How To Write a Resume Personal Statement Professionally With Examples, Tips, and Guide
What Is a Resume Personal Statement?
Key elements of a strong resume personal statement, how to write a personal statement for a resume, professional personal statement examples for job applications, best practices for crafting the best personal statements for resumes, additional resources, frequently asked questions about crafting a professional personal statement.
Writing a personal statement for your resume can help recruiters and hiring managers get a better idea of who you are as a candidate and how your experience and achievements align with the company’s mission. Learn what to include and how to format this section in this personal statement writing guide.
A resume personal statement is a few short sentences at the top of your resume that provide an overview of your professional background and experience. It’s designed to create a strong first impression and catch the hiring manager’s attention quickly. This is important considering research shows most recruiters spend just seconds per resume on average.
A personal statement differs from a resume objective in that it focuses on showing the hiring manager why you’re a good fit for the company’s needs instead of talking about your personal career goals.
Clarity and conciseness
A personal statement should be brief — no more than two to four sentences. Space is at a premium on your resume, so convey your message as clearly as possible, and leave out unnecessary details. Fragment sentences are fine, as long as they are still cohesive and otherwise grammatically correct.
Relevance to the job role
Focus on your most relevant experience and qualifications in your personal statement, and tailor this section to each job. Look for keywords or must-have skills from the job description that you can include. For example, if the position requires a specific certification that you have, make sure this is included in the statement.
Highlights key skills and achievements
Resumes cover a lot of information in a small amount of space, and it’s easy for hiring managers to gloss over your contributions. Ensure they notice your most relevant skills and accomplishments by including them in the personal statement as well as a separate key skills list .
Start with a strong opening line
How to start a resume personal statement depends on the position, but begin strong with an opening line that grabs the recruiter’s attention and shows that you’re an immediate fit for the position. Include a key metric, such as how many years of experience you have, or a specific industry skill.
Focus on your most relevant skills and experience
Look through the required skills and experience in the job description, and pick the top three to five that match your professional background. Include these in your personal statement by tying them to career accomplishments or general strengths and proficiencies.
Include some personality
While a resume should always be a professional document, more employers are looking for candidates who are a good cultural fit for the company. Injecting a little personality into the personal statement by showing how your passions and aspirations align with the organization’s mission or goals can help you stand out.
Personal statement for entry-level job seekers
A 2023 marketing degree graduate specializing in social media strategy with internship and volunteer experience in multiple verticals. A proven track record of working with cross-functional teams to create multimedia content, manage social media calendars, and host live events across various social platforms to increase user engagement and support campaigns.
Personal statement for mid-level professionals
Dedicated and results-driven business analyst with over seven years of experience. Background in fuel-related systems optimization and renewable energy. Possesses a strong analytical mindset coupled with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Leads cross-functional teams, conducts data analysis, and identifies opportunities for process enhancement.
Personal statement for senior-level and executive roles
A digital marketing director with over 10 years of experience defining marketing strategies for enterprise organizations. A proven track record of building high-performance marketing teams and collaborating with C-level executives. Adept at leveraging data-driven strategies to enhance market penetration and achieve positive business outcomes.
Personal statement for career changers
Experienced and dedicated technical support professional seeking to leverage skills in customer relations and product sales. Recognized for ability to find creative solutions and communicate complex instructions in a user-friendly manner. Adept with customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Tailor your statement for each application
Your resume should be customized for every job application you submit, and this includes your personal statement. Tweak the wording to reflect the keywords in the job description, and mirror the action verbs in the posting.
Keep it simple and straightforward
Your personal statement isn’t the place for industry jargon or overly complex language. While it’s fine to use key terms already present in the job description, stick with a clear, professional tone and easy-to-read language. Clear communication is an important skill for nearly every job, and your resume should reflect your abilities.
Proofread for clarity and accuracy
Just a few typos in your resume can dramatically reduce your chances of getting an interview . Always spend a few minutes checking your document for grammatical errors or inconsistencies before you hit the submit button. This is especially true for the personal statement because it’s the first section the hiring manager will read and is prone to errors when you’re adjusting it for each job.
Seek feedback
Ask a mentor or career advisor to take a look at your personal statement before you finalize it. They can help you identify confusing or vague words, suggest areas that could be more concise, and help you look for typos and other errors.
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A personal statement is often also referred to as a resume summary . While the two are similar and almost interchangeable, there is one key difference. A resume summary pulls from your professional experience and skills to provide a two-second summary for the hiring manager.
Though a personal statement is formatted in the same way, there’s a little more leeway in what you can include. For example, a writer may add that they are passionate about the Oxford comma, and a French translator may indicate their love for classic French literature.
One of the best personal statement tips for job seekers is to use this section as part of your personal branding. Many applicants are likely to have a similar professional history or skills and qualifications, and it’s who you are as a whole candidate that can help you stand out.
The personal statement section is a place where you can immediately catch the hiring manager’s attention and give them something to remember you by, whether that’s being a Six Sigma Black Belt or having advanced Excel skills.
Your overall resume length should be between one and two pages, and your personal statement is a small fraction of that. In general, the personal statement should be about two to four sentences long, but depending on your resume formatting, it can be more helpful to measure it in lines of text. In most cases, it should be four to five lines at a maximum.
Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach
Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.
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24 Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews
By Biron Clark
Published: November 8, 2023
Biron Clark
Writer & Career Coach
A resume summary statement usually comes right after a job seeker’s contact info and before other resume sections such as skills and work experience. It provides employers with a brief overview of a candidate’s career accomplishments and qualifications before they read further. Because of how early it appears on the document, your resume summary statement (or your CV “profile” in the UK) is one of the first places recruiters and employers look. And without the right information, they’ll doubt that you’re qualified and may move to another resume.
So I got in touch with a select group of professional resume writers, coaches and career experts to get their best resume summary examples you can use and adapt to write a resume summary that stands out and gets interviews.
As a former recruiter myself, I’ll also share my best tips to write your resume summary effectively.
Why the Resume/CV Summary is Important
You may have heard that recruiters only spend 8-10 seconds looking at your resume. The truth is: they spend that long deciding whether to read more. They do glance that quickly at first and may move on if your background doesn’t look like a fit. However, if you grab their attention, they’ll read far more. Recruiters aren’t deciding to interview you in 8-10 seconds, but they are ruling people out in 8-10 seconds. And this is why your resume summary is so crucial. It appears high up on your resume (usually right after your header/contact info) and is one of the first sections employers see. So it’s part of what they’ll see in the first 8-10 seconds.
Your resume summary statement is one of your first (and one of very few) chances to get the employer to stop skimming through their pile of resumes and focus on YOU.
Watch: Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews
10 resume summary examples:.
These career summary examples will help you at any experience level – whether you’re writing a professional summary after a long executive career, or writing your first resume summary without any experience! After you finish this article you’re NEVER going to have to send out a limp, weak resume summary statement again (and you’ll get far more interviews because of it).
1. Healthcare Sales Executive Resume Summary Example:
Turnaround & Ground Up Leadership – Concept-to-execution strategies for untapped products, markets + solutions that yield 110% revenue growth – Negotiates partnerships with leading distributors + hospitals—Medline to Centara + Novant Health to Mayo Clinic – Revitalizes underperforming sales organizations via scalable, sustainable infrastructures emulated as best practice – C-Level networks of clinical + supply chain leadership acquired during tenures with XXX, XXX and XXX
Why this resume summary is good:
This resumes summary example’s strength lies in the detailed, unique information that has been included. By including revenue stats, names of past employers and partners, the reader right away sees that this person will bring to the role a strong networking ability with key players in his industry, and more importantly can build, grow and revitalize a sales organization, market or product.
By: Virginia Franco, Founder of Virginia Franco Resumes and Forbes contributor.
2. 15+ Year Business Owner Resume Summary Statement:
Dynamic and motivated marketing professional with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, designing educational strategies, and coaching individuals to success. Skilled in building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and making critical decisions during challenges. Adaptable and transformational leader with an ability to work independently, creating effective presentations, and developing opportunities that further establish organizational goals.
Why this is a good summary section:
This is a resume summary statement that was for a candidate returning to work after having her own business for 15+ years. Because of this, we needed to emphasize her soft skills and what she can bring to this potential position. In addition, we highlighted the skills she has honed as a business owner so that she can utilize these qualifications as a sales professional, account manager , and someone knowledgeable about nutrition, medicine, and the overall sales process.
