Best Resume Summary Examples Explained: How to Write Yours
In This Guide:
Your resume is more than just a list of your work history.
It’s a carefully crafted document that should highlight your skills, experiences, and personality.
At the forefront of this document is your resume summary, a concise introduction that can make or break your job application.
In this guide, we’ll answer all your questions about what your resume summary is, when to use it, and most importantly, how to write one that stands out.
What is a Resume Summary?
A resume summary is a brief statement at the top of your resume that provides a snapshot of your professional identity.
It should have your qualifications, experiences, and career goals in a few well-chosen sentences.
Think of it as your elevator pitch to potential employers, a chance to captivate them within moments.
When to Use a Resume Summary?
While it’s not a mandatory section in your resume, there are specific situations where it can make a significant impact:
- Career Change: If you’re switching industries or roles, a well-crafted summary can bridge the gap between your previous experience and your desired career path.
- To Spotlight Your Key Achievements: When you want to highlight your most impressive accomplishments, especially when they align with the job you’re applying for.
- Grabbing Attention: When you want to catch the hiring manager’s eye right away, a compelling summary can pique their interest.
How to Write a Resume Summary?
Here’s how you can create an effective resume summary in 5 simple steps to ensure you make a lasting impression.
Step 1: Personalize Your Summary to Fit the Job Description
Customization is the key to a successful resume summary. Tailor it to align with the specific job you’re applying for.
Highlight how your skills and experiences are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying for a job in digital marketing, you can mention:
- Marketing manager with 5+ years of experience.
- Expertise in social media marketing, including Facebook, Google, and TikTok.
- Onboarded 100+ customers to our SaaS platform, with a retention rate of over 75%.
Step 2: Customize Keywords for the ATS Software
Many employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen resumes.
To make sure your resume gets noticed, include keywords from the job posting in your summary.
If the job posting mentions “mergers and acquisitions,” incorporate that exact phrase into your summary.
If you’re applying for a Web Developer job, add the various proficiencies you have, such as Java, ASP.NET, C#, IIS, Tomcat, and Microsoft SQL Server.
ATS software often scans for precise terms, so matching them can be the key to getting your resume in front of a human reviewer.
Step 3: Quantify Your Achievements
Show, don’t just tell, when describing your accomplishments.
Use specific numbers, percentages, or figures to quantify your achievements.
This adds credibility and makes your achievements more tangible to potential employers. Numbers speak louder than vague statements.
Instead of: ” Managed legacy system for company’s reconfiguration project.”
You can write: “Spearheaded legacy system reconfiguration project, slashing transaction time by 20% and increased maximum transaction volume by 10% for Citibank.”
Step 4: Use Powerful Language and Action Verbs
Avoid flabby, weak, and vague language in your summary.
Use strong action verbs and descriptive adjectives to convey your accomplishments and skills.
For instance, opt for “supervised” and “spearheaded” instead of generic terms like “managed” or “responsible.”
As the saying goes, “Don’t use language that sounds fancy but says nothing.”
Step 5: Highlight Your Soft Skills
Soft skills can set you apart from other candidates.
Mention skills like leadership, communication, teamwork, and adaptability that are relevant to the job.
These qualities demonstrate your suitability for not just the role but also the company’s culture.
Learn some soft skills you can add to your resume.
Step 6: Always Proofread Carefully
Last but certainly not least, proofread your resume summary meticulously.
It would be best if you revised your resume regularly.
Typos, misspellings, bad grammar, or strange punctuation can detract from your professionalism.
A well-polished summary conveys attention to detail and a commitment to quality.
Inspiring Resume Summary Examples
Here are a few resume summary samples you can get inspiration from!
Secretary Resume Summary Example
This gives a good helicopter view of your achievements and contributions.
Briefly mentioning about what industry you are interested in, as well as your past secretarial experience, will establish the focus of your current career goal.
- Communications graduate with strong work experience in performing secretarial, receptionist, and customer service functions. Keen on pursuing administrative role within IT or media industries
- Experience serving top management in Fortune 500 companies and providing secretarial support to CEOs and MDs of various cultural backgrounds
- Customer-oriented with exceptional communications and organisational skills. Flexible and versatile, able to multitask and adapt to different work environments to meet organisational goals
- Excellent interpersonal skills, able to build relationships with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds
Finance Manager Resume Summary Example
Remember to add statistics and years, the more specific the better.
- Senior Finance Manager with 12 years of experience leading financial operations at renowned global INCs, including Facebook & Twitter. Led end-to-end compliance for Twitter’s IPO in 2013 (NASDAQ: TWTR).
- Wide-reaching domain experience across multiple Finance-related fields, specializing particularly in FP&A and risk modelling. Known for producing detailed financial planning & risk models as part of advisory duties to C-level management, providing insights into business health to support strategic and growth planning operations.
- Extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of major global accounting and regulatory standards, including IAS, US GAAP, SEC, and IFRS, as well as compliance and reporting procedures for NASDAQ entities.
Sales Associate Resume Summary Example
If you can quantify your current role and mention it on the summary, it will help scale your current responsibilities.
- Retail sales professional with 4 years’ experience working across luxury ladies’ wear brands. Deep knowledge in fashion trends and products
- Consistent track record of surpassing sales targets. Skilled in handling full spectrum of retail operations including inventory management, visual merchandising, and customer relations
- Proactive team player with excellent and communication and interpersonal skills in servicing high-end clients
Teacher Resume Summary Example
Briefly mentioning about the subjects you teach, as well as your extra academic functions, will establish a focus of your specialisation and abilities.
