|
A
Qualifications Summary is your first and best chance to
make a favorable impression on a hiring manager. It is a
marketing tool that sells your unique skills to the
targeted company.
To be
effective, a Qualifications Summary must:
1. Provide
a snapshot of you as the ideal candidate for the
position.
2. Be
concise and to the point, addressing what expertise you
can bring to the job to benefit the prospective
employer.
3. Address
pertinent qualifications in the job posting.
4. List
your most stellar and recent quantified accomplishment
that pertains to your current job search.
5. Provide
additional data that enhances your candidacy, including:
-
Linguistic capabilities in foreign languages
-
Certifications
-
Licensure
-
Willingness to travel or to relocate for the new
position
6. State
specific skills, such as computer proficiencies (if
applicable).
7. List
your past employers if they are well known, i.e. Boeing,
Wall Street Journal, Macy's, AT&T, etc.
8. Work
Permits or Green Card data for foreign nationals.
What
to avoid in Qualifications Summaries:
1. Use of
personal pronouns such as I, my, me, we, us, etc.
Resumes are business documents that should employ a
conservative tone.
2. Soft
skills - i.e. being personable or trustworthy - unless
they are backed up by specific data.
- Soft
skills presented in a weak fashion: "Personable
individual with proven "people" skills."
- Soft
skills that are effective and strengthened by
quantified results: "Salvaged $6 million VIP account
with Pepsi-Cola, Inc. through superior communication
and client relations skills."
3.
Objectives that are vague and self-serving:
-
"Currently seeking position in which to grow with
dynamic organization."
- "Want
to use creativity and skills learned in college."
4. Any
data that is superfluous or does not enhance candidacy
for targeted position or career, including:
-
Outdated computer skills for an IT professional.
- A
listing of word-processing skills for an executive
who would most likely have an administrative
assistant to do clerical work.
-
Academic data (i.e. GPAs, Dean's List, Scholarships)
for a seasoned Professional or an Executive.
5. Number
of years of employment in the field, unless the job
posting specifically requires a set number of years of
experience.
- To
avoid age discrimination or the perception of being
over qualified for a particular position, it's
always best to state "comprehensive" or
"significant" experience, rather than the exact
number of years.
6. Laundry
lists of skills that are assumed for the position - i.e.
a CPA is presumed to know AP/AR, bookkeeping, general
ledger, reconciliations, taxes, and the like. Providing
this data is not telling the hiring manager anything new
or relevant.
Before
writing your Qualifications Summary determine:
1. What
makes you unique in your given field - i.e.
accomplishments, achievements, post graduate degrees,
certifications, licensure.
2. What
you have to offer the targeted company in terms of past
experience.
3. How you
meet their qualifications.
The
qualifications summary is one of the most important
pieces of your resume. Write it correctly and the
hiring managers will call!
About
the Author: Hello, my name is Darlene and I'm the
Managing Editor of ResumeEdge, provider of resume
writing services. She has created 10,000+ resumes,
cover letters, and business documents for clients in
every industry and at every stage of a career from
entry-level to CEOs. Darlene is a CPRW and SME in the
industry and works for
http://www.resumeedge.com. |