By: Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish. MBA, Ph.D., CPRW, and Founder of Feather Communications
3. Human Resources Generalist Resume Summary Example:
Human Resources Generalist with progressive experience managing employee benefits & compliance, employee hiring & onboarding, performance management processes, licensure tracking and HR records. Dependable and organized team player with the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently. Skilled at building relationships with employees across all levels of an organization. Proficient with HRIS, applicant tracking and benefits management.
Why this is a good resume summary:
The applicant highlights their experience across a wide range of HR functions from the very first sentence, and continues this pattern throughout the rest of the summary. They then use easily digestible langue to showcase their hard skills (in the first & fourth sentences) and soft skills (in the second & third sentences). They also integrate a variety of keywords to get past automated job application systems , without sounding spammy or without overdoing it.
By: Kyle Elliott, MPA/CHES, Career Coach and Consultant
4. Social Media Marketing CV Profile Example (UK):
Social media expert with successes in the creation and management of social media strategies and campaigns for global retail organisations. Extensive experience in the commercial utilisation of multiple social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; I build successful social strategies that increase brand awareness, promote customer engagement and ultimately drive web traffic and conversions.
Why this summary is good:
This summary is well-written, short, sharp, and gives recruiters a high-level explanation of the candidate’s core offerings in a persuasive and punchy style. A quick scan of this profile tells you the exact type of social media platforms the candidate is an expert in, as well as the campaigns they have experience running and types of organizations they have worked for. Most importantly, the summary is rounded off by showing the results that this person achieves for their employers, such as increased web traffic and conversions.
Editor’s note: This CV profile summary was written for the UK market… this is a great one to use/copy, but make sure you put it through a spell-checker if you’re applying for jobs in the US (utilisation vs. utilization, etc.)
By: Andrew Fennell, Director at StandOut CV , contributor for The Guardian and Business Insider
5. Marketing Manager Professional Summary Example:
Marketing Manager with over eight years of experience. Proven success in running email marketing campaigns and implementing marketing strategies that have pulled in a 20% increase in qualified leads. Proficient in content, social media and inbound marketing strategies. Skilled, creative and innovative.
This resume summary stands out because it gets straight to the point. By immediately introducing the number of years of experience the candidate has, the HR manager doesn’t need to spend time adding up years. The candidate also jumps right into his or her strongest skill, provides a statistic , then gives additional skills.
By: Sarah Landrum, career expert and contributor at Entrepreneur.com and Forbes
6. Warehouse Supervisor Resume Summary Example:
Warehouse Supervisor with Management, Customer Service, & Forklift Experience – Dependable manager with 15+ years of experience in warehouse management and employee supervision. – Skilled at managing inventory control, shipping & receiving, customer relations and safety & compliance. – Certified Power Equipment Trainer, Forklift Operator and Reach Operator skilled at coaching other staff. – Promoted to positions of increased responsibility given strong people and project management skills.
The applicant was applying for a warehouse supervisor position that required them to have demonstrated management, customer service and forklift experience. As such, the applicant showcased their experience in these areas with a few keywords in the title, followed by additional details in the accompanying bullet points. Their final bullet shows a record of promotions, while reinforcing the applicant’s customer service and project management skills.
7. IT Project Manager Resume Summary Example:
Experienced Project Manager with vast IT experience. Skills include computer networking, analytical thinking and creative problem solving. Able to apply customer service concepts to IT to improve user experience for clients, employees and administration.
Because this candidate is switching career paths, it’s important he or she take skills used for previous positions and apply those skills to the new job listing. This is a great example because the candidate makes it clear that his or her experience is not in the new field, but that they are still able to bring relevant experience to the table. When writing your resume summary, keep these tips in mind: Use writing that is straight to the point, clear and concise, you’ll have a higher chance of getting noticed by the hiring manager.
8. Career-Changer Resume Summary Example:
Earn trust, uncover key business drivers and find common ground as chief negotiator and identifier of revenue opportunities in sales, leadership and account management roles spanning e-Commerce, air travel and high-tech retail. Navigate cultural challenges while jumping time zones, lead international airline crews and manage corporate accounts to deliver an exceptional customer experience. A self-taught techie sought after as a go-to for complex billing systems and SaaS platforms alike—bridging the divide between technology and plain-speak. – Tenacious Quest for Success + Learning . Earned MBA and BS in just 3 years while working full-time – gaining hands-on experience in research- and data-driven product roadmap development, pricing and positioning. – Results-Driven Leadership. Whether leading Baby Boomers, Gen X or Millennials—figures out what makes teams tick, trains and transforms individuals into top-performers. – Challenger of Conventional Wisdom. Always ask the WHY. Improve the user experience through smart, strategic thinking that anticipates outcomes. Present cases that influence, and lead change that drives efficiency and profitability.
This client was eager for a career change and had moved from role to role and industry to industry. After completing her Master’s degree, she was eager to tie her skills together to land a role – which she did – as a Senior Technology Account Strategist for a global travel company. Although a bit longer than a traditional summary, its strength lies in the details. Without ever getting to the experience section, the reader gets a clear idea of the scope of responsibility, and hard and soft skills the candidate brings to the table.
By: Virginia Franco, Founder of Virginia Franco Resumes and Forbes contributor.
9. Project Management Executive Professional Summary Example:
15+ years of initiating and delivering sustained results and effective change for Fortune 500 firms across a wide range of industries including enterprise software, digital marketing, advertising technology, e-commerce and government. Major experience lies in strategizing and leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy, process, and profitability – both as a leader and expert consultant.
Why this resume summary is good:
“Project Manager” is one of those job titles that’s REALLY broad. You can find project managers earning $50K, and others earning $250K. The client I wrote this for was at the Director level, and had worked for some of the biggest and best tech companies in her city. So this resume profile section shows her level and experience, and the wide array of areas she has responsibility for in her current work. You can borrow or use some of the phrasing here to show that you’ve been responsible for many important areas in your past work.
By: Biron Clark, Founder of CareerSidekick.com.
10. Startup And Finance Management Consultant Career Summary Example:
Experienced strategist, entrepreneur and startup enthusiast with a passion for building businesses and challenging the status quo. 8+ year track record of defining new business strategies, launching new ventures, and delivering operational impact, both as a co-founder and management consultant.
Why this resume summary example is good:
This summary was for a highly-talented management consultant looking to break out of finance, and into trendier tech companies like Uber . His track record and educational background were great, so the goal of this summary section was to stand out and show he’s more than just the typical consultant with a finance background. So we emphasized his passion for startups, and his ability to think outside the box and challenge the status quo. That’s something that companies like Uber and other “disruptive” tech companies look for.
14 Resume Summary Examples for Various Industries
Compassionate and effective 5th-grade teacher with experience overseeing the classroom and preparing lessons. Extensive experience encouraging students through positive reinforcement and motivational techniques. Collaborate well with school administration and other members of the teaching team. Ensure all students meet learning requirements, including literacy, social, and arithmetic skills.
2. Teacher’s Assistant
Goal-oriented teacher’s assistant with ten years of experience working with elementary school children. Aid teachers with lesson planning, classroom settings, and group instruction. Model positive behavior and maintain order in the classroom. Willingness to take on additional responsibilities to meet learning objectives.
Tech Industry
3. computer programmer.
Innovative computer programmer with a proven track record of writing high-quality code and supporting team needs with subject matter expertise. Adept in multiple programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, and C++. Ability to troubleshoot complex programming issues with inventive solutions.
4. Cybersecurity Analyst
Dedicated cybersecurity analyst with ten years of experience in online security research, execution, planning, and maintenance. Proven track record of identifying business risks and proactively resolving them. Experience designing and instituting layered network security for large-scale organizations. Train users and other staff members on IT safety procedures and preventive techniques.
Skilled healthcare professional with ten years of experience in patient care, diagnosis, and providing appropriate treatments and medical services. Manage medical staff and resolve complex medical cases with maximum efficiency. Communicate the patient’s condition and treatment plan in easily understood terminology. Remain current with the latest advancements in medicine and research to ensure patients receive proper care.
6. Registered Nurse
Seasoned registered nurse offering comprehensive patient care in emergency room settings. Experience handling diverse patient populations and caring for various conditions. Proven leadership managing nursing teams and other staff. Focus on enhancing patient care and satisfaction through empathetic communication and excellent customer service.
7. Digital Marketing Manager
Forward-thinking digital marketing manager experienced in all facets of digital marketing, including social media management, PPC advertising, SEO, and email marketing. Proven experience creating comprehensive marketing plans that improve lead prospecting and enhance brand awareness. Up to date with the newest tools available for digital marketing campaigns.
