First things first. A resume summary section is a core, short, and ‘pretty transparent’ description (one to two sentences) of your tech resume that mirrors your level of expertise and the key skills you have.
The goal of the summary section of a tech resume is to reveal the skills and accomplishments of you as a professional that takes a little moment to read. It sits in the right above of the body resume and right below the job seeker’s contact information.
However, why are you reading this article? Are you facing trouble writing a summary section of a tech resume? If yes, here is the solution! In this article, we are going to discuss how to create a fabulous summary section of your tech resume that will help you stand out among the sea of job seekers!
Are you interested?
Hmm… keep reading!
What Is a Summary Statement?
The summary statement is a few lines of text of your core skills and strengths that appear at the top of your tech resume right below your header that covers your name and contact information.
In this short paragraph, you summarize your core assets that will inspire the hiring managers to keep your resume far away from the recycling bin! The formal objective statement is considered as the old-fashioned tradition in today’s job scan landscape.
For this reason, now the employers are much interested in seeing the more detailed summary section instead of the outdated one! With the summary statement, the hiring managers can get more insights into who you are and what you can achieve for their company.
So, the summary statement is the latest as well as the most relevant trend of a tech resume for the job landscape! Now we are going to share how to create a top-notch summary section of a tech resume.
How to Write a Resume Summary Section?
Take it easy! You can do it perfectly! You already know that writing a resume summary is writing about your most powerful skills and valuable experiences in limited space that actually represent what you are. So take time to consider what to include in the summary section of the resume.
You can consider your soft skills, technical skills, certifications, awards, or achievements! Then think carefully about the job descriptions and especially for the position you’re interested in or you are applying.
While writing the summary section, you can talk about the stuff you love doing the most in your work. Keep in mind that, in the summary statement, you tell not only what you are good at, but also you can tell about what you love to do day in or a day out.
Try to align your summary with the job requirements! Then find the skills you are good at and focus on, after that, do a little research and see the job requirements, and then, you think the position does fit your skills or not.
For getting responsive as well as great results, the summary section of the resume should be in the active voice and active words. You will need to save space by having your summary section under five lines.
When you think you are done, then read the summary statement you have already done from the view of a tough hiring manager and ask, “Why would we hire you?” After that, you will have some more rooms to think about what you have done!
What Are The Elements Of A Strong Summary Section?
If you know what materials make a unique as well as an exceptional summary section, then it will be so easy for you to create a great piece. Isn’t it so? Yes, here we are! Now let’s go and take an eye on the elements that can help you to create a marvelous summary section!
The Basics: The summary statement you write should have a title and a text of a few lines. The text you write should be in paragraph form or may use bullets. You’ll need to place the summary section at the top of your resume and make sure it sits below your contact information. It will be great if you can expose a specific idea of your career goals!
The Title: We recommend you to consider such a title of your summary section that can easily communicate your professional identity. Really, the title matters! Look, the title that catches first the reader’s eye and helps them to think about whether you are fit for the position or not. It’s like – love at first sight!
The Format: You already know the purpose of the “head-to-toe” of your summary statement! Try to hone it to perfection! The main body of the summary section should be in 3-4 lines of text and remember that you should not use any first-person pronouns in the text.
What to Include In A Resume Summary Section?
The summary section is the first part read on a tech resume! Try your level best to make your first sight impressive! So you have to focus on the question of why a company should hire you. Get it? Hmm… good!
In the one, two, three, or four sentences, you will need to highlight your relevant skills and core competencies that make you a unique as well as the most dependable candidate. You should specify how you can add value to the company.
Have you done something great for a company in the past? If yes, add it to the summary section in a ‘creative’ way! Also, you can include the sweetest experiences and core skills to impress the hiring manager. Don’t forget to tailor your resume summary section to the particular job listing!
What To Avoid In A Resume Summary Section?
Note again. You should avoid using first-person pronouns! Try to write the summary statement in the present tense. You should create a summary statement where you encompass “You are the understood subject,” by which you can let the hiring manager focus on the resume impartially.
Also, you should avoid these words or information in the summary section:
- Hobbies or interests
- Irrelevant experiences
- Misspellings or grammatical errors
- Phrases like “Duties” or “Responsibilities”
- Personal information such as height, weight
- Reasons for leaving your previous employers
- Flowery language such as outstanding, exquisite, or interesting
So, How To Make Your Summary Section Stand Out?
A quality summary section depends on many things. Here, we are going to figure out a few of them. We hope that they will help you to make your summary section stand out! Now let’s go and have it in your resume.
Showcase your strengths: Make your summary section unique! You should highlight relevant core skills and strengths that make you exceptional by how you will add value to the company. Your expression will be like – you are going to be a part of the company, not a worker!
Provide your professional achievement: You are the king in your domain! You’ll need to use the persuasive force of your resume summary by using impressive sales figures, percentages, and showing your specific professional achievements. All of your professional data should cover that you are a purely professional one.
It’s a resume summary statement: Keep it in mind. You are writing a summary statement, not an objective statement! Remember, the summary statement is like – a flashlight of who you are and why you are!
Resume Summary vs. Objective Statement
When the resume summary highlights a few skills and strengths of a job seeker, a resume objective explains the statement that highlights needs and career goals. A resume objective might be helpful when it comes to limited work experience. Like college graduates or high school.
But, a resume summary is more relevant and helpful when you have core skills and professional achievements to highlight! Actually, the objective statement has become out-dated as it takes up space by offering no value to the resume.
However, a summary statement offers relevant skills, experience, and professional achievement that helps employers to pick the right candidate among the sea of job seekers! A hiring manager can get a clearer understanding of a job seeker’s exceptional abilities by reading the summary statement.
On the other hand, an objective statement puts the hiring managers into more questions than the answers they find in a while!
Benefits of a Good Summary Section
Here, we are! A resume summary comes out with loads of benefits that will give you a big smile for sure. By using a good summary statement, you can draw the hiring manager’s attention in a meaningful way.
One of the main benefits of a resume summary is that it helps your resume stand out among the crowd. Hiring managers reads dozens, hundred, and even thousands of resumes before picking the right one.
At the very beginning if it is possible to give a clear and concise idea of why you are qualified, then it’s expected that you are going to get a closer look! Don’t you think so? Definitely, your answer is yes!
Final Words
We are at the end of today’s discussion! Have you found the above information helpful for you? Probably, you are really delighted with the information we’ve shared above! We didn’t allow any wrong information as we have given enough time on brainstorming research!
Keep in mind that the summary statement is the very first and the most important thing that the employer reads about you. It’s like an invisible handshake with the interviewer! So, you should make the interviewer smile with the materials of the resume summary!
Writing a good resume summary is the answer to the question from the employer “Can you tell me about yourself,” and then you are going to give the best try to attract the employer with the appropriate answer!
Finally, are you ready?
Leave a comment below with what’s going on in your mind now!
Sincerely,
Ivan Hurt
Developer and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)
