How to Write a Compelling Career Summary

Your resume has 6 seconds to grab a recruiter's attention. Whenever I see a resume starting with "a seasoned professional seeking a challenging career," I die a little inside. 😱 This is your chance to shine, so make it count.  We all have short attention spans, so show recruiters compelling information in the top 1/3 of your resume. Here are 4 things you need to capture a recruiter's interest. 1. Start with a strong summary. ↳ Highlight top skills and accomplishments. ↳ Keep it short – 3-4 sentences that grab their interest. ↳ Weak example – Accomplished professional seeking career growth. ↳ Strong example – Accomplished marketing manager who developed award-winning campaigns for Fortune 500 clients that contributed to a 50% increase in sales. 2. Quantify your accomplishments. ↳ Show numbers, percentages, and metrics. ↳ Weak example - Managed customer accounts. ↳ Strong example - Increased customer satisfaction scores by 25% in six months. 3. Create a custom/targeted resume for each role. ↳ Use Jobscan, ChapGPT, or Teal to score/customize  your resume to a job  description. ↳ Emphasize skills and achievements. 4. Be specific and concise. ↳ In a big pile, resumes look alike. ↳ Your unique success is what sets you apart.  Too many resumes look like a one-size-fits-all, filling the space with buzzwords. Be niche and be you. A well-crafted and concise resume shows you value the recruiter's time and makes you stand out.  Clean white space is your friend when creating resumes. There are millions of templates and formats for resumes. Your unique value proposition will make you stand out. I've worked with many clients who narrowed down their unique skills, targeted them toward the job they were applying for, and received interview requests. What other tips do you have for creating an attention-grabbing resume? If you agree, consider resharing ♻️ and follow me @ruth smith for more content like this. #resumes #careers #jobsearch

As a recruiter, I don't spend a lot of time on your resume I know many of you are shocked by that statement... So let me tell you what I look for when I scan your resume: -A strong professional summary -Job Titles -The first 1-2 bullet points per experience (more towards recent experiences) -Relevant keywords, numbers, and metrics -Education (if it's a specific requirement for my open position) & Certifications That's it So, let's breakdown how we make a great first impression with each of these areas 1. Professional summary should be roughly 4 sentences, highlighting accomplishments and achievements related to the job description while adding in the relevant keywords (not buzzwords, there are differences) and quantifiable metrics. Note: For someone who has experiences that are earlier in their career they fear will get skipped over by the recruiter, the summary is a great place to bring those front and center. 2. Job Titles (you don't have to put the EXACT title you have right now, just don't flat-out lie) need to be relevant. Example: Someone applying for an account manager role with a title of outside sales rep can say "Outside sales account manager" or something to that effect. Again, don't LIE and take this too far. This is all to say you don't need to put your EXACT title. Make it relate to the field you are looking to get into with your resume. 3. Lead with your strongest bullet points first (accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z], AKA the Google Recruiter Method) then followed by your bullet points that are more about what you did in your role on a day-to-day basis. Include relevant keywords. 4. Education is simple, do you have the degree I'm looking for? Certifications are always beneficial (don't put your LinkedIn certifications on your resume, please...these need to be legit certifications) And there you have it Below in the comments I'll leave links to some articles that reference a "recruiter heat map" that will show you how we look at resumes You'll see where we spend the most of our time and the least of our time *Hint: It'll back-up what I just laid out here

"Why does my Resume never get a callback?" This is what a client of mine asked on a call. He was depressed from the constant rejections. I saw his Resume, the problem was clear. 🚫 His Resume was too generic, did not stand out at all. "But Rohit, how do I make it stand out?" Well, let me tell you how. 1. Use a Unique Value Proposition (UVP): ↳ Start with a headline that encapsulates your professional identity and unique value. ↳ Make it memorable and specific to your strengths. ↳ This UVP sets the tone for your entire resume. 2. Quantify Your Achievements: ↳ Numbers speak louder than words. ↳ Use numbers to demonstrate your accomplishments. ↳ Whether it's sales increased, costs reduced, or projects led, quantification makes your impact clear. 3. Leverage Keywords Strategically: ↳ Identify and use keywords from the job description. ↳ This ensures your resume aligns with what the employer is seeking and passes ATS scans. ↳ Keywords bridge the gap between your skills and job requirements. 4. Highlight Transferable Skills: ↳ Clearly identify skills that are valuable in many contexts, especially if changing industries. ↳ Show how these skills apply to the position you're applying for. ↳ Transferable skills demonstrate versatility and adaptability. 5. Use a Professional Design: ↳ Opt for a clean, professional layout that makes your resume easy to read. ↳ Avoid excessive ornamentation but consider subtle design elements that reflect your personal brand. ↳ A visually appealing resume can make a strong first impression. 6. Focus on Problem-Solving: ↳ Highlight specific problems you've solved in previous roles. ↳ Describe the challenge, your action, and the outcome. ↳ This approach shows your ability to think critically and achieve results. 7. Customize the Resume for Each Job: ↳ Tailor your resume for each application, emphasizing the experience and skills most relevant to each job. ↳ Customization shows you've taken the time to understand the role and company. ↳ This effort can set you apart in a crowded applicant pool. ✅ Do this and your Resume will stand out in this competitive job market. --------- Follow me for daily content to 10x your Job Search! #Resumewriting #resume #resumetips #resumewriter #resumewritingservices #jobsearch

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

Positioning your resume for a target role is critical to your job search. You want to submit a resume highlighting your strengths and accomplishments in a way that captures the attention of potential employers * for each job *. 👍 Yes, this takes work, but let me break down the 6 steps I use to customize resumes quickly and easily. I always start with a solid core resume providing a strong foundation for a more detailed resume. I then analyze your experience and the target job description for alignment and tailor your resume. This involves: 1️⃣ Titling Your Resume List the target position title right under your name on your resume. This lets the hiring manager or recruiter know precisely what role you seek and sets the tone for your resume. If the role is outside your current experience, add “candidate” to the title. 2️⃣ Drafting a Strong Summary Grab the reader's attention and entice them to read on by highlighting your top accomplishments that make you a strong fit for your target role. 3️⃣ Including Bullet Points Highlight your value-added contributions in easy-to-read bullet points that begin with action verbs and outline the challenge you faced, the action you took, and the results of your actions (CAR statements). 4️⃣ Adding Numbers Bolster your accomplishments with numbers to emphasize how you have contributed significantly in current and previous roles. 5️⃣ Incorporating Relevant Keywords Identify keywords in the target job description and incorporate them into your resume, particularly in your summary and bulleted accomplishment statements. 6️⃣ Identifying Transferrable Skills If you don’t have direct experience in any areas needed for the target role, identify transferable skills that can be applied to the role and illustrate how they can be valuable to the position. ✔ Tailoring your resume increases your chances of catching a recruiter's attention and demonstrates your genuine interest in the position, differentiating you from applicants submitting generic resumes. #SaraSays write your #resume like a pro!

"You don't need to have a Career Summary on your resume". I read that last night on LinkedIn. Now... I've included a Career Summary on every single resume I've created. So as you might be able to guess, I disagree with that statement. ---------- Here are what I see as the advantages of including a Career Summary at the top of your resume. ➡️ A Career Summary gives you the opportunity to position yourself via using a job title that is aligned with what you've done in your career and aligned with the job description. This is particularly valuable for career changers. For example, I worked with a teacher who wants to transition into Instructional Design. So at the very beginning of her Career Summary, I positioned her as an "Educator with 5+ years of instructional design experience". But this sort of positioning can also be valuable to non-career changers. Particularly those who have held a variety of job titles none of which reflect the breadth of what they've done in their career. ➡️ The Career Summary is an opportunity to weave in some of the language from the job description. Which shows, right at the top of your resume, that you've read the job description and understand what they're looking for. Recently, a client told me that when she tweaks her resume to fit a job description, she focuses on the bullet points. That's fine but tweaking the Career Summary is important as well. Since it's a shorter section and comes right at the top, it's easier for the recruiter and/or hiring manager to see the job description language that you've incorporated. ➡️ The Career Summary is an opportunity to duplicate key information that is covered later on in your resume. Remember, the initial scan of your resume may only be 6-10 seconds. Which is why it's important to duplicate key information in your Career Summary. That way there's a better chance it will be seen when the recruiter scans your resume. If they miss it in one place, they may see it in the other. ---------- So those are what I see as the key advantages to including a Career Summary on your resume. But please do NOT include a generic Career Summary. One that's filled with lots of buzzwords (results-oriented, creative, etc) and uses language that could apply to anyone who's held similar job titles. Use your Career Summary to position yourself, to demonstrate that you've taken the time to read the job description, to duplicate key information. In other words, use the Career Summary to stand out!