8. Marketing Analyst
Industrious marketing analyst well-versed in analyzing marketing campaign analytics and making recommendations to improve performance. Collaborate with account managers and use KPI metrics to explain the results of marketing initiatives. Meticulous with a strong work ethic and robust communication skills.
Food and Service Industry
Experienced wait staff member capable of managing orders, processing payments, and upselling menu items. Ensure restaurant guests feel welcome with attentive service catered to their needs. Remain current on updates to the menu and assist guests with selecting orders to meet their dietary requirements. Maintain a positive attitude and focus during busy restaurant periods.
10. Hotel Receptionist
Friendly hotel receptionist with extensive experience handling guest check-ins, check-out, and payments. Facilitate a positive guest experience with polished customer service skills and a readiness to address common inquiries and complaints. Collaborate well with other hotel team members, including executive administration and on-site restaurant staff.
Business/Office Jobs
11. financial analyst.
Highly motivated financial analyst with a proven track record of recommending appropriate financial plans based on financial monitoring, data collection, and business strategizing. Experienced in qualitative and quantitative analysis, forecasting, and financial modeling. Excellent communication skills for building and fostering long-term business relationships across the organization.
12. Tax Accountant
Experienced tax accountant with ten years of experience preparing federal and state tax returns for corporations and partnerships. Monitor changes in laws to ensure the organization properly complies with reporting requirements. Assist with tax audits, ensuring the team receives proper supporting evidence for tax positions. Analyze and resolve complex tax issues. Look for available tax savings opportunities for corporations with an aggregate savings of $500K last year. Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail.
Sales and Customer Service
13. sales representative.
Enthusiastic sales representative with expertise in identifying prospects and converting qualified leads to paying customers. Provide quality customer service and contribute to team sales success. Offer exceptional communication skills and seek to understand client needs before making the appropriate product recommendations. Continually meet and exceed sales goals. Leverage extensive knowledge of available products to provide appropriate client solutions and enhance customer loyalty and retention.
14. Customer Service Associate
Knowledgeable customer service professional with extensive experience in the insurance industry. Known as a team player with a friendly demeanor and proven ability to develop positive rapport with clients. Maintain ongoing customer satisfaction that contributes to overall company success. Highly articulate, with a results-oriented approach that addresses client inquiries and issues while maintaining strong partnerships. Collaborate well with the customer service team while also engaging independent decision-making skills.
Now you have 24 professional resume summary statements and some explanations of why they’re effective. Next, I’ll share tips for how to write your own in case you’re still unsure how to begin based on these examples above.
How to Write a Resume Summary: Steps and Hints
We’ve looked at 10 great resume summary examples above. As you begin writing a resume summary for yourself, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
- Read the employer’s job description. Your career summary shouldn’t be a long list of everything you’ve done; it should be a refined list of skills and experiences that demonstrate you’re a fit for their job.
- Mention your current job title if relevant. One common way to begin your resume summary is to state your current job title.
- Explain how you can help employers achieve their goals or solve their problems.
- Consider using bold text to emphasize one or two key phrases.
- Include any relevant metrics and data like dollar amounts, years of experience, size of teams led, etc. This helps your resume stand out.
- Focus on making the employer want to read more. The goal of your resume summary isn’t to show everything you can do, but to grab their attention and show enough that they continue reading.
Creating a Customized Resume Summary
While general summaries are appropriate when applying for jobs requiring similar skills and experience, a customized resume summary can enhance your chances of moving on to the next step in the hiring process.
That’s because most companies use automated tracking systems (ATS) to review submitted resumes for content directly related to the job posting. If you use keywords and natural language phrases in your summary that interlink to the job description, you’ll have a much higher chance of passing the ATS review.
Let’s look at an example of a resume summary that is customized for the specific job description below:
“Highly motivated social media specialist with strong project management skills. Creative marketer skilled in crafting innovative social media campaigns that resonate with a target audience. Regularly develop compelling copy and social media content to enhance lead generation and brand awareness. Detail-oriented with extensive project management skills that ensure proper prioritization of tasks and projects. Work with various social media management and analytics tools to examine results and make adjustments as necessary.”
This summary directly addresses the key points in the job description but rewrites them so the customization is natural and flows well. It’s personalized for the open role and uses similar terms with a few strategically placed keywords, such as “social media content” and “project management.”
How Long Should a Resume Summary Be?
As you read the resume summaries above, you probably noticed there are some short single-paragraph resume summary examples and much longer career summaries that are two to three paragraphs plus bullet points. So how long should YOUR professional summary be? If you have relevant work experience, keep your summary to one or two paragraphs. The piece you really want the hiring manager to read is your most recent work experience (and you should make sure you tailored that info to fit the job description). The resume summary is just a “bridge” to get the hiring manager into your experience.
If I were writing my own career summary right now, I’d likely use one single paragraph packed with skills, accomplishments, and exactly why I’m ready to step into the job I’ve applied for and be successful!
Even for a manager resume summary, I recommend a very short length. However, if you’re changing careers, or you’re looking for jobs without any work experience , the summary section needs to stand on its own, and should be longer. That’s why some examples above are a bit longer.
Formatting Your Resume/CV Career Summary
You may have noticed a variety of different formats in the career summary examples above. There isn’t one “right” way to format this section on your resume or CV. However, I recommend either using one or two brief paragraphs, or combining a short sentence or paragraph with bullets. Avoid writing three or four long paragraphs with no special formatting like bullet points. That’s simply too much text for your summary section and will cause recruiters and hiring managers to skip over it in some cases.
Should You Include a Resume Objective?
You do not need to include an objective on your resume, and doing so can make your resume appear outdated. Use a resume summary instead of an objective. Follow the resume summary examples above and focus on discussing your skills, qualifications, and achievements, rather than stating your objective. Employers know that your objective is to obtain the position you’ve applied for, and the resume objective has no place on a modern resume/CV in today’s job market.
Examples of Bad Resume Summaries
Now that we’ve seen a few exemplary resume summaries, let’s look at some that you should avoid at all cost.
1. Typos and Grammatical Errors
“Experienced cashier who knows how to run the register cash. Responsible with the money and can talk with the customer. Knows when to stoc up the invenory and checks it all the time. Can count change and run credit card tranactions. Get the customer happy by good service. I am always cheerful and organized.”
Why this resume summary is bad:
If you read the summary carefully, you’ll notice several spelling errors. The words “stock,” “inventory,” and “transactions” are all spelled wrong. Grammatical errors make the summary choppy and difficult to follow (“Get the customer happy by good service”). A summary like this probably won’t fly with a company looking for a detail-oriented cashier responsible for managing in-person sales.
2. Lacks Relevant Keywords
“Talented worker with experience managing a team of staff. Creative and responsible with knowledge of organizational processes. Can keep up with the busiest of environments. Stays focused when at work, ensuring prompt task completion. Dependable and willing to collaborate with a team to get things done.”
In this example, the chef doesn’t use keywords relevant to cooking, restaurants, or kitchens. The summary is very generic and can apply to nearly any job. A manager who receives the application isn’t likely to understand what value the candidate can bring to the restaurant. To fix the summary, the applicant must rewrite it to include relevant keywords and phrases.
3. No Numbers to Quantify Achievements
“An experienced and hardworking manager ready to align procedures for maximum revenue and profits. Proven track record of streamlining and strengthening processes, resulting in higher sales and better customer satisfaction. Collaborate well with sales team members, ensuring they have the resources and knowledge to support customer purchases and inquiries. Develop strong rapport with clients and maintain ongoing relationships.”
This isn’t a terrible summary for a sales manager, but it has room for improvement. For one, the first two sentences essentially duplicate each other, mentioning an aptitude for improving processes with the objective of higher sales. The other issue is a lack of quantifying achievements.
The applicant mentions they have a proven record of increasing sales, but they could strengthen the summary by quantifying their results. For example, they might say, “Proven track record of streamlining and strengthening processes, resulting in a 25% increase in sales over the past year.” The quantifier provides additional credibility.
4. Not Targeting the Specific Job
“Looking for work in a role that requires great customer service, project management, and communication skills. Able to collaborate with people from diverse and varying backgrounds. Highly organized and reliable worker with a strong work ethic. Responsible and reliable worker you can count on.”
While the candidate lists various skills they have, including customer service and project management, there’s no indication of prior roles held or what position they’re applying for. The summary could apply to numerous positions in a variety of industries. To improve the resume summary, the applicant must specify the job they’re applying for and indicate their prior experience in a similar role, if they have any.
