skills, or those that are more difficult to measure, define, or quantify. Your soft skills might include qualities like creativity, communication abilities, flexibility, cultural awareness, and so forth.
Specific metrics
Impress potential employers by providing quantified details of your professional performance. Possible details to mention include how much money you brought in for the company, the size of the budgets you’ve handled, how many people you have trained and/or managed, how much work you accomplished within a certain time period, how frequently you performed various tasks, and so on.
Tips for writing your summary statement
Now that you know what information to include in your summary statement, here are some tips for actually writing it:
Keep it short
Remember, you have only a few seconds to impress a potential employer. Keep your resume summary to a maximum of five lines of text. A couple of impactful sentences will serve you better than a long paragraph. It’s not necessary to write in technically complete sentences - i.e., you can say “Driven ecommerce expert with 5 years experience” rather than “I am a driven ecommerce expert with 5 years of relevant experience.”
Make it personal
While there are hundreds of examples of summary statements available on the internet that you can reference for inspiration, keep in mind that your resume summary needs to be very specific to you and your talents. This is your chance to show off what you’ve achieved in the past!
Be professional
While you want your resume summary statement to stand out, it still needs to be professional. Spell-check your statement, use a respectful tone, and don’t choose any crazy fonts or colors. However, you can certainly use an interesting heading, bold or italicized text, and a variety of colors that are still professional and easily readable such as navy or forest green.
Expert Tip:
Avoid writing generic, overused buzzwords like ‘hard worker’ or ‘go-getter.’ Instead, prove to employers that you are a hard-working go-getter by sharing concrete examples of past successes, including numbers and metrics wherever possible.
Tailor your resume summary statement to each application
Your resume summary statement should never use a one-size-fits-all approach. Tailor your summary to match the specific job and company you’re applying to.
Mention the company name when possible, incorporate key skills and qualities from the job listing, and align your summary with the company’s culture and values. By personalizing your resume, you demonstrate that you’ve researched the business and are genuinely interested in the position. Here are a few tips for customizing your summary:
- Include 3 to 4 relevant skills that match the job description
- Reflect one of the company’s values if possible
- Mention experiences that match the job responsibilities
- Use job-specific keywords
- Focus on how you can solve problems and add value
This simple checklist can help make your resume summary stand out and show employers why you’re the perfect fit for their team.
Include metrics and achievements in your resume summary
Vague statements like “Increased sales” aren’t going to make you stand out. You need to provide specific achievements and hard numbers to support your claims. Metrics like “Increased sales by 20% in the first quarter” give your accomplishments context and make them more impressive.
Here’s a simple template that you can use:
[Action verb] [specific achievement] by [metric].
You can apply this template to just about any industry or role to make your achievements more impactful.
Examples of resume summary statements
Now, let’s look at some examples of compelling resume summaries for a few different roles:
Recent graduate
Motivated and passionate recent graduate of UCLA with a BA in Marketing (3.9 GPA), excited to begin my professional career with Example Media as an SEO Analyst to produce data-driven marketing campaigns that boost sales through a strategic online presence. Previous experience includes a 6-month internship at XYZ Marketing where I analyzed over 5,000 URLs to select the top 50 backlink prospects.
Office manager
Energetic office manager with over 8 years experience, seeking a managerial position with XYZ Inc. Managed a team of 6 in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. Reduced lead times by 40% and optimized office supply process to save the company over $40,000 each year.
Nurse
Pediatric Registered Nurse with 8 years of experience in ICUs and PICUs of 3 community hospitals. Eager to join the staff of ABC Hospital and contribute top-notch patient care skills and extensive knowledge of hospital procedures. Consistently scored over 95% in compliance rate assessments throughout previous professional experience.
Marketing professional
Results-driven marketer with 6 years of experience in SEO and social media strategies. Proven track record of increasing organic traffic by 40% in 12 months.
IT professional
Skilled IT professional with 8 years of experience in network security and system administration. Expertise in troubleshooting, reducing downtime by 30%.
Sales executive
Top-performing sales executive with a decade of experience in B2B sales. Consistently exceeded sales quotes by 20 to 25% and built strong client relationships that resulted in a 35% increase in customer retention.
Healthcare professional
Compassionate registered nurse with 5 years of experience in emergency care. Skilled in patient triage, treatment planning, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to provide the highest level of patient care
Education
Dedicated elementary school teacher with 7 years of experience in developing lesson plans and fostering a positive learning environment. Increased student test scores by 25% through interactive learning strategies.
Finance
Experienced financial analyst with a strong background in budgeting and forecasting. Saved the company 15% in annual expenses through reporting and forecasting strategies.
Engineer
Mechanical engineer with 10 years of experience in product development and design. Led a team that reduced manufacturing costs by 20% through process optimization.
Human resources
Dynamic HR manager with 8 years of experience in talent acquisition and employee relations. Reduced turnover rates by 10% through the implementation of employee retention programs.
Construction
Experienced construction manager with 15 years overseeing multimillion-dollar commercial and residential projects. Delivered 90% of projects on time and under budget.
Customer service representative
Customer-focused representative with 4 years of experience in handling high-volume customer inquiries. Increased customer satisfaction scores by 15% through improved problem-solving techniques.
Hospitality
Dedicated hotel manager with 10 years of experience in managing daily operations and guest services. Achieved a 30% increase in guest satisfaction ratings through enhanced service training.
Logistics
Supply chain manager with 7 years of experience optimizing logistics operations. Reduced delivery times by 20% while cutting transportation costs by 10%.
Real estate
Experienced real estate agent with a proven track record of closing high-value property deals. Increased property sales by 25% through targeted marketing campaigns.
Healthcare administration
Proactive healthcare administrator with 10 years of experience in hospital management and healthcare operations. Improved operational efficiency by 18% through the introduction of new processes.
Legal
Detail-oriented paralegal with 5 years of experience in litigation support and legal research. Assisted in cases that resulted in favorable outcomes for 80% of clients.
Common mistakes to avoid
Even seemingly small errors can hurt your chances of getting an interview. Here are some of the most frequent mistakes to avoid when creating your resume summary.
Using vague language
Avoid terms like “responsible for” or “helped with.” These phrases don’t convey your specific contributions and can make your summary feel generic. You must use verbiage that catches the reader’s eye and makes them eager to learn more. Replace vague language with specific action verbs and terms that quantify your achievements.
Focusing too much on responsibilities
Your summary should focus on achievements rather than listing job duties. Highlight what you’ve accomplished rather than what tasks you were assigned.
Overloading keywords
Keywords are important, but they can be overused. Don’t resort to keyword stuffing, which involves cramming as many target phrases into your summary as possible. Choose a few relevant terms and integrate them into your summary in a logical and natural way.
Using copy-and-paste summaries
Your summary shouldn’t read like it could be pasted into anyone’s resume for any job. The summary needs to be unique to your achievements and the position you are applying for. Customize your resume and summary for every position.
Key takeaways
Adding a resume summary can be an excellent way to stand out from a crowd of applicants, and it distills the highlights of your resume down to a few sentences. Write your summary statement after you’ve completed the rest of your resume so you can easily select the best parts to mention. And again, be sure to tailor your resume to each job posting and proofread it carefully to avoid errors.
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