An Easy Formula for Crafting an Eye-Catchy Professional Summary - It’s The First Thing Recruiters Look At On Your CV

Looking for ideas on how to answer “tell me about yourself” through your professional summary on your resume? Here is how to craft one in a way that stops the recruiter in their tracks (in a good way).

Source

Recruiters usually have to go through hundreds of resumes to find a few qualified candidates for any given job posting. With such numbers, you can believe they don’t have the luxury of going over every single CV that crosses their desks. In fact, this study shows that recruiters spend about 6-8 seconds reviewing your CV before deciding whether or not you are suitable for the role they’ve posted. After all, there’s a whole pile of other resumes to look through.

This obviously means there will be some shortcuts involved. What kind of shortcuts you may ask? Well of course there’s the dreaded applicant tracking system (ATS) that does half of the work for the recruiter. The ATS scans your resume for relevant, specific keywords to determine if your application will land in the recruiter’s hands. Other times, the recruiter will do the skimming themselves to look for specific phrases and keywords aligning with what they’re looking for. This is where a professional summary comes in.

The professional summary slowly phased out the outdated objective statement (so if you still have that on your CV, then have I got news for you). Here’s the difference between the two:

Source: Indeed

A professional summary is a short introductory paragraph to your resume that gives the hiring manager a brief outline of what you can bring to the position. It highlights the best soft and hard skills you offer while also showing your desire for the job. 

Even though it is advisable to exclude a professional summary in your CV because that is what your cover letter is for, there are some situations when having one could be just the trick. That said, the aim is to have a professional summary that catches a recruiter’s eye and makes you stand out from the other candidates competing for the job. A good summary convinces the hiring manager to read the rest of your CV. If this happens, it has served its purpose. 

Below we’ll discuss a few tips to help you write a unique professional summary so you don’t feel completely helpless. 

 

1. Tailor your summary to the job opening

When crafting your professional summary, begin with the job listing you’re applying for. Read it carefully to find the essential keywords. These will be phrases or nouns describing the ideal candidate, related skills, and the position. Before writing, think about how these keywords blend with your own experiences and skills. This also increases your chances of getting through the applicant tracking systems. 

You’ll also need to research your ideal job to develop a good summary that matches the job description. You’ll have a better chance of getting the role if your summary closely matches the JD. Compare any similar job descriptions you find and list down the shared, preferred qualifications and job requirements you can use to inform your summary.

 

2. What value do you bring to the table?

This is an opportunity to sell yourself. Examine all your special training, skills, and abilities and make a list that you will compare to your previous research. Try to aim for three to five attributes, so your list looks something like this:

 

• Strong communicator

• Led a team in place X last year

• Trained in skills A and B

• Graduated from school/program/course Y

• Able to do X and streamline Y

Once you decide on your five strongest qualities, compare them to the desired skills and the overall job description to see if they match. You can proceed with the summary if your list tells you that you have something to offer in the role. If this isn’t the case, reevaluate your list. 

 

3. Translating your skills into sentences

Now we will use the credentials from our list to write the summary. Since it will help the recruiter determine whether to call you for an interview, it is important to include your abilities and achievements. Keep your summary brief, under six lines or less. 

Golden Tip:  If you never thought you’d use a formula in your life outside a classroom, I’m about to surprise you. When creating a professional summary, you can also use this formula from the book Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service by Heather Krasna, a career expert and coach:

 

“[Adjective][Noun] with [number] years of experience in [special skill], with a proven ability to [relevant, measurable skills], and a strong background in [relevant contexts in which you’ve worked] seeks position as [relevant objective]. "

 

Working with this formula is much easier than pulling words out of thin air or your resume. The good thing about it is you can tweak it to make it more personal and interesting based on your career journey. 

Here is an example:

“Highly motivated nonprofit professional with three years of experience in program management, service delivery, and fundraising; a proven ability to lead groups of up to 50 volunteers, organize events with up to 500 participants, effectively raise over $100,000 in grants yearly, and streamline processes to maximize efficiency; and a strong background in youth services programs with underserved populations seeking a position as a leader in a human services nonprofit.”

You can also convert it into a bulleted list as follows: 

 

• Highly motivated social-impact professional with three years of experience in program management, service delivery, and fundraising. 

• Proven ability to lead groups of up to 50 volunteers, and organize events with up to 500 participants.

• Effectively raise over $100,000 in grants yearly and streamline processes to maximize efficiency.

• Strong background in youth services programs with underserved populations and seeking a leadership position in a human services nonprofit.

 

4. Polish it up

Your professional summary should follow a specific design and format. The main focus of the styling should be easy navigation but you can also add some professional flare. The design and format of your summary will depend on the use of an ATS, the type of industry, and personal preference.

 

5. Proofread everything at least twice

After all is said and done, your professional summary needs to be accurate. Having any grammatical or spelling errors in your resume or your summary can cost you the job. Recruiters will likely disregard your CV if it is littered with grammatical errors that could have been easily avoided with a proofreading sesh or two. You’ll come across as incompetent and lacking attention to detail. 

Read your document from header to footer without checking for mistakes first. In fact, read it out loud. This will help you catch any mistakes in your resume so you know where to make changes. Next check for any stylistic, grammatical, or spelling mistakes in your professional summary. After doing this, let the document rest and marinate overnight then proofread it again the next day. Ask your colleagues or friends to also proofread your resume, especially those with excellent command of grammar, so they can check for confusing phrases and errors. 

A career summary is excellent for people with different work experiences or seasoned professionals who want to tie all their experiences together. You can also pull it out of your pocket as an elevator pitch during networking events.

Writing an interesting and prize-winning professional summary does not have to intimidate you. All you need is these tips and a little creativity and time to put one together that will have recruiters clamouring to hire you.