After You Start Getting Interviews, Make Sure to Take Advantage…
If you follow the advice above, you’ll have a great professional resume summary to make your qualifications stand out to employers. But landing the interview is only half the battle… So make sure you go into every interview ready to convince employers that they should hire you, too! If you write a great resume summary example that gets employers excited to interview you, they’re going to ask you questions like, “tell me about yourself” early in the interview to learn more about your background. So make sure you’re prepared with an answer.
I also recommend you review the top 20 interview questions and answers here.
Your resume caught their interest, so naturally, they’re going to follow up with a variety of questions to learn more about your professional background.
The bottom line is: A strong professional resume summary, followed up by other well-written resume sections will get you the interview, but your interview performance is what determines whether you get the job offer!
About the Author
Read more articles by Biron Clark
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I would recommend to customise the skills section of your resume, and ensure that it matches the job posting. The higher the number of phrases within the resume matching the job requirements the more are the chances that the recruiter will pick you for the job.
I just wanted to say, “thank you!”. This was very helpful. Instead of jumping from one website to the next there’s so much useful, relevant information right here.
Hi, I have been having trouble creating a resume as My old one is so long, I’ve worked for a government agency for the past 14 years and held multiple positions doing many different duties for each and now I have to relocate to another area where they do not have an agency like mine in my new area within a 3 hour drive, how can I squeeze all my experience and duties on one page and where do I even start, I’m so nervous, it’s been so long since I’ve attempted the job hunt. So I’m wondering, I do not want to cut anything out that may hurt my chances and I can’t afford to have my resume rewritten by a professional. Can you guide me as to where you think would be a good place to start, I’ve been staring at this laptop for weeks trying to decide on a resume template, there are so many. I thank you for your time and any input will help.
Hi, I am a new graduate and do not have any experience in my field which is Nursing. I want to apply for the jobs but I have no idea about what to mention in my resume.
Hi, this article should help with the resume summary, at least: https://careersidekick.com/summary-for-resume-no-experience/
Other than that, you need to put your academic experience. And internships/part-time jobs if you’ve had any.
Dear Biron,, Thanks for sharing the 10 examples of professional summaries in your article, and especially the reasons why they were considered to be good. However, as a HR professional, I would most likely skip over most of them and would not read much past the first or second sentence. The summaries were mostly too wordy and boring, and did not demonstrate ‘oomph’ at first cursory reading. Simply indicating certain skills or behaviors does not give an idea of the level of expertise, and could simply be wishful thinking on the part of the resume writer.
Just goes to show that there are many ways to see what makes a good summary.
I am a chemical engineer and project management professional with 15+years experience. My experience is between process engineering and project management . How can I marry the two in my profile summary?
It’s not about showing everything you’ve done. It’s about showing employers evidence you’ll succeed in their job. You can show a bit of both but focus heavily on what’s most relevant for the jobs you’re applying for right now. 80/20.
This was absolutely helpful and amazing! Thank you very much!
Hello, I am an active job seeker. I hold a law degree from a foreign country and currently in college for an associate degree. My question is, how do I blend both my foreign job experience with that of the United States in my resume. Thank you.
I’d put your work history in chronological order, starting with the most recent up top. That’s what I’d recommend for 95% of people actually. Then it doesn’t matter where you held each job.
And then in your Education section, I’d include your foreign degree and the current degree you’re pursuing in the US, too (for the US degree, you can say “in progress” or “graduating May 2019” for example).
I am 40 years old & B.A degree holder I have experience in many fields.I would like to join any one fields
I am a fresh graduate, who has five years teaching experience and some months customer service representative experience. Pls kindly assist me to put the resume summary together
I’m an active duty service member and finding in a little difficult creating a good transitional summary from 20 year profession in tactical communications to a drug and alcohol counselor. Do you have any recommendations how I should approach this? Any assistance would be helpful. Thanks
Great piece
How to write the CAREER ABSTRACT in resume for ware super visor retail business?
Just wanted to say thank you.Your advise and information was clear and easy to understand , sometimes there is nothing pertaining to what im looking fot in particular, buy you have sermed to cover everything I n a short quick easy to understand method.It will help tremendously.
Thanks! Glad to hear it helped :)
Very informational
What if you have work experience, but the job your going for(teachingeducation) has nothing to do with warehouse work? How should I build my resume?
In the summary, describe yourself and then say, “…looking to transition into ___” (the type of work you want to be doing now).
This is a bit like a resume “Objective”. I normally don’t recommend an Objective section (and I recommend a Summary section instead), however the one time an Objective does make sense is when you’re trying to change industries or make a big change in the type of role you have.
So that’s why my advice here might seem like I’m telling you to combine an Objective with your resume Summary.
Then “tailor” your previous work to be as relevant as possible. Even if you worked in a different industry you can still show things like leadership, accountability, progress/improvement, hard work, achieving goals, strong teamwork skills, etc. You can do all of that in your resume bullets and work history.
Don’t u have Resume Summary of legal secretary/legal assistant?
No, sorry about that. There are hundreds of different professions/job titles, and we aren’t able to include an example for every scenario out there. These resume summary examples are designed to give you a general idea of how to write yours.
The summaries listed are excellent example and have helped me develop a stand out summary for a new position.
Hello, I been trying to land the job of my dreams. I need help with my resume if i want the recruiters in airlines to notice me. I’ve applied before but haven’t had complete success to making it to a face-to Face Interview. It is a career change – yet i feel i am a great candidate bc i have had many customer service and I even attended an academy for that specific position. Can you please tell me what I am doing wrong on my resume ?
what if i never had a job experience?
Great question. If you don’t have any work experience, take one of the formats/examples above and put your accomplishments and qualifications from your academic studies.
Your headline could say: “Motivated Bio-Sciences Graduate With Expertise in ____”.
And then you might talk about accomplishments in school, group projects you worked on or led, etc.
Basically, when you have no work experience, your school/studies BECOMES your recent work. You should talk about that like it’s a job, because that’s the experience you do have.
really amazing article and too useful , thanks
Hi Mr. Clark, I have been out of the work force for about 18+years and I have been a small business owner for the same number of years. However, I want to go back to the work force. But my problem is that, I don’t know how to prepare my resume or resume summary statement. I had a degree in Communication,Arts and Sciences and a postgraduate degree in Public Administration. I’m a bit confused as to how to incorporate all these experiences into my resume. Please can you help?
Hi Dorothy, I can recommend a professional resume writer if you want. But they’re typically not cheap, so it’s something you’d have to be willing to invest in. If not, there’s a lot of free info online about how to “tailor” your resume for specific jobs. I can’t help one-on-one unfortunately, but I’d recommend thinking about which type of jobs you want, and think of what experience you have that is most relevant. that’s what to put on your resume. Your resume isn’t only about you, it’s about them – what do they want/need? (if you want to get a ton of interviews, that’s how to do it :) ).
Can I have a professional resume writer?
I use a similar format when writing my opening statement for my coverletter. How do you recommend differentiating the two? Or is it ok to use largely the same language?
I think it’s okay to use something similar. I might be more brief in the cover letter… it needs to be about them just as much as it’s about you. Whereas the resume is all about you, at least in the summary section. (The later sections should still be tailored to THEIR needs..)
Struggling to write a Summary Statement for a Secretary/Administrative Assistant position. I have 15 years government experience but have been away from the government since 9/1993 and have spent 15 years as a Substitute Teacher after taking off for 10 years to raise my children.
Hiya! I am a mother of three attempting to return to the workforce. I have been a stay at mom for about 13 years, so I have a (large) gap in my employment history; which doesn’t look great. I have a college education and have obtained a few certifications whilst not employed, plus many volunteer hours. I know that I should probably use a functional resume format. Would love some advice on what I should include in my summary statement.
Hi Juniper,
I rarely like functional resumes, but it might be worth trying. I’d “split-test” it (a marketing term). Create two resume styles, send out 50% one way, 50% the other way, and track results for a week.
I’d treat the resume summary statement just like any other resume. Highlight your skills and past wins/accomplishments.
how do i explain long term gaps in employment? leave them out?
Hi Paulette,
Don’t mention them on a resume summary. But do mention the gaps on a cover letter or lower down on the resume. Here’s an article on how to explain gaps in employment:
https://careersidekick.com/explaining-gaps-in-employment/
I am student in civil engineering field. Have 1.5 yrs of work ex. How should i structure my resume. Thanks.
