Into the Details: The Resume Summary

This is the first of a series, “Into the Details”, where we discuss a specific aspect of freelancing, job hunting, entrepreneurship, or other work-related topic. For this post we’ll be covering do’s and don’ts and tips for writing the Summary section of your resume.

Summary vs. Objective

Resumes used to begin, right after the applicant’s name and contact info, with a brief Objective statement, which either gave the reader information they already knew (“Seeking a position as a [title]”) or were so general that they offered no useful information at all (“Seeking a position where I may use my skills and experience to benefit my employer”.)

Objectives on resumes are outdated now, and a tailored Summary (also known as a “Profile") is preferred as the first thing a reader sees after your contact info. It is a stronger way to begin this document that is so crucial to your job search success, as the Summary tells the employer what you have to offer, rather than what you are looking for, so it is more aligned with what the reader is interested in.

Customizing for ATSs and for a human reader

In order to get the interview, which is your goal with your application documents, you must customize the Summary each time you send it, to make it clear that you have the specific skills and experience required for the job. For many workplaces, your application has to get past an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) before a human being will ever see it. (We'll be covering ATSs and how they work in a future post.) You must write your Summary for both the ATS and for the person who will be reading it. The first step is reading the job description very carefully.

The ATS is going to be looking for certain words and phrases, which you’ll find in the job description. It is a good idea to use those exact same words/phrases, rather than something close to what is in the description, or synonyms. Anything that is a requirement, or is emphasized, or is mentioned more than once in the job posting, is likely to be something the ATS will be scanning for.

A human being is also going to be looking for certain things, and you have to grab their attention and make it clear in a very limited amount of text that you really do have what they are seeking. The Summary is about five or six lines, and as there is no “I” on the resume, these are not full sentences. There must be no filler in this section; every word must convey that you are a strong candidate, or the reader will likely stop reading and move on to the next resume. Your summary should be short and sweet, concise and compelling. It should be easy for both the ATS and the human reader to choose you as an applicant with the right skills and experience.

When in doubt… put yourself in the mind of the reader, and prioritize

If you’re having trouble deciding what information to include in your Summary, go back to the job description and ask yourself, “Is this going to be of interest to the reader who is trying to fill this job? Will including this help me to get the interview?”

If you find yourself tempted to make a very long Summary, choose the five or six things that would be most compelling to the decision maker, that you think will convince them to offer you that interview. Including everything and hoping that some of it, somehow, impresses to the reader that you are well-qualified, is not a good strategy. What you edit out of your resume and your Summary especially, can be as important as what you include.

Some Final Tips

You can label this section, or just have it come right after your name/contact info, without any heading.

If you are switching careers, you’ll want to focus on the set of transferable skills you have that are relevant to the job you are going for right now. You may have acquired those skills in a different type of work, but you can and should make it clear to the reader that those skills can be applied to a new job.

If you list language skills in your Summary, include also your level of proficiency (beginner, intermediate, fluent, etc.) and be honest! Exaggerating any skill, especially if that skill is a requirement of the job, is likely to come back to haunt you. In general you don’t want to engage in any dishonest or misleading behavior during your job hunt; employers don’t want dishonest employees and you are likely to get caught.

If there is information you want to include but not emphasize, you can have an “Additional Skills” section at or near the end of the resume. The Summary is for the most important pieces of information you want the reader to know right up front, and “Additional Skills” is for relevant info that is not directly related to what is in the job description. You can move things between these two sections, or remove them altogether from the document, as necessary.

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For more advice, tips, resume and cover letter samples, and info on our services including upcoming presentations and one-on-one resume and cover letter reviews, please visit the B&CC’s Career Help page. (Please note: we give feedback and advice on resumes and cover letters but we do not write or re-write your documents.)