Tips for Writing Resume Summaries

Breaking Into Cybersecurity Tip #30: Create a strong professional summary aligned with your target role. The top of your resume is prime real estate. And if your professional summary is vague, generic, or full of buzzwords… you're wasting it. Instead of saying: “Motivated cybersecurity enthusiast seeking entry-level opportunity.” Say: “Emerging cybersecurity professional with hands-on experience in threat detection, vulnerability management, and SIEM tools. Trained in SOC workflows and passionate about protecting systems and data in fast-paced environments.” See the difference? Your summary should be: Aligned with the job title you're pursuing Packed with relevant skills, tools, or frameworks Free of fluff — but full of intentionality And here’s a tip: If you’re pivoting careers, this is where you reframe your story. Show them who you are becoming — not just who you’ve been. It’s not just a summary. It’s your opening pitch. Make it count. i'm Michelle Pupoh, Cyber Career Coach, and I’m in your corner.

Ever felt the pressure of staring at a blank page 👀 Trying to figure out how to introduce yourself in a resume? We've all been there! 🙋♀️ The summary statement or qualification summary section is your golden opportunity to make a stellar first impression. Here’s how to nail it! 𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 Before you write anything, be clear about what you want. ⤴ Are you seeking a specific role? ⤴ A particular industry? Your summary should reflect this focus. Also try using personal adjectives to represent yourself such as Highly Analytical, Dedicated or Seasoned Professional. 𝟐. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Tailor your summary to the job you’re applying for. Research the company and the role, highlight the hard and soft skills and experiences that make you the perfect fit. 𝟑. 𝐁𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 Aim for 3-5 impactful sentences. Don't try to put in all your experience in the summary section. Keep it to the point. Start with your professional identity, mention key accomplishments, and end with what you’re looking for in your next role. 𝟒. 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 You need to figure out: ⤴ What makes you unique? ⤴ What skills and experiences set you apart? This is your chance to shine, so don’t hold back on mentioning your standout qualities. 𝟓. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 Incorporate industry-specific keywords and phrases. You can also use key-words from the targeted job role (i.e from job ad. or job description) This helps your resume pass through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and catch the eye of recruiters. 𝟔. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 ⤴ Be specific about your achievements and skills. ⤴ Phrases like "hard-working" and "team player" are overused. Show, don’t just tell. ⤴ Keep it succinct to maintain the reader’s interest. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Results-driven Financial Analyst with 7+ years of experience in financial planning, analysis, and reporting within the technology and healthcare sectors. Expert in leveraging advanced data analytics to drive strategic business decisions and improve operational efficiency. History in leading projects that reduced costs by 15% and improved forecasting accuracy by 20%. Proven track record in managing cross-functional teams and presenting insights to executive leadership. Seeking to utilize my analytical skills and industry expertise to support ABC Corporation’s growth initiatives and strategic objectives. Your resume summary/objective is your professional handshake. 🤝 Make it firm, confident, and memorable. It's your first chance to stand out—make it count! 🙌 P.S. Did I miss anything? If so, lmk in the comments section! 😍 Follow Mahnoor for more! 🤗

Dear PhDs working a transition to industry - Don’t let the dreaded “Recruiter #2” take one glance at your resume and draw the wrong conclusion. When you write your papers, you know that the structure of the paper helps guide the readers eye to the important parts. It flows, from the abstract, to the intro, to the methods and data, to the discussion, to the conclusion. So why is your resume [Note: NOT a CV in the US] a data dump of your achievements, with a generic job title and a vague exec summary ? That’s like writing only half a paper! A good resume is like a crisply written research paper. It's clear up front about it's purpose. It contains both data and discussion. It uses quantifiable results to demonstrate the validity of the conclusion. Think about it this way... • Title: The job title you are seeking • Abstract/Introduction: Executive Summary • Methods: Your work experience facts (dates, roles, skills) • Discussion: Outlining the problems you solved, the actions you took to solve them, and the results of those solutions • Data: quantifiable measurements of the effectiveness of your solutions And a good resume only includes relevant information - not all of your experience. Like a good research paper that focuses only on the science that got you to the conclusion. Write your resume with the same care and thought you put into research papers. And to be clear, the conclusion is ‘I am the best person for this job.” ```````````````````` 🎯 I’m a PhD Career coach who pulls on 20+ years of industry experience developing my teams. I love working with people to help them explore and develop careers (both current and future ones!) 🛎️ Follow me for tips and discussion about career exploration and development. 💬 Contact me for career coaching options and informational interviews.