Hello My name is Shataka and I’m a current job seeker trying to land my dream job as a Counselor. I have Master degree in Counseling Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. My experience lies in many different fields. I’m currently a Substance Abuse Counselor, with a teaching background and over 5 years of social service experience. I guess my question is how would I sum up all my experience to help me find a job as a Counselor.
Comments are closed.
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- Resume and Cover Letter
- 27 Great Resume Summary...
27 Great Resume Summary Examples to Get Hired
21 min read · Updated on October 03, 2024
Your resume summary is the first impression you make on potential employers, so it's crucial to get it right
When it comes to job applications, your resume is often the first point of contact with prospective employers. It's essential to make a good impression right from the start, and that's where your resume summary comes in.
What is a resume summary?
How can you create one that will help your resume stand out from the competition?
In this article, we'll explain the resume summary and why it's so vital for job search success. We'll also teach you how to write a great resume summary that will grab any employer's attention and provide 27 fantastic resume summary examples that you can customize to fit your job search needs.
What is a resume summary?
To understand a resume summary, it's important to understand the challenge that good summaries are designed to overcome. Employers who are looking for new hires often need to compare many dozens or even hundreds of resumes to find the best candidates for the job. Few hiring personnel have the time needed to thoroughly examine every single resume that they receive.
Instead, employers typically spend no more than five or six seconds scanning any given resume. If a resume manages to capture their interest in those few seconds, they'll take the time to read it in greater detail.
However, if your resume doesn't grab their attention, it's likely to be rejected without any further examination. So, the challenge is to find a way to quickly earn the reader's interest and inspire them to read the rest of the document.
That's where a professional summary for a resume comes into play. As you'll see from our resume summary examples, a good summary is the resume equivalent of a salesperson's elevator pitch.
This brief statement should highlight your experience and job title, one or two key skills, and a couple of your most prominent achievements. When your summary is crafted well, it will provide the employer with a quick overview of your potential value as a new hire.
Once you've written your summary, you should place it right after your contact information and resume headline so that it's the first thing employers see. If you've done your job properly, that summary will be compelling enough to make the reader want to learn more about the type of value you can bring to the job.
How should you start a resume summary?
Since your summary is designed to capture the reader's attention, it's vital to start this paragraph off in a compelling way. While the statement should be brief, it should also clearly communicate your unique value proposition. Here are some examples of strong opening statements:
Innovative Marketing Manager with over five years of experience in developing and executing successful campaigns for Fortune 500 companies
Results-driven Sales Executive with a proven track record of exceeding revenue targets and building strong client relationships
Skilled Customer Service Representative with expertise in problem-solving, conflict resolution, and communication
Tips for writing a resume summary
To make sure that you create the most powerful resume summary possible, follow our top tips:
Be specific
When writing a resume summary, it's essential to be specific and quantify your achievements wherever possible. Instead of saying, "Experienced marketing professional," try saying, "Experienced marketing professional with expertise in managing successful social media campaigns, resulting in increases of up to 30% in website traffic."
This provides concrete evidence of your skills and demonstrates your value to potential employers.
Reflect on your career
When it comes to writing a strong resume summary, you should engage in some self-reflection. Before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), take some time to think about your key skills, experiences, and achievements. This will help you identify the most important information to include in your summary. Review your past roles, responsibilities, and accomplishments, and think about how they relate to the job you're applying for. Ask yourself:
What have I achieved in my career?
What skills have I developed?
What makes me stand out from other applicants?
Identify your key skills
One of the most important things to include in your resume summary is your key skills. These are the abilities that set you apart from other candidates and demonstrate your value to potential employers. Begin by making a list of your top skills, then prioritize them based on relevance to the job you're applying for.
Highlight your relevant experiences
Next, think about relevant experiences that you can include in your summary. This includes any previous jobs or internships, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities that have given you valuable experience. Consider what you've learned and achieved in each role and how that relates to the job you're applying for.
You should focus on what is most relevant to your target job. Here are some examples:
Proven ability to increase sales revenue by 20% year-over-year
Expertise in project management and team leadership
Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft 365
Confident working with a diverse range of clients and stakeholders
Keep it concise
Remember, your resume summary should be concise and to the point. Stick to the most important information and avoid filler words or irrelevant details. A good rule of thumb is to keep your summary to 3-5 sentences.
Use action verbs
When describing your experiences and achievements, use strong action verbs and adverbs to convey a sense of accomplishment and momentum. For example, instead of saying, "Responsible for managing social media accounts," say, "Successfully manage 4 social media accounts, including Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram."
Quantify your achievements
Wherever possible, use numbers and statistics to quantify your achievements. This provides concrete evidence of your skills and demonstrates your value to potential employers. For example, instead of saying, "Helped to increase sales," say, "Helped to increase sales by 20% in the first year."
Tailor it to the job
Make sure your resume's professional summary is tailored to the job you're seeking. This means highlighting the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the role. Look at the job description identify the key requirements, and then make sure your summary addresses these points.
Professional resume summary examples
Since there's nothing quite like seeing an example of a great summary, we've compiled twenty-seven great resume summary examples that you can use as inspirational templates for your own perfect resume . Below, you'll find summary examples for a variety of different job roles, including:
Customer Service Representative
Sales Representative
Marketing Manager
Project Manager
Software Developer
Human Resources Manager
Graphic Designer
Registered Nurse
Financial Analyst
Administrative Assistant
Data Entry Clerk
Business Analyst
Operations Manager
Mental Health Counselor
High School Teacher
Event Manager
Product Designer
Content Marketer
SEO Specialist
Bank Teller
Software Support Specialist
Data Scientist
Dental Assistant
1. Customer Service Representative resume summary example
"Highly motivated Customer Service Representative with 5 years of experience in delivering service excellence. Skilled in conflict resolution and problem-solving, resulting in a 95% customer satisfaction rate. Proven ability to multitask in fast-paced environments while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail."
Why it works : This summary highlights the candidate's experience and skills while also showcasing their relevant achievements in ensuring customer satisfaction. It mentions how much experience they have and highlights a measurable success.
2. Sales Representative resume summary example
"Dynamic Sales Representative with a track record of exceeding sales quotas by 20%+. Proficient in consultative sales techniques and relationship building. Exceptional communication and negotiation skills with the ability to close deals."
Why it works : This summary provides a quantifiable achievement to show the candidate's success in their previous sales roles while also highlighting their key skills in relationship building and communication.
3. Marketing Manager resume summary example
"Strategic Marketing Manager with 7+ years of experience in developing and executing successful marketing campaigns across multiple channels. Skilled in market research and analysis, campaign optimization, and team leadership. Proven track record of driving revenue growth and increasing brand awareness."
Why it works : This summary emphasizes the candidate's experience and leadership skills while also showcasing their ability to drive results through successful marketing campaigns. The candidate has also demonstrated their ability to grow revenues and raise brand awareness.
4. Project Manager resume summary example
"Accomplished Project Manager, with confidence in leading cross-functional teams and managing project timelines, budgets, and resources. Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build relationships with stakeholders. Proven track record of delivering projects on time and within budget."
Why it works : This summary highlights the candidate's extensive project management experience and emphasizes their ability to successfully deliver projects while working with multiple stakeholders.
5. Software Developer resume summary example
"Innovative Software Developer with 5+ years of experience in designing, developing, and implementing complex software applications. Skilled in programming languages including Java, Python, and C++. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in Agile environments to deliver high-quality code on time."
Why it works : This job seeker has taken the time to highlight some of the technical skills they possess while emphasizing their ability to work in Agile environments. They also call attention to the fact that they can manage and complete a software development project from design to implementation.
6. Human Resources Manager resume summary example
"Experienced Human Resources Manager specializing in talent acquisition, employee relations, and performance management. Skilled in developing and implementing HR policies and procedures that align with business objectives and values. Proven track record of building and managing high-performing teams."
Why it works : This summary highlights the candidate's experience in various HR functions and emphasizes their ability to build and manage teams. It also shows that they can perform managerial functions like developing policies and procedures.
7. Graphic Designer resume summary example
"Creative Graphic Designer with particular expertise in developing and executing visually stunning designs for print and digital media. Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud, with a focus on typography and layout. Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously."
Why it works : This summary works well because it showcases their technical skills and experience while also emphasizing creativity and an ability to work collaboratively.
8. Registered Nurse resume summary example
"Compassionate Registered Nurse with over 10 years' experience in providing high-quality patient care. Skilled at patient assessment, medication administration, and treatment plan development. Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport with patients and their families."
Why it works : This summary emphasizes the candidate's clinical and patient care experience and highlights their key nursing and interpersonal skills.
