A summary is a representation of who you are and naturally it is what creates your first impression. It portrays your attitude, your goal, and outlines your experience. It is a crucial section and needs to be written carefully as it usually appears in the beginning and messing it up means you’ll ruin your first impression. Follow the steps below to create your resume summary in 5 simple steps.
1. Understand what the contents of the summary should be :
A summary is in essence like an elevator pitch but in a written form. Just like an elevator pitch, a summary should be short but impressive. It should answer 2 important questions that are-
- What are your experiences?
- What are your interests?
The point is to introduce yourself and your goals while explaining what projects you undertook to get closer to your goals as well as listing your achievements. Anything that sets you apart is something that can be included in the summary. It is not compulsory to write a summary but is usually used by experienced candidates to highlight their past achievements and skills.
2. Create the base :
A summary does not need to be long, 3 to 6 lines are enough. These lines need to highlight what you achieved in your past endeavors. If there are too many, then select the most impressive points of them all. It is best to turn these achievements into quantifiable data such as percentages etc. Numbers attract attention and make the achievement more impressive. This also helps the recruiter compare and understand all your performances. Example– Saying “I successfully organized 2 hackathons.” does not sound very impressive and standards of who calls what successful is different but saying “I organized 2 hackathons with a 30, 000 + footfall” sounds like you know what you were doing and got the results.
3. Use keywords :
The recruiters do not hold interest in knowing what you need but rather in what you offer so offer a solution to the problem they are facing, the solution being to hire you. You present this solution by presenting your relevant skills for which you need to use the correct keywords. Using keywords in resume will help the recruiter immediately spot the work you are best at and help in the process of decision making. Scan the job listing carefully and pay close attention to what they want, then use that to generate keywords. Of all the keywords that you find, use the ones that can be used with your experience, and frame them into your resume summary.
4. Use the power of a title :
With experience and time, you get a title. It is a result of your hard work so take advantage of that and use it in your summary. Example- “I worked as the Executive Director at XYZ.” Make your role clear, straightforward, and to the point. If you are not too comfortable mentioning it in your summary you can even highlight it and put it at the very beginning of your work experience.
5. Create an association :
With globalization the need for marketing has increased, the same goes here. You need to market yourself by creating associations with influential people and with brands that matter in your industry. Having big names on your resume gives it a huge boost and opens doors for many new opportunities. Having a recommendation from a person that the recruiter recognizes can put in a big advantage for you but make sure the person you’ve put in as recommendation knows when you’ve applied so that they receive the call. If you have worked in a well-known company make sure the most out of it as trusting experience from a recognized source is easier. The point of doing all this is to show that you are trustworthy, have an interest in your job, and are a reliable person who can handle important work.
A tip would be to write your resume summary at the very end, that is after you are done with the rest of your summary. This way writing the summary becomes easier since at this point you have already arranged everything in order and just have to handpick the best of it. Also, never use a single summary for all the jobs that you have posted for. Tailor-make your resume for every company after researching the company thoroughly. Follow the above steps and make a stunning summary that will blow your recruiters’ minds! All the best!