- Seasoned educator with proven track record in teaching and delivering Literature in English lectures and tutorials, as well as assuming multi-faceted roles including Head of Department, academic coach, and academic coordinator at leading schools in Singapore
- Outstanding public speaker recognised for student and peer engagement. Well-versed in employing innovative approaches to enhance teaching and learning, such as by capitalising on Facebook’s group functions and other online tools
- Progressive leader adept at identifying and developing students’ potential, providing professional guidance when necessary
- Exceptional leadership skills, strong in driving change and capable of working round-the-clock to meet organisational objectives
Senior Level Resume Summary Example
Ensure your opening line perfectly captures a strong summary that shows your experience.
- Client Advisor with 17 years of experience in private banking. Expertise in managing ultra high net worth clients across Middle East and Europe.>
- Outstanding success in growing assets under management across diverse markets. Outstanding track record in retaining clientele during global financial crisis.
- Strong technical background. Deep understanding of complex instruments with ability to provide detailed advisory to clients on maximising portfolio returns.
- Broad and deep understanding of diverse cultures across Middle East and Europe with strong multi lingual ability and proven ability adapt to different cultures within short periods of time.
- Experienced working with C-level management and other business leaders on complex projects and strategic growth initiatives. Adept at motivating and mentoring teams in cross-functional environments. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Fresh Graduate Resume Summary Example
As a fresh graduate, you want to show what your immediate career goals are.
You can make up for a lack of professional working experience through highlighting relevant CCA activities, or other extracurricular interests which are relevant to your field.
- Recent B.Sc [Economics] graduate specializing in market analysis, with prior internship experience in major Fortune 500 firms, specializing in equity analysis and industry research. Currently pursuing Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level III Certification.
- Strong familiarity with Bloomberg; capable leveraging on and utilizing Bloomberg terminals and data sources as part of overarching research and analysis process.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to teams with minimal training; commended by superiors for contributions to firm during internship. Extensive leadership experience through various co-curricular activities in university, having spearheaded strategic development for University’s Student Managed Investment Fund Club.
HR Manager Resume Summary Example
Mention exact phrases used in the job posting you are applying for.
Make sure to toss some HR-related jargons all throughout your resume.
- HR professional with 10+ years of experience in performing full spectrum of HR functions across the FMCG and IT industries
- Successfully managed learning and development projects worth up to RM100K to meet growing organisational needs and foster high-performance culture
- Proven track record in acquiring and retaining talent for fast growing startup; grew company from 12 to 80 employees, meeting all hiring roadmap targets and overseeing office relocation from small residential basement to 3-storey building in the CBD.
- Strong expertise in building and transforming organisations and driving business change. Reduced employee turnover rate from 7% to 0.6% through proactive performance management, employee engagement, training needs analysis, and career roadmap planning with key individuals.
Audit Professional Resume Summary Example
Add in your proficiencies of industry softwares and expertise.
- Senior Audit Professional with 6 years’ experience in delivering high-impact, value-adding external audit and accounting work with excellent client feedback.
- Audited international firms across a spectrum of industries including Construction, Trading, Shipping and Logistics.
- Proficient and solid expertise in accounting and financial principles with comprehensive understanding of industry software and protocols across regional borders. Fluent in latest Singaporean and International Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS, IFRS).
- Competent problem-solver with proven capabilities of working in dynamic teams in a fast paced environment. Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills in building relationships with people from different organisational levels and cultures.
Business Development Resume Summary Example
Add soft skills into your resume summary like “analytic thinker” or “interpersonal skills.”
- Enterprise IT Business Developer with over 15 years’ experience in architecting and closing ERP solutions for Blue Chip multinational clients such as Petronas, Exxon Mobil, and BP.
- Highly driven go-getter. Exceeded sales targets for 5 consecutive years, with a proven track record of closing over USD 25 million worth of enterprise sales contracts in FY2015.
- Deep understanding of global business landscape with experience in selling to clients within oil & gas, automotive, and semiconductor industries.
- Analytic thinker with ability to craft strategies which have successfully penetrated new segments of the market across APAC, resulting in capture of new accounts worth over USD 100 million.
- People developer with track record for assembling and training high performance sales teams across 5 countries in Asia. Currently leading team of 25 staff spread across 8 offices.
- Excellent interpersonal skills towards building relationships at all organisational levels, qualified leader with several employer awards for outstanding performance.
Data Analyst Resume Summary Example
When in doubt, remember to use power words and action verbs.
- Former Financial Consultant turned Data Analyst with >5 years’ experience in data analytics, risk management, data mining and process improvement.
- Adept at identifying opportunities for enhancement to processes and operational efficiencies, leading to faster delivery times and continuous advancements.
- Strong leader and project manager; capable of handling teams of up to 10, taking on multiple projects, and establishing effective professional relationships with clients at all organizational levels.
In conclusion, your resume summary is your golden ticket to landing that dream job.
By personalizing it, using keywords effectively, quantifying your achievements, employing powerful language, and emphasizing your soft skills, you’ll create a resume summary that stands out.
So, learn how to craft your summary thoughtfully following these resume templates!
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