9. Financial Analyst resume summary example
“Detail-oriented Financial Analyst with a strong background in financial modeling, data analysis, and forecasting. Combines advanced Excel skills with the ability to create and manage financial reports. Able to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.”
Why it works : This summary showcases the applicant's specific skills and experience in financial analysis and highlights their proficiency in Excel, a crucial tool for the role.
10. Administrative Assistant resume summary example
“Skilled Administrative Assistant with 8 years of experience in administrative support and office administration. Resilient, detail-oriented, and able to work under extreme pressure in a team environment. Excellent interpersonal, client management, and interdepartmental liaison skills. Committed to successful management of multiple simultaneous projects, strict adherence to deadline requirements, and accurate maintenance of schedules, meeting obligations, and records.”
Why it works : An Administrative Assistant wears many hats and experiences many challenges. This resume summary covers a lot of ground to demonstrate that the candidate understands those obstacles and knows how to overcome them.
11. Data Entry Clerk resume summary example
“Task-driven and results-oriented professional with more than 10 years of experience in data entry, project coordination, and customer service. Uses interpersonal skills including effective communication to build rapport and positive relations with customers, gather vital information, and ensure rapid and accurate entry of data into designated software programs.”
Why it works : This resume summary is effective because it gets right to the heart of the job: dealing with customers and entering data into databases. The candidate also emphasizes their results-focused mindset, project skills, and key soft skills.
12. Business Analyst resume summary example
“Results-driven Business Analyst with a proven record in expanding profitability by 55% in the retail industry. Confident carrying out data-focused analysis that provides key insights and recommendations for growth strategies. Strong interpersonal and team building skills, innovative approach to problem-solving , and resolute commitment to efficiency and productivity.”
Why it works : Business analysis is all about using data and research to deliver key insights that result in improved operations and greater business success. This summary hits all the right notes as it focuses on key skills, a solutions-oriented mindset, and notable achievements that reflect real value for employers.
13. Operations Manager resume summary example
“Results-oriented Operations Manager with more than 10 years of supervisory experience in high-level operational environments. Adept at coordinating both large and small teams, outside consultants, and mid-level management personnel. Successfully introduced Lean manufacturing principles that reduced costs by 32% via waste elimination and process revitalization.”
Why it works : This candidate's summary emphasizes key skills that the employer wants to see in any managerial candidate's resume while also showcasing their knowledge of best operational practices and a commitment to cost reduction.
14. Mental Health Counselor resume summary example
“Compassionate Mental Health Counselor with more than a decade of experience addressing mental health issues and behavioral concerns. Proven success in both individual and group counseling environments, assisting clients in gaining insight and understanding of their unique conditions. Specialized focus on working with young adults and families, with an emphasis on addressing substance abuse root causes and other social factors involved in mental health.”
Why it works : This resume summary is notable for citing important skills like empathy and compassion. It also focuses attention on the candidate's experience in dealing with common mental health concerns and hints at their preferred approach to assisting patients.
15. High School Teacher resume summary example
“Dynamic high school teacher with 12 years of experience developing approved curricula for more than 500 students in grades 9-12. Proven track record of helping students to achieve a 98% passing rate in both Western Civilization and World History instruction. Actively engaged in every aspect of education, at the district, local, and parent-teacher level.”
Why it works : This candidate's resume summary highlights their vast experience while illustrating their success in ensuring that their students learn what they need to know to pass the class. They also demonstrate their commitment to the educational process by highlighting their involvement in every area of education.
16. Accountant resume summary example
“Diligent and detail-oriented CPA with seven years of experience in accounting, process improvement, and problem-solving. Skilled at identifying inefficiencies and using reporting to offer insights that can guide employers to better practices and greater profitability. At XYZ Corp., identified labor usage inefficiency that motivated management to introduce new scheduling that eliminated $300,000 in labor waste.”
Why it works : In addition to highlighting a wide range of valuable skills, this candidate also focused on a quantifiable achievement that illustrates real value. This type of summary would certainly capture a hiring manager's attention and make them want to read more!
17. Event Manager resume summary example
“Resilient and creative Event Manager with 6 years of corporate experience. Detail-oriented perfectionist with experience in project management, team leadership, and customer relations. Successfully organized and executed more than 40 major business conferences, hosting thousands of guests. Major clients have included three Fortune 500 firms with multi-million-dollar event budgets.
Why it works : As Event Managers go, this one has certainly made the rounds. That summary of achievements highlights their ability to manage even large-scale events, dealing with every aspect of the project. How could a serious hiring manager not want to learn more about this candidate?
18. IT Manager resume summary example
“Dedicated IT Manager with significant experience in an innovative and growing tech firm. Skilled leader with experience in systems analysis, database architecture, problem-solving, and troubleshooting. Superior client satisfaction rate of more than 99%. Created and implemented an IT troubleshooting process that reduced internal client service time by 30%.”
Why it works : This IT professional focuses attention on their key leadership skills , while also mentioning the hard skills that any hiring manager is likely to be looking for. There's also a nice nod to their history of satisfying clients, as well as a notable and measurable achievement.
19. Product Designer resume summary example
“Innovative Design Engineer with 5 years of experience in the development of products and packages. Skilled in market research, brand development and alignment, and design elements. Led team of seventeen Designers in the creation of industrial products that yielded $20 million in sales in the first month after launch.”
Why it works : This resume summary uses some important keywords, action verbs, and descriptive language to describe the candidate's key skills and experiences. It also cites an impressive product design achievement, along with real numbers that showcase value.
20. Content Marketer resume summary example
“Creative marketing professional with 7 years' experience as a Content Marketer. Skilled writer who understands how written communication empowers business growth and expansion. Expertise in development of compelling content that drives activities across multiple media channels. Adaptable , detail-oriented, and focused on a brand-building approach to content strategy that drives real results. Developed a cross-platform content strategy that boosted sales conversion rates by 37%.
Why it works : This Content Marketer focuses on their key skills and keen insights into how content impacts business profitability. They even included a measurable result that demonstrates their focus on adding value to their employer's bottom line.
21. SEO Specialist resume summary example
“Results-focused SEO expert with 6 years of experience in keyword mastery, the promotion of sustainable content, and growing organic website search engine rankings. Proven track record of SEO success, using content development and link outreach to expand website traffic activity from 10,000 daily visitors to more than 2,000,000 per year.”
Why it works : Many hiring managers may not fully understand SEO, but they will understand the need to get more eyes on their digital content. This candidate speaks to that need by focusing on website rankings, content, and overall web traffic - while including a quantifiable achievement that demonstrates their ability to make things happen.
22. Copywriter resume summary example
“Website Copywriter with 5 years of experience in developing content that creates real conversions. Cross-channel expertise, including website content, advertising, newsletters, press releases, email, and podcast/video scripts. Proven track record of increasing social traffic by 36% and driving a 22% boost in landing page conversions.”
Why it works : This candidate's summary is focused not only on the type of things they write but how those content pieces directly contribute to the company's online presence and sales conversion rate. This illustrates the writer's understanding of how their work aligns with their employer's business needs and goals.
23. Bank Teller resume summary example
“Empathetic and personable Bank Teller with more than 4 years of experience in client interactions at First Bank. Detail-oriented customer management approach, focused on superior customer experiences and client retention. Strict adherence to bank policy, including safety deposit guidelines, customer account security, and due diligence. Efficiently and effectively processed more than 200 client account interactions each day.”
Why it works : For a Bank Teller, much of the role's value lies in the employee's ability to serve as the face of the branch. This summary is effective because it showcases the Teller's knowledge of bank procedures while also highlighting their commitment to creating an excellent customer experience.
24. Software Support Specialist resume summary example
“Problem-solving Software Support Specialist with 8 years of experience in customer-facing user assistance. Provided key problem-resolution services for hundreds of customers, with a focus on maximizing their satisfaction with the company to increase loyalty and retention. Experienced in both customer and B2B interactions, with a specialized talent for explaining technical problems in language that is easily understood by the average layperson.”
Why it works : This resume summary focuses not only on the candidate's specialized skills in solving computer issues but also highlights their ability to simplify their explanations to customers.
25. Data Scientist resume summary example
“Committed Data Scientist focused on analytical insights that can drive company growth and development. More than eight years of experience providing data-driven analysis to Fortune 500 executives based on comprehensive statistical models and detailed historical data patterns. Successfully provided insights and recommendations used to increase company profits by 32% over a two-year period.”
Why it works : Data science may not seem like the most exciting field, but hiring managers are always on the hunt for candidates who understand why data matters. This candidate's focus on providing insights that can translate into real value for the employer is something that is likely to earn a hiring manager's interest.
