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In
today's competitive job market, employers rely on
well-written resumes to screen potential candidates.
In many instances, employers look through job search
web sites, such as HotJobs.com or Monster.com, to
find professionals with skills, education and
experience that fit their needs. These employment
search web sites, along with many companies' own
online applications, require candidates to upload
their resume in order to express interest in a
specific opportunity. Without an opportunity to send
a personal email or a cover letter, you have to make
sure that your resume expresses your personality in
addition to listing your professional and
educational experiences and achievements. To do so,
you can include a professional profile or summary at
the beginning of your resume that allows you to
market yourself through a narrative. This section
allows your potential employers to learn something
unique about you and your career, as well as get a
good feel of your communication skills.
To
write an effective summary, you should first
understand what information should not be
communicated in your resume. While a summary
provides an insight into what is unique and
competitive about you, it is not a place for you to
indicate any personal information that does not
relate to your career. Information such as
ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation,
religious beliefs and affiliations, etc. should be
left out of your resume. While descriptive of who
you are, this information is not relevant to your
potential employer in order to pre-screen your
qualifications for their opportunity. Additionally,
the summary should not contain your previous
professional experience, unless you can clearly
demonstrate how such background can be of value in
your future career development. Beware of generic
statements, such as "I am well organized and detail
oriented." Employers want to hear your unique voice
and get a sense of your communication skills while
reading the summary portion of your resume. Using
generalizations about your abilities will make the
employers believe that you are either a poor
communicator or are using such statements to fill up
space on your resume.
Your summary should be in form of a short paragraph
or bulleted statements, containing only several
sentences. There isn't a sentence limit, but as a
rule do not take up more than one quarter of the
page. Your summary should begin by a headline that
summarizes your professional title and/or your
professional statement. Emphasize your title by
featuring the headline in bold and larger font, as
it allows your potential employer to grasp who you
are quickly. For example:
Financial Planning Professional Achieved
Double-Digit Return for All Clients through
Well-Balanced Financial Portfolios
It
is important that this title is well crafted, as it
is the first impression your potential employer will
have of you.
There are three things a well-written summary should
address: - Your experiences and skills as they
relate to your job - What you can bring to the
organization and the open position that no other
candidate can - Your professional goals.
Even though your resume summary is written by you,
it should be composed in third person, in present
tense. Think of it as a summary of what one of your
best colleagues would say about your professional
achievements. Reinforce your title, and sell only
the experiences and skills that meet your career
objective. If you have multiple career objectives,
such as you wish to get a position in either
marketing or public relations, develop separate
resume summaries for each of the objectives. A
summary can also contain a brief bulleted section
highlighting only a few vital competitive skills
that you bring to the table. An example of an
effective summary would be as follows:
Successful financial planning professional with over
15 years of personal and retirement planning
experience. Managed a small financial planning firm,
achieving double-digit financial returns for all
clients by developing personalized investment
portfolios. Leader in development and professional
growth of four other financial planners in the firm
through effective and motivating mentoring
strategies.
Key
competencies include: o Personalized portfolio
development o Financial forecasting o Retirement
portfolio management o Development on-going
professional growth strategies
Much like your overall resume, your summary should
be well-written and error-free. Make sure to review
your summary, and customize as necessary for the
various opportunities of interest. An effective
summary will help you "hook" your employer; it
should sell you as a primary candidate for the job,
leaving your employer with a great first impression
of you.
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