Hiring managers get thousands of professional resumes daily indulging them in the never-ending and strenuous tasks of selecting a qualified candidate for the job title.When you receive resumes in a massive number there's no time to pick up and read an entire resume peacefully sipping the coffee. In that case, you will just skimp and scan the entire resume in 6-7 seconds giving a glance at the resume summary section, title, formatting, fonts, color, design, and structure of the resume. An experienced hiring manager would do the same.
Those 6-7 seconds are critical and if your resume fails to draw the attention of a hiring manager he or she will simply discard it and proceed with the next one. The math is pretty easy here.
How will you make sure that the hiring manager read the entire resume and makes a positive decision in those crucial 6-7 seconds? The short answer is - Writing an efficient executive summary for a resume.
In this article, you will read how to write a resume summary statement and what essential information you must include in a resume summary statement. On top of it, 10+ professional resume summary examples to review.
Let's get started with the resume's executive summary ride. Here we go.
What is a Resume Summary Statement?
The term statement itself speaks that a resume summary is an introductory pitch at the top of your resume document just below the personal details. A general summary statement tells the hiring managers about the job seeker. It includes professional experience, key skills, and what a job seeker is willing to do for the company.
The image above shows a resume summary statement (in red color). Upon reading the resume summary statement you will get to know that it contains three sentences which is an ideal structure.
Plus it also contains relevant keywords and the most relevant skills needed to qualify for the job title. Last but not least, the resume summary statement has accomplishments gained so far in the job. In short, it is an effective resume summary statement.
What is an Executive Resume Summary?
Executive summaries in resumes are slightly different compared to general resume summary statements. The executive summaries are written for higher positions in a similar role. For example, senior facility manager.
Moreover, the executive summary highlights essential skills, professional experience, and education required for a senior-level position of a similar job title. An executive resume summary becomes critical in a resume when the job application is being made for top positions. Even hiring managers scrutinize different sections of a resume to check whether the job seeker matches the requirements or not.
Okay now, let's process with the examples.
Examples of Compelling Executive Summary Statements
After differentiating between a professional summary and a resume's executive summary here are a few examples to review.
Content Developer Executive Summary Statement
Detail-oriented content developer having 8+ years of professional experience in writing technical brochures and machine manuals. Highly skilled in developing user guides for home appliances and sophisticated electronic devices. Unmatched writing style, creative thinking, and strong content research are key skills. Created user manuals for 130+ products at Hary’s Home Appliances discarding product demo costs.
Sous Chef Executive Summary Statement
Organized and hard-working sous chef with 6+ years of relevant experience in preparing and designing menus for local and exotic food and beverages. Order ingredients, kitchen cleanliness, and maintain inventory and quality standards to meet customer’s requirements. Training interns and kitchen staff and assessing their performance are some relevant skills that I execute at work. Seeking a Head Sous Chef position at Roadside Diners to leverage excellent skills and offer the highest quality of food services.
Financial Advisor Executive Summary Statement
Responsible financial advisor with a master’s degree in business administration and finance capable of managing projects related to finance, skilled in generating and analyzing financial reports for over 9 years now. Professional experience in cost accounting, company laws, tax filing, and documentation is seeking to be a part of the hard-working team of financial planning at Williams & Williams Associates.
Human Resources Manager Executive Summary Statement
Accountable and adaptable senior human resources manager with more than nine years of relevant experience in high-quality recruitment and hiring processes following industry standards. Uniquely qualified in operating applicant tracking systems, elevating selection standards, addressing grievances, meeting employee demands, and talent management. Job publishing, employee retention, and performance management are core competencies.
Front-desk Assistant Executive Summary Statement
Communicative front-desk assistant with a high school diploma and fluent in English, Spanish, and French languages. Having a track record of relevant experience working at Community Church Library and being uniquely qualified in IT skills am seeking to continue in the same position at Bella Groceries to offer exemplary customer services.
English Teacher Executive Summary Statement
Cooperative and coordinated language teacher with a master’s degree in English literature having 8+ years of professional experience in organizing lectures and designing coursework at previous positions. Key accomplishments include grade assessments using innovative test methods based on students’ learning behavior. Focused on every single student’s academic achievements and performance seeking to join your institution.
