Resume Summary - How to write one that wins you the interview

A resume summary statement is a great way to start your Resume or CV (after your name, contact details and sometimes education).

It offers a lot more flexibility than an Objective Statement, which by definition needs to be a very short concise statement that is accurately lasered in to a specific job / career and reader.

Without doubt as a recruiter the biggest mistake I see when reviewing CV / Resumes is non specific objective statements.

Resume Summary or Profile or Executive Summary (it does not matter what you call it) offers a lot more opportunity to include more information, and the structure can be modified to suit your writing objectives.

Like a objective statement the summary MUST be written with a specific role and ideally person in mind. Demonstrating your skills, experience, and characteristics fit exactly with the readers requirements.

However unlike an objective you have far more copy space to play with, and if you want may choose to embed an objective within the summary.

So how do you write a CV / resume summary statement that will win you the interview?

Firstly like with an objective you must start out with a clear understanding of what your target reader is looking for. So use the target career form to help zero in on their needs.

Then you need to think of all the role / reader relevant information that you may wish to use in your summary statement.

Use the Microsoft Summary Statement Form I have provided here to help you. The summary is basically of the best bits of your CV / resume that you want to really emphasize for your reader and therefore may include:

• Educational achievement
• Work achievements
• Social achievements
• Subject matter achievements (written or speaking)
• Relevant Skills
• Characteristics (this adds personality which is vital - take the Free MAPP test if your struggling for great content)
• Sports achievements if relevant (show a dedicated personality)
• Any support or charity work
• Hobbies (If they show you in a good and relevant light for the role)

There is a lot to choose from, so some brutal editing may be necessary to make the statement concise and targeted on the reader, but the summary statement does give you a great chance to get your message across.

A lot of effort should go into the resume summary statement as it's your best selling opportunity within the whole document, so don't waste it. Keep to about 2 - 4 concise paragraphs.

Review "resume - how to write" hub page for detail on how to use an effective copywriting style to ensure you compel your reader to invite you for interview.

Or download our Free ebook which will show you how to write a WINNING CV / resume.