The “resume summary” or “resume profile”—which replaces the old-fashioned “objective”—comes at the top of your resume, right after your contact information and heading and before your work history. A great resume summary or resume profile has the following characteristics:
- It is specific to the job you want. It mentions your years of experience, industries you worked in, highest job title, awards you won, greatest achievement, languages you speak—whatever is most relevant to hiring managers and recruiters. It highlights achievements over the course of your career (for example, “applied Lean techniques that saved up to $4,000 annually” or “led teams of 20-30 engineers”).
- It is short. Your work history contains all of the specific information that backs up your summary. The summary itself should be a single paragraph, often no more than 3 to 4 sentences.
- It features keywords. The keywords can be found in listings or advertisements for the job you are applying for and similar jobs. They should be worked naturally into the summary.
- It focuses on (and reinforces) your most relevant experience. That way hiring managers or recruiters are immediately aware that you fit the job requirements and company criteria.
That list may seem like a lot to accomplish in a brief resume summary or profile. Robin’s Resumes® has the expertise to create a summary or profile that starts your resume off right. Contact us today.