• Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
Hollywood Resumes
  • Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog

Should you add a professional summary to your resume?

8/3/2018

 
Picture
You may have come across resumes with a short blurb summarizing a candidate's qualifications. It's similar in size to an "objective," but instead of outlining what a candidate's goal is, it explains who the candidate is. This blurb, often called a "professional summary," is sometimes really helpful on a resume, and sometimes it's a huge mistake. So how do you determine if it's right for you?

Typically, those who have many years of work experience will benefit most from a professional summary. It will allow you to call attention to the number of years you’ve spent working in a particular field and will highlight the key points that could get buried when so many different roles are listed in the body of your resume. Done correctly, the professional summary will give hiring managers of the option of skimming the rest of your resumeinstead of forcing them to dig for information.

A professional summary can also be helpful when a candidate’s range of varied work experiences don’t allow for a clear resume story when listed without context. If you’ve held positions in multiple industries or different types of roles (or if your previous job titles are a little out of the ordinary), you’ll need to classify yourself in a way that makes sense for the position you’re applying for. Even if you don’t have an exact “title” for yourself (i.e. development executive or project manager), try to figure out a general area that aligns with the posting and will allow you to transition into a different type of role if necessary. For example, let’s say you’ve held positions in PR, marketing, and branded content but are hoping to move into a development role. You wouldn’t want to call yourself a marketing specialist, since that wouldn’t directly translate, but you could go a bit broader and classify yourself as a “media and communications professional,” aligning yourself more closely to your desired position.

But if you're still early in your career, we don’t really recommend a professional summary -- especially at the assistant level. It can be limiting at a time when you need to keep your options open. For instance, if you are an assistant with hopes of growing into a higher role one day, and you put “executive assistant” in your professional summary, you’d be indicating that you want to be a career assistant. But you can’t put creative executive either, because that would be untrue. Most hiring managers recognize that people with a bunch of different assistant positions on their resumes are simply trying to break into the industry and can infer from the companies and departments what a candidate is going for. In cases like these, it’s better not to waste valuable space with unnecessary wording. And if you feel that you need to provide a little extra context, you can use your cover letter or cover email to accomplish this.

To say it simply, if your career trajectory isn’t 100% clear or easy to read when you list your experience chronologically, you should include a professional summary. But if a quick glance at companies and titles gives a pretty good overview of what you’re about, you don’t need to worry about it. And if you do choose to use a professional summary on yourresume, remember to keep it short!


Comments are closed.

    Hollywood Resumes

    ​Welcome to our career tips blog!  To receive our updates via email, sign up for our weekly newsletter.  You'll also get access to exclusive discounts, offers, and resources! 

    Sign up now!

    Categories

    All
    ASK HR
    Assistant Life
    Bios
    Career Coaching
    Cover Letters
    Industry Spotlight
    Internships
    Job Applications
    Job Interviews
    Job Search Tips
    LinkedIn
    Networking
    Personal Statement
    Professional Development
    References
    Resume Help
    Salary
    Script Coverage
    Social Media
    Thank You Notes
    Work Life

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    RSS Feed

Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter to receive career tips, discounts, and access to our resource library!
SUBSCRIBE
Photos used under Creative Commons from Jimmy Benson, 401(K) 2013, christiaan_008, televisione, Dai Lygad, MarkMoz12, Krists Luhaers, Nguyen Vu Hung (vuhung), Hollywood_PR, State Farm, Joe The Goat Farmer, HandsLive, Glyn Lowe Photoworks., thedailyenglishshow, dno1967b, flazingo_photos, jmrodri, cliff1066™, Joe The Goat Farmer, flazingo_photos, starmanseries, anitakhart, jimmiehomeschoolmom, Glyn Lowe Photoworks., hfb, gminguzzi, thedailyenglishshow, Visual Content, mkhmarketing, Peat Bakke, Visual Content, vlauria, flazingo_photos, flazingo_photos, cafecredit, StockMonkeys.com
  • Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog