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							How to write a professional summary
for your resume

In today’s competitive job market,
employers relay on well-written res
umes 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, edu
cation and experience that fit thei
r needs. These employment search we
b sites, along with many companies’
 own online applications, require c
andidates to upload their resume in
 order to express interest in a spe
cific opportunity. Without an oppor
tunity to send a personal email, or
 a cover letter, you have to make s
ure 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 beginnin
g of your resume that allows you to
 market yourself through a narrativ
e. This section allows your potenti
al employers to learn something uni
que about you and your career, as w
ell as get a good feel of your comm
unication skills.

To write an effective summary, you
should first understand what inform
ation should not be communicated in
 your resume. While a summary provi
des an insight into what is unique
and competitive about you, it is no
t a place for you to indicate any p
ersonal information that does not r
elate to your career. Information s
uch as ethnicity, marital status, s
exual orientation, religious belief
s and affiliations, etc. should be
left out of your resume. While desc
riptive of who you are, this inform
ation is not relevant to your poten
tial employer in order to pre-scree
n your qualifications for their opp
ortunity. Additionally, the summary
 should not contain your previous p
rofessional experience, unless you
can clearly demonstrate how such ba
ckground can be of value in your fu
ture career development. Beware of
generic statements, such as “I am w
ell organized and detail oriented.”
 Employers want to hear your unique
 voice and get a sense of your comm
unication skills while reading the
summary portion of your resume. Usi
ng generalizations about your abili
ties will make the employers believ
e that you are either a poor commun
icator or are using such statements
 to fill up space on your resume.

Your summary should be in form of a
 short paragraph or bulleted statem
ents, containing only several sente
nces. 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 t
itle and/or your professional state
ment. Emphasize your title by featu
ring the headline in bold and large
r font, as it allows your potential
 employer to grasp who you are quic
kly. For example:

Financial Planning Professional
Achieved Double-Digit Return for Al
l Clients through Well-Balanced Fin
ancial Portfolios

It is important that this title is
well crafted, as it is the first im
pression your potential employer wi
ll have of you.
There are three things a well-writt
en summary should address:
-   Your experiences and skills as
they relate to your idea job
-   What you can bring to the organ
ization and the open position that
no other candidate can
-   Your professional goals.

Even though your resume summary is
written by you, it should be compos
ed in third person, in present tens
e. Think of it as a summary of what
 one of your best colleagues would
say about your professional achieve
ments. Reinforce your title, and se
ll only the experiences and skills
that meet your career objective. If
 you have multiple career objective
s, such as you wish to get a positi
on in either marketing or public re
lations, develop separate resume su
mmaries for each of the objectives.
  A summary can also contain a brie
f bulleted section highlighting onl
y a few vital competitive skills th
at you bring to the table. An examp
le of an effective summary would be
 as follows:

Successful financial planning profe
ssional with over 15 years of perso
nal and retirement planning experie
nce. Managed a small financial plan
ning firm, achieving double-digit f
inancial returns for all clients by
 developing personalized investment
 portfolios. Leader in development
and professional growth of four oth
er financial planners in the firm t
hrough effective and motivating men
toring strategies.

Key competencies include:
o   Personalized portfolio developme
nt
o   Financial forecasting
o   Retirement portfolio management
o   Development on-going profession
al growth strategies

Much like your overall resume, your
 summary should be well-written and
 error-free. Make sure to review yo
ur summary, and customize as necess
ary for the various opportunities o
f interest. An effective summary wi
ll help you “hook” your employer; i
t should sell you as a primary cand
idate for the job, leaving your emp
loyer with a great first impression
 of you.