Now that you know what executive summaries are let's understand how these executive summaries are drafted in resumes.
How to Write an Executive Summary Statement?
To invite the attention of hiring managers your resume's executive summary must not only be engaging but packed with relevant keywords and phrases from the job description published by the employers. That's how the resume will pass the applicant tracking system and reach the desk of the hiring manager.
Let's begin with the basic points to write a resume summary statement.
Candidates writing a resume summary statement must remember that it should not exceed the 2-3 sentence (no bullet points) limit.
In the first statement include two key skills and insert key trait in the beginning. For instance, reputable, accountable, organized, etc. are examples to use and insert key trait.
Mentioning what a job seeker has achieved in his previous positions will naturally draw the eyeballs of a hiring manager. Since they are looking forward to this kind of details.
Since you are aware of the fundamentals to write a resume summary here is a detailed road map for a job candidate.
Use the Job Description as a Valuable Resource
A job search for a job candidate can be a daunting task and then writing a resume summary curated as per the job description. That's too much to ask for.
Yet, it needs to be done. Every job candidate, after or before writing a resume summary statement must go through the job description published by the employers. This is called optimizing a resume summary statement.
There's no doubt that you are a competent applicant for a specific job but if you don't mention the core competencies that an employer is looking for in the resume summary statement then your resume will never show up.
Let's understand using examples of a resume summary statement in two different contexts.
Hiring Manager Resume Summary Statement
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Self-motivated senior hiring manager with strong communication skills and 12+ years of relevant experience in the recruitment and hiring process. Uniquely qualified in operating applicant tracking systems, elevating selection standards, addressing grievances, meeting employee demands, and talent management. Job publishing, employee retention, and performance management are core competencies.
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Senior hiring manager, with strong communication skills, and 12+ years of professional experience in recruitment. Key accomplishments include operating ATS systems, writing a job description, and publishing a job ad relevant to the job. Screening cover letter, job seeker for a specific job, and conducting training of entry-level human resources employees.
Optimizing your resume summary statement as per the job ad is a different thing and stuffing the resume summary statement with relevant keywords is altogether different. If you read the latter example (in red) it reflects only keywords.
Secondly, a senior hiring manager or someone who is equally eligible from the human resources department won't write or publish specific job ads relevant to the job all by himself or herself. The point here is - there are junior-level human resources personnels to do this kind of task.
Third, the sentence although they are within the limit doesn't make sense and sounds open-ended. All these factors are deemed to sink your chances of getting an interview call.
Write Significant and Calculable Achievements
A job search can be a mind-boggling hunt if you don't have the required tools. In short, a good resume summary with well-optimized resume sections in one place.
A resume has to be a one-page document and no more than that. Since the space is limited the achievements and accomplishments in the career summary statement must be significant and calculable. In other words, they must be quantifiable. Refer to the examples below and ask yourself which one would impress you more.
Right
Created user manuals for 130+ products at Hary’s Home Appliances decreasing product demo costs by 67%.
Wrong
Created user manuals for home appliance products.
When you back up your achievements and accomplishments in the career summary statement using numbers and statistics the trust factors dramatically increase.
Integrate the Most Relevant Skills
Out of many key takeaways of writing a resume summary section one of them is integrating key skills in the introductory sentence. By doing this your resume summary section will draw the eyeballs of the hiring manager and the ATS program will easily pass the resume.
To clear the air in terms of including key skills here are some professional summary examples for your reference.
Data Analyst Resume Summary Statement
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Result-driven data analyst having 10+ years of professional experience in practical analysis of online business data and executing result-oriented solutions to drive customer engagement. Seeking a similar position to strengthen the company’s online presence using advanced solutions and technological core competencies.
Wrong
Data analyst, an expert in analysis and executing solutions to drive customers.
Being an expert in analyzing and executing solutions are soft skills that can be included in a professional summary. But the way it is written in the latter example won't serve the purpose.
A proper sentence formation is missing and hence we recommend not repeating the same while writing the same resume summary for yourself. Refer to the next example from a different job title.
Executive Assistant Resume Summary Statement
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Executive office assistant having more than six years of professional experience in office management, filing, documentation, file tracking, and managing office supplies along with strong communication skills. Excellent track record of handling innovative project management programs and generating reports for concerned departments.
