Qualifications summary could be the most important part of your resume
Dear Sam: I am struggling with the summary statement for my resume. Can you share some advice about how to write one effectively? I’m so used to having an objective statement that I don’t know how to make the switch. — Brenda
Dear Brenda: I’m glad to hear that you’ve decided to nix your outdated objective statement. Today’s job searches are about presenting what you can do for an employer, not presenting what you want to do.
By opening your resume with a qualifications summary, you can better showcase the pillars of your candidacy. What is differentiating about your experience and candidacy? How would you say you are “better” than one of your competitors? The key to an effective summary statement is to sell the hiring manager on how you can add value to the company.
There are many ways you can format your summary statement, as long as you include a combination of the following: Your professional title;
A brief paragraph or a few bullet points that provide a snapshot of your career highlights and key qualifications; Honors and awards you’ve received; and Your areas of expertise/core skills. All of your content should be customized based on the position for which you are applying. To customize your summary statement, identify key words from the job posting of interest, and incorporate those desired skills into your content.
Below are a few examples of summary statements that are rich with key words and strategically position the candidates for the roles they are seeking.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Results-driven Creative Director with more than 10 years of corporate and agency experience leading the conceptualization, design and production of award-winning campaigns. Initiate and design highly effective integrated campaigns that yield unprecedented gains in brand awareness, customer satisfaction, net operating income, and employee morale and retention. Hands-on and collaborative management style with the ability to garner buy-in from all process stakeholders, from C-level executives to critical support teams.
REGISTERED NURSE
Dedicated to providing patients with compassionate care, facilitating genuine relationships in high-volume clinic settings, and managing time and tasks effectively to optimize patient-nurse-physician relations. Well-qualified nurse and community educator, conducted student and graduate nurse orientations, taught in nursing-assistant programs and administered grant-funded health initiatives to promote early identification and intervention. Demonstrated highly adaptive, flexible style while working with extremely diverse patient populations and managing heavy caseloads. Excelled in collaborative or autonomous settings.
PROJECT MANAGER
Project management, business requirement gathering, documentation, testing and reporting skills evidenced through more than seven years of experience as a Senior Business Systems Analyst with an international company. Participated on cross-functional teams to drive achievement of process development and continuous improvement initiatives; cultivated relationships with internal and external stakeholders to drive results. Intuitive ability to design, comprehend and present complex information and systems; equally adept in communicating with technical and nontechnical audiences.
The above samples each have additional components, such as honors and awards, core skills or select highlights that showcase key achievements. Feel free to play around with various formatting options for your statement — use symbols, bold and italicized fonts, multiple columns and other formatting tricks to bring attention to the most important points.
Remember that the top third of your resume is prime real estate — providing the curb appeal for the main body — so you want to leverage the space wisely to secure interest and engage the reader in what makes your candidacy stronger.