I often talk about how important it is to "think about your audience" during your job search. It's crucial to understand the employer's needs and priorities for each position, then emphasize in your application materials and interview responses the ways you can successfully meet their needs. But tailoring your resume for every single job application can be exhausting, especially if you're revamping your entire resume each and every time... So, a time-saving measure that I, personally, like to employ includes leveraging "master" resumes and a professional summary section at the top of each resume. Here is what I do: 1️⃣ I think about the types of roles and fields (usually 2-4) that interest me and align with my skills and experience so I know my targets 2️⃣ I create the same number of master resumes, with a different resume tailored specifically to each type of role or field 3️⃣ On each master resume, I have a placeholder section for a professional summary, which I will create or update with each application 4️⃣ When I find a job to which I want to apply, I carefully analyze the job description so I have a strong understanding of my audience 5️⃣ Next, I choose the appropriate master resume and make some minor tweaks or edits to my bullet points so they align better with the role 6️⃣ Then, I will craft a professional summary that is highly tailored to that specific role, highlighting my most relevant abilities and accomplishments This strategy allows me to think about my audience and tailor my resume for every application without having to fully re-write my resume each time. I only have to write one new paragraph and make some minor edits in a few other places. Plus, the professional summary is right at the top of my resume, so the portion that is most heavily tailored for each role is likely the first section that is read with each application. This approach might not work for everyone, especially if you're considering a particularly wide range of potential positions, but it can definitely save you a lot of time without having to sacrifice the quality of your applications. #resumewriting #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice

Is your resume summary unique to your impact or just blah? Two reasons I wanted to speak on this: 1️⃣ I have reviewed several resumes over the last month created by resume writers that exhibited forgettable, generic summaries. 2️⃣ I’ve read two articles in the past 24 hours informing people how to use generative AI to write summaries. 👉 To #1, it’s disappointing to see that people have paid for services that produce a run-of-the-mill paragraph of soft skills and industry buzzwords. 👉With #2, generative AI can produce so-so results.  The output depends on the right prompt AND details/metrics of your successes. (Real talk: 💫 A boring or mediocre summary likely won’t derail your application if your experience section is stellar.💫 ) ************************ Back to a better-written summary: 🔸The slides below walk through improvements for an SEO Digital Marketer, with the leverage of ChatGPT to start.  🔸The first “boring” example used a digital marketing resume that lacked any results.  (Replicate of a job description) 🔸The second slide shows the difference when a resume with quantitative results is used.  Better, but still fluffy with the need to cut filler words. My final thoughts: ✔️ Refine the output.  I would rather make the edits myself rather than test prompts.  ✔️Have you highlighted your skills/experience to the top requirements of the job?  Can you provide an example of how you solved a similar business problem in the past?  Ex:  Maximized productivity of a team?  Improved quality of a product?  Improved brand sentiment score to 80% within 6 month through targeted reputation management strategies? Executed product launch campaign, leading to 42% increase in adoption within first two months? ✔️I'm a huge fan of an achievement section if you are senior level + professional (example in last slide) You can call it storytelling, but these unique details about your contributions are going to catch my attention over the average, mundane cluster of keywords. #recruiters, do you put any stock in the resume summary? #resumewriting #resumetips

2 out of 3 resumes don't even get seen. Don't be one of them! Here's how you can avoid this happening to your own Resume. ✅ Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) ↳ Include relevant keywords from the job description to pass ATS filters. ↳ Use a straightforward, clean layout that ATS can easily scan. ↳ Avoid headers and footers; some ATS systems cannot read them. ↳ Stick to standard fonts like Arial or Times New Roman for readability. ↳ Save your resume as a Word document or PDF to ensure compatibility. ✅ Tailor Your Resume for Each Job ↳ Customize your resume to match the job description’s language and requirements. ↳ Highlight experiences and skills that are most relevant to the position. ↳ Use the job title and company name in your resume to show you've personalized it. ↳ Rearrange your bullet points to put the most important information first. ↳ Include quantifiable achievements that relate directly to the job’s responsibilities. ✅ Craft a Compelling Professional Summary ↳ Start with a strong professional summary that captures your unique value proposition. ↳ Mention your years of experience, key skills, and what you’re seeking in your next role. ↳ Use this section to weave in keywords and phrases from the job description. ↳ Keep it concise yet impactful, aiming for three to four sentences. ↳ Position the summary at the top of your resume to grab attention immediately. -------- Make your Resume stand out, for both the ATS as well as the Recruiter! 📌 What other tips would you give to make a standout Resume? Let's discuss in the comments! #Resume #resumewriting #resumetips #resumewritingservices #resumehelp