Wrong
Executive office assistant with 6 years of professional experience. Excellent track record in project management and generating reports.
Office management, filing, documentation, file tracking, and managing office supplies are essential skills to include in resume summaries. These essential skills are absent in the second example. It's you who will decide which one is better.
Human Resources Executive Resume Summary Statement
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Graduate human resources executive seeking to leverage key skills in the recruitment process having 7+ years of professional experience. Well-informed about recruiting metrics like recruitment lead time to hire qualified candidate for a specific job. Introduced an innovative application sorting system to reduce manual labor and improve the efficiency of hiring managers.
Wrong
Graduate human resources executive with experience. Introduced innovative application sorting system to reduce manual labor and improve efficiency.
Needless to say, what are the shortfalls in the above example? So far we read resume summary examples for professional title of different varieties. Moreover, we also discussed how to write a resume summary. But wait! There's something more for you to refer to.
Resume Summary Examples
Following are a few more resume summary examples. Use them as templates to write one for yourself.
Construction Project Manager Resume Summary Statement
Proven track record of working more than 11 years as a construction project manager with a civil engineering degree seeking to leverage engineering skills at Red Bridge Infra. Key skills include budget control, project management reporting, costing, estimates, work schedules, and strong communication skills.
Award-winning regional marketing manager having 14+ years of work experience in planning, executing, and achieving regional sales targets for consumer products. Managed a team of 140+ marketing managers with day-to-day operations and simultaneously evaluated their performance. Stronghold in identifying customer needs and forecasting monthly sales.
Social Media Marketing Manager Resume Summary Statement
Social media marketing manager with an eye for details and a creative edge having a passion to promote and strategize branding concepts for established and novice brands. Started a wellness blog and scaled it on the search engine pages within the first nine months. Skilled in search engine optimization, keyword research, pay-per-click, cost-per-click, and organic online marketing.
Office Manager Resume Summary Statement
Office manager with a graduate degree in commerce and work experience of more than 5 years is seeking an opportunity to leverage communication and office management skills at Zorb Inc. Hands-on experience in managing projects at a previous company yielded an increase in overall productivity by 30%. Skilled in bookkeeping, inventory, business law, and office supplies management.
Result-oriented project manager having a degree in electrical engineering and 11+ years of work experience in electrical products manufacturing. Capable of understanding design, applicable codes, QA, QC, and client needs. Competent in electrical project management in terms of coordination, scheduling, and planning.
The professional summary examples conclude here and we are almost on the verge of concluding our executive summary article. Before that, we must go through the topic objective in a resume. Here it is.
What is a Resume Objective?
Resume objective aka career objective is an introductory statement similar to an executive summary. It needs to be 2-3 sentences long with skills, key accomplishments, and a healthy track record of education.
The placement of career objective statements is at the top of your resume document below personal information and before work experience if any. In short, if you replace an executive summary with a career summary the resume structure or format won't change substantially.
Who Needs Resume Objective Statements?
Applicants having zero or little work experience mostly use objective statements instead of executive summary for resume. Generally, high school or college students pursuing their education use resume objective. Additionally, recent graduates also use resume objective while doing a job search in their resume since they are just beginning to walk on their career paths.
Resume Objective vs Executive Summary
The only difference between a compelling executive summary and a resume objective is the work experience that a potential candidate possesses. An executive summary highlights core competencies, professional title, key takeaways from past jobs, awards, achievements in the current jobs, and a lot more engaging details.
On the other hand, a resume objective highlights soft skills, education, internship, or apprentice job experience. If you look closely the basic difference between the two of them is the solid employment history.
FAQs about Executive Summary
Does a functional resume contain an executive summary?
A resume's executive summary can fit into any resume format whether it is a functional, hybrid, or professional resume. It is the experience section that is affected and not otherwise. A functional resume highlights the skills of a candidate instead of a work history.
What is the difference between a cover letter and a resume summary?
First things first, both a cover letter and a resume summary are distinct. A cover letter is a document that is sent with a resume while making a job application. On the other hand, a resume summary is a section in the resume itself formally introducing the applicant to the employer.
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