26. Dental Assistant resume summary example
“Dental Assistant with 5 years of experience with patient preparation, processing, and administrative support. Keen attention to detail and a commitment to dental health and aesthetics. Skilled in dental impressions, hands-on assistance during procedures, x-rays, and record maintenance. Fully committed to developing rapport with patients that creates a welcoming environment and a joyful experience.”
Why it works : This candidate's resume summary not only highlights key Dental Assistant requirements, but also conveys their personal approach to teamwork and patient care.
27. Architect resume summary example
“Creative Architect experienced in high-end architectural design and development oversight. Ten years of proven success in creating sustainable designs that earn rave reviews and commendations from clients. Skilled in adapting to new challenges and working under pressure to achieve every client's vision. Consistently produces designs and project plans that come in on time and under budget, at 10%-30% less cost than industry competitors.”
Why it works : In this summary, the candidate highlights key skills that employers will want to see, while also emphasizing quantifiable results that demonstrate competitive value for the employer. They also showcase their ability to not only design architectural structures but to do so with a conscious awareness of critical factors like budgetary concerns, deadlines, sustainability and market competition.
Bonus: how to write a resume summary if you have no experience
Of course, it's also important to know how to write a resume summary if you have no experience. Here's a quick resume summary example that you can adapt if you are just entering the job market:
“Recent Marketing graduate, seeking an entry-level position to kickstart a career in the field. Demonstrated strong leadership and teamwork skills gained through involvement in various extracurricular activities, including volunteering at local events and leading group projects. Proficient in Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud. Passionate about using marketing strategies to create engaging content and drive brand awareness.”
Why it works: This summary works because it highlights the candidate's relevant hard and soft skills and qualifications, even though they don't have direct career experience. The use of action words such as "demonstrated" and "proficient" shows the candidate's confidence in their abilities, which can be attractive to potential employers, showcasing the candidate's potential for success in an entry-level marketing role.
A word about AI
If you've been following recent news headlines, you've probably heard about the rise of artificial intelligence. If so, then maybe you've wondered whether it's a viable tool for creating your resume. While our experts advise against using AI to create your resume from scratch, that doesn't mean that it has no role to play in that process. In fact, tools like ChatGPT can be extremely useful for assessing your resume summary and other key parts of your resume.
For example, AI can help you to evaluate job descriptions to identify the most relevant keywords that need to be included in your resume to get past any ATS. Artificial intelligence can even be used to brainstorm ideas for resume headlines, skill synonyms, and other vital resume components. Just recognize that the technology has not yet advanced to the point at which it can reliably craft truly compelling resumes.
Key takeaways
A well-written resume summary can make a significant impact on a job application. A good summary should highlight relevant skills and experiences, use clear and concise language, and avoid unnecessary information. Feel free to customize any of the resume summary examples we've provided to help ensure that your resume captures the attention of potential employers.
We know it can be difficult to condense a whole career full of skills and achievements into a paragraph of only a few sentences. If you're unsure about the document you've crafted, why not send it for a free resume review by our team of expert resume writers?
This article was originally written by Ken Chase. It has been updated by Marsha Hebert and Ken Chase.
Recommended reading:
Ask Amanda: How Are a Resume Objective and a Resume Summary Different?
How to Write a Standout Career Summary
Business Acumen: What It Is and How You Can Showcase It On Your Resume
Related Articles:
Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?
How to Create a Resume With No Education
Why You Lose When You Lie on Your Resume: Learning From Mina Chang
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Resume personal statement examples
If you want to secure job interview, you need a strong personal statement at the top of your resume.
Your resume personal statement is a short paragraph which sits at the very top of your resume – and it’s aim is to summarize the benefits of hiring you and encourage employers to read your resume in full.
In this guide I have included 17 resume personal statement examples from a range of professions and experience levels, plus a detailed guide of how to write your own personal statement that will get you noticed by employers
Resume templates
17 resume personal statement examples
To start this guide, I have included 10 examples of good personal statements, to give you an idea of how a personal statement should look , and what should be included.
Note: personal statements are generally used by junior candidates – if you are experienced, check out our resume summary examples instead.
College graduate resume personal statement (no experience)
Although this college graduate has no paid work experience , they compensate for it by showcasing all of the skills and knowledge the have gained during their studies, and demonstrating how they apply their knowledge in academic and personal projects.
When you have little or no experience, it’s important to draw out transferable workplace skills from your studies and extracurricular work, to showcase them to employers.
College graduate resume personal statement (part time freelance experience)
This candidate has graduated college with a degree in biochemistry but actually wants to start a career in marketing after providing some digital freelance services to fund their studies.
In this case, they haven’t made much mention of their studies because they aren’t relevant to the marketing agencies they are applying to. Instead they have focused their personal statement around their freelance work and passion for the digital field – although they still mention the fact they are degree educated to prove their academic success.
High school leaver resume personal statement (no experience)
This candidate is 16 years old and has no work experience whatsoever, but they compensate for this by detailing their academic achievements that relate to the roles they are applying for (maths and literacy are important requirements in finance and accountancy roles).
They also add some info on their extracurricular activities and high school work-placements, to strengthen this student resume further.
Top tips for writing a resume personal statement
- Thoroughly research the jobs and companies you are planning to apply for to identify the type of candidate they are looking for – try to reflect that in your personal statement
- Don’t be afraid to brag a little – include some of your most impressive achievements from education, work or personal life
- Focus on describing the benefits an employer will get from hiring you. Will you help them to get more customers? Improve their workplace? Save them time and money?
- If you have no work experience, demonstrate transferable workplace skills from your education, projects, or even hobbies
High school leaver resume personal statement (part time experience)
Although this person has only just left high school, they have also undertaken some part-time work in a call center alongside their studies.
To make the most of this experience, they have combined their academic achievements with their workplace exposure in this personal statement.
By highlighting their future studies, summer programme involvement, work experience and expressing their ambitions to progress within sales, this candidate really makes an appealing case for hiring them.
College leaver resume personal statement (no experience)
This candidate has left college with good grades, but does not yet have any work experience.
To compensate for the lack of workplace exposure, they have made their honor results prominent and highlighted skills and experience which would benefit the employers they are targeting.
Any recruiter reading this summary can quickly understand that this candidate has great academic achievements, a passion for IT and finance and the ability to transfer their skills into an office environment.
College student resume personal statement (freelance experience)
As this student has picked up a small amount of freelance writing work during their studies, they have made sure to brag about it in their personal statement.
They give details on their relevant studies to show the skills they are learning, and boost this further by highlighting the fact that they have been applying these skills in a real-life work setting by providing freelance services.
They also include key action verbs that recruiters will be looking for , such as creative writing, working to deadlines, and producing copy.
Academic resume personal statement
Aside from junior candidates, the only other people who might use a personal statement, are academic professionals; as their resume’s tend to be more longer and detailed than other professions.
This candidate provides a high level overview of their field of study, length of experience, and the roles they have held within colleges.
High school leaver resume personal statement with sports experience
Although this person has no work experience, they are still able to show employers the value of hiring them by selling their other achievements and explaining how they could benefit an organization.
They expand on their sports club involvement to demonstrate their teamwork, leadership skills, communication and motivation, which are all important traits in the workplace, and will be looked upon favourably by recruiters and hiring managers.
They also draw upon their future plans to study business studies at college and take a part time job, to further prove their ambition and dedication.
History graduate resume personal statement
This history graduate proves their aptitude for both academic achievement and workplace aptitude by showcasing valuable skills from their degree and voluntary work.
They do this by breaking down the key requirements for each and showing how their skills could be beneficial for future employers, such as listening, communication, and crisis management.
They also describe how their ability to balance studies alongside voluntary work has not only boosted their knowledge and skills, but also given excellent time management and organizational skills – which are vital assets to any employer.
Law graduate resume personal statement
This legal graduate makes the most from their college work placements by using it to bulk out the contents of their resume personal statement.
They include their degree to show they have the necessary qualifications for legal roles, which is crucial, but more importantly, they showcase how they applied their legal skills within a real-life work setting.
They give a brief overview of the types of legal professionals they have been working alongside and the type of work they have been carrying out – this is all it takes to get the attention of recruiters and show employers they have what it takes to fulfil roles in the legal sector.
Medical student resume personal statement
This medical student proves their fit for the role by showcasing the key skills they have gained from their studies and their work experience placements.
In just these few sentences, they are able to highlight the vast amount of experience they have across different disciplines in the industry, something which is particularly important in the medical sector.
