How to write a CV summary that gets read

The summary is the three or four lines at the top of your CV, under your name. It is also called a profile or, in the United States, a resume summary. It is the first thing a reader sees and often the only part they read in full.

That is not an exaggeration. In its 2018 eye-tracking study, the job site Ladders found that recruiters spent an average of 7.4 seconds on the first look at a CV, as HR Dive reported. What sits at the top decides whether the rest gets read.

What a summary is for

A summary answers one question: who is this person, in terms of the job I am filling? It is not a list of adjectives and it is not a statement of what you want from your career. It is the shortest honest version of your case for this role.

A simple formula

Three parts, in this order:

1. Who you are professionally. Your role and how long you have done it.
2. What you are good at, for this job. Two or three areas that match the posting's main requirements.
3. Proof. One result, with a number if you have one.

Fifty to seventy words is plenty.

Examples

Experienced, same field

"Operations coordinator with six years in retail logistics. Experienced in scheduling for multi-site warehouses, supplier coordination and stock reporting. Reduced late deliveries by 18 percent in two years by redesigning the weekly dispatch plan."

Changing career

"Secondary school teacher moving into corporate training. Eight years designing and delivering courses for groups of up to thirty, with a recent certificate in instructional design. Built an online course used by four schools in the district."

Recent graduate

"Economics graduate with a focus on data analysis. Wrote a final thesis using regional employment data and completed a six-month internship in a bank's reporting team, where I automated a weekly report in Excel."

Returning after a break

"Accountant with ten years in small business bookkeeping, returning to work after three years of family care. Experienced in monthly closing, payroll and VAT returns. Kept my qualification current with yearly professional training."

Each one says what the person does, what they are good at and gives something specific. None of them uses the word "passionate".

Tailor it for every application

The summary is the part of your CV that should change most between applications. Read the posting, pick its two or three most important requirements and make sure the summary speaks to them in the employer's own terms, as long as those terms are true for you.

If the posting stresses supplier management and you have done it, that goes in the second sentence. If the next posting stresses reporting, reporting takes its place. The facts do not change. The selection does.

What to leave out

• Empty adjectives. "Hard working", "dynamic", "results oriented", "team player". Everyone writes them and nobody can check them.
• What you want. "Seeking a challenging role where I can grow" is about you. The summary should be about what you bring.
• Everything at once. A summary that lists ten skills highlights none of them.
• Claims you cannot support. If the summary says "expert in", the first interview question will test it.
• "I" at the start of every sentence. Summaries are normally written without it.

Summary or objective?

An objective says what you are looking for. It has mostly gone out of use, with one exception: if you are changing career or just starting out, one sentence about where you are heading helps the reader make sense of a CV that does not obviously match. Put it inside the summary and do not add a separate section.

Check it in ten seconds

Cover the rest of your CV and read only the summary. Then ask:

• Would a stranger know what job I do?
• Does it match the two or three main requirements of this posting?
• Is there at least one specific fact?
• Could I defend every word in an interview?

If any answer is no, rewrite that line.

Sources

• HR Dive, Eye tracking study shows recruiters look at resumes for 7 seconds, on the Ladders 2018 eye-tracking study

Where JobUncover fits

JobUncover compares your profile with one posting, requirement by requirement, and builds a tailored CV that brings forward what that employer is looking for. Everything in it comes from your profile, so the summary says only what you have really done.