How to Write a Career Summary for a Resume

Just holding a job for a number of years doesn't cut it anymore. Employers look for candidates who are career-oriented and who have a clear idea of who they are, what they bring to job and where they want to go. Get the attention of hiring managers who get the first peek at your resume with a concise, catching career summary right at the start.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Narrow your job search to a specific position. When you know exactly what you want to do, it is easier to find the right words to target the market.

2. Put the summary at the top of your resume on page one. This may be the only chance you have to get plucked from the stacks of resumes that the hiring person has to go through. Make it count.

3. Keep it to fewer than 100 words. Three or four short sentences are more then enough to hit the highlights of your career.

4. Find good adjectives that describe you and your talents. Powerful words such as award winning, accomplished, talented and highly motivated give the reader incentive to read on.

5. Tell the reader what you can bring to the table. Let the hiring manager know that you have researched her company and tell her how you can help the company's bottom line.

Tips & Warnings

• Broad, inclusive language is not appropriate in a career summary.

• If you have a hard time describing yourself, ask friends and coworkers for some ideas.

• Not one, single, solitary error is allowed in the summary statement or in the whole resume.

• Proofread your resume a number of times and ask someone else to read it over as a backup.