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Most people agree that resumes shouldn’t have career objectives these days, but what about professional summaries? Are they helpful, or are you committing a resume faux pas by including one?
The Benefits of a Professional Summary
Although a professional summary isn’t necessary, there are several arguments for having one on your resume or CV.
1. You’re putting the focus on the employers’ needs.
“Unlike the resume objective statement, career summary statements focus more on the company’s needs, not the needs of the job seeker,” says an article on JobScan.
Career objectives don’t offer much value as they simply state the position that a job seeker desires. For example, an objective might read, “To obtain an admissions position at a liberal arts college.”
Conversely, a summary might read, “passionate, results-driven admissions professional with 10+ years of experience in streamlining admissions processes and coordinating promotional events and a proven track record of boosting enrollment rates.”
Professional summaries are all about showing the value you can offer an institution. Think of it as your very own career headline. It is your chance to capture a prospective employer’s attention.
2. It can quickly qualify you for the job.
In an age when recruiters and hiring managers have limited time to review each application, your qualification for the specific job and the value you will bring should be easy and quick for the reader to discern. Simply listing your chronological history of work experience requires readers to put together many pieces to get a full picture of your experience — a brief professional summary does this step for them, giving them a quick snapshot. If it matches the position and features desired keywords, it will quickly identify you as a strong fit for the role and likely garner a more in-depth review of your application.
3. A professional summary connects the dots for employers.
If you’re applying for a job with a title that matches one you’ve already held, employers will be able to understand your fit (as long as your resume follows other best practices). However, sometimes a candidate’s work history isn’t a clear/obvious fit with the position to which they are applying. Perhaps you’re looking to move into management or to make a lateral move to a somewhat related field? A summary statement can help you draw common themes from your positions and highlight transferable experience from your previous jobs.
Tips for Writing a Professional Summary
Be succinct. Long-winded summaries and paragraphs of text are likely to land your resume in the proverbial ‘no pile.’ Resumes should be skimmable and easy to read, and your professional summary is no different. Think of it as a headline or short phrase that succinctly captures the essence of you as a candidate.
Highlight matching skills and experiences. Mine the job posting for keywords and skills. As you write your professional summary, focus on the skills and experiences most relevant to the position. However, avoid keyword-stuffing — stay true to yourself and be honest about what you can offer.
Customize. Just as resumes should be tailored to each individual position, your resume summary should be specific to the position at hand. If you are aware of specific company needs you can speak to or if the keywords in your generic summary don’t quite match, edit your summary to better resonate with the prospective employer.
Alternatives to the Summary Statement
Professional summary statements are a great way to provide a quick snapshot of your experience, hopefully ensuring a more thorough review of your resume, but there are other options that can accomplish this.
If you opt not to have one, you might instead consider an upfront bullet list of key experiences/skills/focus areas. “I have always been a proponent of [this] before getting into the chronological resume,” said Mark Coldren, who retired this year from his position as Associate Vice President of Human Resources for the University at Buffalo and now serves as the Engagement and Outreach Liaison for CUPA-HR on a part-time basis. “It helps with any programs that search for keywords and is also good for search committees to be able to scan quickly when they start looking at pools of candidates. I think folks get obsessed with titles too much — the functional/action-oriented resume is easier to read and help folks look for areas to ask questions and probe more when they contact.”
The bottom line? Summaries and other ways of “putting together the puzzle pieces” for employers can make a difference in your candidacy, so long as they aren’t empty words.
