Adding a professional summary to your resumes gives you an opportunity to place your work history into context for the reader by explaining specifically why you are the most unique and well qualified candidate.  Because the professional summary is located at the very top of the resume it takes up valuable real estate.  Let’s learn how to perfect this section so that you can put your best foot forward and encourage the reader to engage further with your document.

When do I use a professional summary?

Before we go too far, let’s make sure you actually need a professional summary on your resume.  If you are a person who is looking for a job that is in line with the type of jobs you have had in the past, you will not need to write a professional summary because your experience speaks for itself.  For example, if you are an emergency room nurse and you are looking to find a job as an emergency room nurse at a different hospital, you will not need a professional summary.  The reader will easily and quickly be able to see your most recent professional experience qualifies you for the position.  If you do not need to use a professional summary, then the most important part of your resume becomes your most recent job.

A professional summary is great for career changes and experienced professionals who want to highlight specific skills, achievements, or experiences the reader will not learn right away from viewing the resume.  For example, if you are currently an emergency room nurse who had a job in sales before nursing school, and now you want to become a pharmaceutical sales rep, you are going to need a professional summary.  It would take the reader a while to get to your previous experience in sales, so the professional summary allows you to bring that experience from the bottom of the resume to the top.  You also might have some ideas about why your experience as a RN will improve your ability to sell medications, and the professional summary provides you with a place to specifically outline that unique strength.  By creating a professional summary you are saving the reader from having to connect the dots and think about why you are qualified.  Most readers will understandably neglect to make that next step.

What should I include in my professional summary?

The professional summary should have three or four parts.  First, you should include a statement about who you are as a professional.  Second, you should highlight one or two strengths that align with the job description and have provided you with success throughout your career.  You will not only want to explain your strengths, but also the general impact these strengths have made throughout your career.  Lastly, your professional summary should include a statement that specifically spells out why you are the most uniquely qualified candidate for this position.

OK…That sounds great, but what does a professional summary sound like?

Here is an example from a resume I submitted for a job as a career counselor.  For this particular job, I would be working with professional athletes transitioning from sport to the world of work.  In this example, I only selected one skill to highlight instead of two.  Your professional summary can be formatted with bullet points or as a paragraph.  I’m partial to the bullet pointed format because I think it is the easiest to read, but I wanted to show both because everyone is different and that is what makes people so unique.

Paragraph Format

Marathon-running career coach and former college athlete who motivates clients and students toward achieving professional goals through adopting a patient, persistent, and positive mind-set.  Transforms job seekers into job attainers through developing action-oriented strategies and exercises that allow for exploration of 3 key areas of career development: self-exploration, industry and network exploration, and job exploration.  Passionate about combining personal dedication to athletics and knowledge of career development theories to help athletes transition from sport to the world of work.

Bullet Point Format

• Marathon-running career coach and former college athlete who motivates clients and students toward achieving professional goals through adopting a patient, persistent, and positive mind-set.
• Transforms job seekers into job attainers through developing action-oriented strategies that allow for exploration of 3 key areas of career development: self-exploration, industry and network exploration, and job exploration.
• Passionate about combining lifelong dedication to athletics and knowledge of career development theories to help athletes successfully transition from sport to the world of work.

Ok, now you are ready to write a professional summary that will get you noticed and encourage the reader to read your entire resume. If you are ready to update your resume, check out my free Resume Workbook to help you gather your thoughts and select which skills, strengths, and achievements to highlight on your new resume.

Good luck!