As they have not graduated yet and are still studying, they have provided proof of their most recent grades. This can give the recruiter some indication as to the type of grade they could be graduating with in the near future.
Masters student resume personal statement
This masters student has started by specifying their area of study, in this case, accounting, and given details about the specific areas of finance they are most interested in. This can hint towards their career goals and passions.
They have then carefully listed some of the key areas of accounting and finance that they are proficient in. For example, business finance, advanced corporate finance and statistics.
They have also outlined some of the transferable skills needed for accounting roles that employers will be looking out for, such as communication, attention to detail and analytical skills.
Finance student resume personal statement
As this finance student has recently undertaken some relevant work experience, they’ve made sure to shout about this in their personal summary.
But more than this, they have included a list of some of the important finance skills they gained as a result of this work experience – for example, financial reporting, processing invoices and month-end reconciliations.
Plus, through power words and phrases such as ‘prevent loss’ and ‘improve upon accuracy and efficiency’, they have also showcased how they can apply these skills in a workplace setting to benefit the potential employer.
Internship resume personal statement
This digital marketing professional has started their personal summary by outlining their most relevant qualifications and work experience, most notably their freelance role as a content manager.
They have also provided examples of some of the key marketing skills that potential employers might be looking for, including very detailed examples of the platforms and tools they are proficient in – for example, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest.
They have then closed their statement by giving a detailed description of the type of role or opportunity they are looking for. In this case, an in-house position in a marketing company.
College graduate career changer personal statement
Switching careers as a college graduate can be tough. Especially when it comes to writing a personal statement that will attract employers in your new chosen field.
This candidate is looking to move from history teaching into journalism, so they have created a statement which briefly mentions their current workplace, but mainly focuses on highlighting transferable skills which are relevant to journalism. They achieve this by discussing the writing skills they use in their current role, and mentioning their hobby of writing – including some publications they have been featured in for extra brownie points.
Business management graduate personal statement
This business management proves their ability to work within a junior business management position by swiftly highlighting their impressive degree (to ensure it is not missed) and summarizing some of the real-life experience they have gained in management during their college placements and volunteering. They do not let their lack of paid work experience, stop them demonstrating their valuable skills.
PhD graduate
PhD graduate roles attract a lot of competition, so it’s important that your resume contains a personal statement that will quickly impress and attract recruiters.
This candidate provides a short-but-comprehensive overview of their academic achievements, whilst demonstrating their exceptional level of knowledge in research, languages and publication writing.
By highlighting a number of skills and abilities that are in high-demand in the academic workplace, this resume is very likely to get noticed and land interviews.
How to write a personal statement for your resume
Now that you’ve seen what a personal statement should look like and the type of content it should contain, follow this detailed guide to one for your own resume – and start racking those interviews up.
Guide contents
What is a resume personal statement?
Resume personal statement or resume summary, personal statement format, what to include in a resume personal statement.
- Personal statement mistakes
How to write persuasively
A personal statement is a short paragraph at the top of your resume which gives employers an overview of your education, skills and experience
It’s purpose is to capture the attention of busy recruiters and hiring managers when your resume is first opened – encouraging them to read the rest of it.
You achieve this by writing a tailored summary of yourself that explains your suitability for the roles you are applying for at a very high level, and matches your target job descriptions .
One question candidates often ask me is , “what is the difference between a personal statement and a resume summary?”
To be honest, they are almost the same – they are both introductory paragraphs that sit at the top of your resume… but there are 2 main differences:
A personal statement tends to be used more by junior candidates (college graduates, high school leavers etc.) and is relatively long and detailed.
A resume summary tends to be favoured by more experienced candidates , and is shorter in length than a personal statement.
Note: If you are an experienced candidate, you may want to switch over to my resume writing guide , or example resume summaries page.
To ensure you grab recruiters’ attention with your personal statement, lay it out in the following way.
Positioning
You need to ensure that your personal statement sits at the very top of your resume, and all of it should be totally visible to readers, without the need to scroll down the page.
Do this by reducing the top page margin and minimizing the space taken up by your contact details.
This will ensure that your whole personal statement can be seen, as soon as your resume is opened.
We have a resume template which can help you to get this right.
Size/length
Your personal statement needs to contain enough detail to provide an introduction to your skills and knowledge, but not so much detail that it bores readers.
To strike the right balance, anything between 8-15 lines of text is perfect – and sentences should be sharp and to-the-point.
As with the whole of your resume , your personal statement should be written in a simple clean font at around size 10-12 to ensure that it can be read easily by all recruiters and employers.
Keep the text color simple, ensuring that it contrasts the background (black on white is best) and break it into 2 or even 3 paragraphs for a pleasant reading experience.
It should also be written in a punchy persuasive tone, to help you sell yourself and increase your chances of landing interviews, I cover how to do this in detail further down the guide.
Quick tip: A poorly written resume will fail to impress recruiters and employers. Use our quick-and-easy Resume Builder to create a winning resume in minutes with professional resume templates and pre-written content for every industry.
Once you have the style and format of your personal statement perfected, you need to fill it with compelling content that tells recruiters that your resume is worth reading.
Here’s what needs to go into your personal statement…
Before you start writing your personal statement, it’s crucial that you research your target roles to find out exactly what your new potential employers are looking for in a candidate.
Run a search for your target jobs on one of the major job websites, look through plenty of adverts and make a list of the candidate requirements that frequently appear.
This research will show you exactly what to include in your personal statement in order to impress the recruiters who will be reading it.
Education and qualifications are an important aspect of your personal statement, especially if you are a junior candidate.
You should highlight your highest and most relevant qualifications, whether that is a degree or your GED. You could potentially go into some more detail around modules, papers etc. if they are relevant to the roles you are applying for.
It’s important that you discuss the experience you have gained in your personal statement, to give readers an idea of the work you are comfortable undertaking.
This can of course be direct employed work experience, but it doesn’t have to be.
You can also include:
- High school/college work placements
- Voluntary work
- Personal projects
- Hobbies/interests
As with all aspects of your resume , the content should be tailored to match the requirements of your target roles.
Whilst discussing your experience, you should touch upon skills used, industries worked in, types of companies worked for, and people you have worked with.
Where possible, try to show the impact your actions have made. E.g. A customer service agent helps to make sales for their employer.
Any industry-specific knowledge you have that will be useful to your new potential employers should be made prominent within your personal statement.
For example
- Knowledge of financial regulations will be important for accountancy roles
- Knowledge of IT operating systems will be important for IT roles
- Knowledge of the national curriculum will be important for teachers
You should also include some information about the types of roles you are applying for, and why you are doing so. Try to show your interest and passion for the field you are hoping to enter, because employers want to hire people who have genuine motivation and drive in their work.
This is especially true if you don’t have much work experience, as you need something else to compensate for it.
Resume personal statement mistakes
The things that you omit from your personal statement can be just as important as the things you include.
Try to keep the following out of your personal statement..
Irrelevant info
Any information that doesn’t fall into the requirements of your target roles can be cut out of your personal statement. For example, if you were a professional athlete 6 years ago, that’s great – but it won’t be relevant if you’re applying to advertising internships, so leave it out.
Generic clichés
If you are describing yourself as a “ dynamic team player with high levels of motivation and enthusiasm” you aren’t doing yourself any favours.
These cliché terms are vastly overused and don’t provide readers with any factual details about you – so keep them to a minimum.
Stick to solid facts like education, skills , experience, achievements and knowledge.
If you really want to ensure that your personal statement makes a big impact, you need to write in a persuasive manner.
So, how do you so this?
Well, you need to brag a little – but not too much
It’s about selling yourself and appearing confident, without overstepping the mark and appearing arrogant.
For example, instead of writing.
“Marketing graduate with an interest in entering the digital field”
Be creative and excite the reader by livening the sentence up like this,
“Marketing graduate with highest exam results in class and a passion for embarking on a long and successful career within digital”
The second sentence is a much more interesting, makes the candidate appear more confident, throws in some achievements, and shows off a wider range of writing skills.
Quick tip: A poorly written resume will fail to impress recruiters and employers. Use our quick-and-easy Resume Builder to create a winning resume in minutes with professional templates and pre-written content for every industry.
Your own personal statement will be totally unique to yourself, but by using the above guidelines you will be able to create one which shows recruiters everything they need.
Remember to keep the length between 10-20 lines and only include the most relevant information for your target roles.
You can also check our college graduate resume example , our best resume templates , or our library of example resumes from all industries.
Good luck with the job hunt!
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