Key Components Of A Resume, Part 13
(What To Include And What Not To Include In Your Resume)
7 Resume Writing Companies Wrote Resumes For ONE Client - See Who Did The Best Job!
 

Importance of Career Summary
In addition to providing depth to the resume, a career summary provides a one great opportunity of including extra resume keywords. Most employers are now using ATS (applicant tracking systems) and these systems rank candidates by the keywords used in the resumes. For instance, if one is to search “strategic planning”, the applicant with the resume containing the most number of that keyword will be the one ranked highest. Following that line of thought, it would mean that the career summary part is also the ideal place to write the job title as listed on the company’s job description. This is a good way of making sure that the resume is going to show up in case the potential employer or hiring manager search for the position they are filling up.

Adding the Career Summary to the Resume
As mentioned above, the career summary should follow the Personal Information part. It should be short and concise, with three to six sentences or bullet points. It should specify your accomplishments and experience without going into too much details. When writing a resume, make sure that every item included is relevant to the position you are targeting. You want the summary to catch attention and not bore the reader, so do not make it too long. There are other parts of your resume that would be more ideal for other things that you have to say.

What to Include in your Career Summary
There are some words (and phrases) that should be included in your career summary. There are, of course, some words to be avoided including too in resume writing. Adjectives like motivated, reliable and hard-working work well in general; you can stick to them or you can be a little more creative. When writing a resume, do not forget to include the number of years you have been working as what your title says. For example: Reliable, motivated and hard-working IT Support Specialist with five years of experience (then insert specific duties – like in providing skilful, thorough and quality supports to clients). In that sentence, you are able to convey that you have valuable qualities that are backed up by sufficient number of years of experience in a particular field that is relevant to the job you are applying for, and that you have done duties that are specific to your job description. Basically, that short summary conveys, positive qualities, years of work and scope of experience. Try to avoid being too much descriptive of what you know in regards with skills and knowledge on things that are irrelevant to what the company is looking for. For instance, your expertise in public speaking is not something that would impress a hiring manager of a company that is looking for technology experts. Despite the fact that such skill is applaudable (since not many people have the confidence to speak in front of big audiences) if it is not relevant, skip it. Tailoring the career summary to the job position is important. Before you start writing a resume it is best to do a little research on the company. This is important especially if you are not sure about the relevance of your skills, knowledge and accomplishment. Focus on the job posting and check the description and qualifications for the specific job position. Look into the organization’s mission statement too, as that will provide you with an opportunity to align yourself with their values and goals.
Writing a resume should also focus on highlighting all of the information that are relevant to the position that you would like. If you are applying for more than one position or career field, use a separate summary for each position to ensure that you stay on topic.

Following Through
Lastly, you have to make sure that you can support all the things you’ve laid out in the career summary, throughout the resume and in the interviews. Do not just talk the talk; be sure that you can also walk the walk. If you are going to write about learned and certified skills, you’d better have the certifications ready for that. Sharing the most impressive qualification you have is the main objective of writing a career summary. You should be able to advertise who and what you are – what you know and what you are capable of. Making yourself look valuable is vital. It is not just you who are applying for the position; there are probably hundreds of other hopefuls. Do your best to stand out, start with an effective, impressive and well-crafted career summary.


 

Click Here To Return To The Main Resume Writing Tips Topic List

These 7 Resume Writing Sites All Wrote Resumes For The Same Client: