How to Write a Winning Resume Summary [40+ Examples]

A resume summary or opening statement, placed at the top of your resume describes your core skills, qualifications, and experience.

It is the goal of the career summary to convey your qualifications for the position in 3-5 sentences and persuade the hiring manager to read the rest of the resume document.

Some of the most significant accomplishments, your career, and one or two of your strongest skills should all be highlighted in a resume summary. However, in order for your resume summary to truly stand out, it must be customized to meet the specific objectives of the organization.

In this blog you will learn:

• The purpose of a resume summary
• Difference between objective and summary
• When to use a long summary or a short summary
• How to write an impactful summary
• Summary best practices
• 40+ resume summary examples

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Purpose of a Resume Summary?

Including a resume summary allows you to showcase your strongest assets right away. It gives an overview of the applicant's relevant work history, education, and achievements.

Your Resume in a nutshell

Your CV should be simple to understand and easy to read. If you've had a lot of work experience, your resume may appear clumsy or overly complicated to the reader. A resume summary exactly does that. Presents your entire resume in a brief, easy-to-read, and impactful form.

Proof of your capabilities for your potential role

Employers will examine your CV to check if your profile matches the requirements of the position they are advertising.

To put it another way, you want to make it as simple as possible for employers to identify your most relevant talents and experiences.

Differentiates you from the competition

The number of applicants applying for a job is increasing. You ought to make your mark, rather your resume needs to make a mark.

Strong summary statements at the top of your resume can help you stand out from the competition.

Earlier on, emphasize your most important qualifications and experience.

To conclude :

• With a summary increase your chances of being noticed faster
• Make your resume stand out with all your highlights on the top
• Show the recruiter that you are the best fit
• Positions you as an expert

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Difference between Objective and Summary?

Objective

The resume objective outlines your career ambitions in relation to the position for which you're seeking. You do not mention employment experience in this section.

An example:

Elementary teacher looking for a position at a small independent school, where I can apply my five years of teaching experience, STEM-oriented instruction, technology, and curriculum development skills to support student growth and success.

In the objective the applicant in conveying what skills he/she wants to leverage for a particular job

Summary

While a summary condenses your prior work experience and shows how your skills and qualifications will help your potential employer. The summary goes into greater detail about why you'd be an excellent fit for the position.

It is the summaries that are most commonly used now, and are also a better approach at communicating what you bring to the table.

An example:

Qualified JAVA developer, with experience in software design, development, and maintenance of java enterprise applications. Ability to analyze user needs & software requirements to determine the feasibility of design with a strong approach to perform testing & debugging processes within set timeframes & cost constraints

In the summary, the applicant is conveying his strengths.

Here's how to make a decision - A Summary or an Objective

Do you have any relevant professional experience?

Include a brief summary in your resume.

For people with a broader range of experiences, a summary section can help distill the information down to the most relevant and crucial elements. If the hiring manager finds what they're looking for in your resume summary, it can motivate them to pay more attention to your application.

Lack experience or making a career change?

Include an objective on your resume.

If you're fresh out of college or making a professional change, a resume objective can be a better fit for you than a traditional resume.

Consider the job you're applying for, the firm, and the industry when deciding what to include on your resume, including your summary statement.

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Long Summary V/s Short Summary?

Long Summary

As the name suggests, the long summary is descriptive and lays out more than one part of your career. An ideal long summary contains

• Details of awards and achievements
• Few important  competencies explained expansively
• Mention of certifications or any professional upskilling relevant to your role
• Technical skills and technologies if your profession demands

When to use a long summary

• When you have some or all of the above things to mention
• You have more than 5 years of experience
• You are a generalist and have a lot to mention

Long Summary Example - Sales and Marketing Professional

• Competent at capturing insights on market trends, competitive landscape, and customer needs to develop marketing Plans.
• An expert in administering budgets with P&L accountability, managing sales, and implementing growth strategies.
• Track record of working with renowned media houses while serving as an active contributor to long-term profitability.
• Excels in identifying significant business opportunities, working closely with marketing to analyze present & future market trends, and executing sales activities with regard to the designated products/segments.
• Strong leadership presence and collaborative approach combined with strategic thinking, conducive to new business.
• Accomplished in developing 360-degree support plans behind key brand activations; new brand partnerships, licensing and multi-channel opportunities, and multi-stakeholder initiatives, to meet strategic brand objectives.

Short Summary

A short resume summary brings together your career achievements and competencies relevant to your target job role in 1-3 sentences.

When to use a short summary:

• If you are part of the beginner workforce and don’t have much to showcase
• When you are a senior professional and want to keep your resume to a single page
• You are making a career shift, and your entire career is not relevant for the new profile

Short Summary Example - Sales and Marketing Professional

Business development enthusiast and a strategic contributor to organizational development; competent at creating growth plans for both direct and indirect channels while executing marketing programs with key accounts. Skillful in increasing sales revenues, exceeding targeted sales goals and developing profitable business relationships, defining & implementing sales programs to improve product awareness in a competitive market

Continue reading to find out 45+ short resume summaries.

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How to Write an Impactful Summary Statement

A well-articulated summary acts as a hook for the recruiter to read the entire resume.

Resume Summary for senior professionals will be different from that of the beginner workforce. Continue reading to find out some tips to write a summary for professionals with less than 5 years of experience and those with more than 5 years.

Follow this three-step process to create a winning resume summary.

Step 1: Define Your Goal

Brainstorm and identify what you want to convey through the summary:

• Is it any specific achievement?
• A stack of skills?
• A particular part of your career?

In the following image, Shashank’s goal to convey his skills in the end-to-end development of stories is clear. His resume summary does not focus on any other proficiency. His ability to research and produce new stories is also one of the most important aspects of his role as a journalist

Step 2: Draw important points from your targeted job description

Once you know what are your differentiating factors in terms of your experience, achievements, education, and/or skills, check your targeted job description and see what the recruiter is looking for.

Pay attention to the job descriptions of the positions that interest you. Review categories such as "Requirements," "Experience," or "Education" to determine which abilities or experiences you should mention in your summary.

Hers is an example of a branch banking professional. You can check full resume here

Target Job description with highlights

Step 3: Combine the two to create a resume summary

Once you've taken some time to reflect on your relevant abilities and accomplishments and how they connect to the role, writing an excellent resume summary becomes much simpler.

Pick what among your abilities matches with the job description to create a summary. Talk about your soft skills as well.

Here is how the Branch manager created a summary for the resume. Check the full resume here

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Some tips on developing a winning resume summary

Include Relevant achievements and skills ONLY

A properly crafted resume summary saves the reader’s time in going through the lengthy resume as it depicts your key achievements and skills in a short paragraph.

Proper use of keywords

• A good summary is one that has relevant keywords in it.
• Check the job description to find our relevant keywords.
• Including keywords will make your resume summary rich.
• It will also help the resume please the ATS bots.

Example: The role of a customer service agent requires strong communication skills accompanied by patience and professionalism. If you are a customer service agent, use words like communication, patience, and professionalism.

State your achievements

Achievements in a resume summary, make a strong case in your favor.

But, the achievements mentioned in the Resume summary should be relevant and recent.

Instead, they should be precise, even better if you quantify your achievements.

Example: If you're applying for the post of sales manager, and have attained difficult sales targets in the past,

Write,

‘Led a sales team of 25 mates and was responsible for sell 5000+ products’.

Instead of, ‘Led a huge sales team and carried great sales’

Do not write an achievement that was in school or 10 years ago.

Introduce yourself with an adjective

Adjectives set a tone for the summary and also define your personality.

There are other ways to start your summary, but this helps with following the “less is more approach”

Example: Some adjectives to introduce yourself include - Performance-driven, Service-oriented, Amicable etc.

Customize your summary

This is one of the most underrated resume hacks.

Do not use the same summary for each role you are applying to.

Though the scope of work will be more or less the same, the hiring criterion will be different, the keyword requirements will be different, and their perspective will be different. You might just need to highlight a different skill from your pool of competencies.

Resume summary for professionals with less than 5 years

• Keep it to 60-70 words
• Write about your education if you are beginner work-force
• Mention your abilities to work in a team and collaboratively
• Demonstrate one specific skill, area of work you want your career to be about

Resume summary for professionals with more than 5 years of experience

• Up to 5-6 bullet points
• Consider mentioning the number of years of domain experience
• Do not trace your entire career, focus on recent experience
• Use quantification to make an impact
• Write about your leadership capabilities

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Resume Summary Best Practices

A summary can be developed using the above three steps.

These are some industry best practices that will make your summary stand out:

• Have a strong opening line.
• Use adjectives to define yourself
• Talk about your strengths
• Use small to medium sentences
• Don’t overdo the summary with industry jargon.

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40+ Resume Summary Examples

Marketing Resume Summaries

Marketing Intern Resume Summary

Performance-oriented professional, proficient in conducting market research and coming up with latest trends and marketing techniques that fosters company revenue practical exposure in handling internal and external quality in an organisation.

Check Marketing Intern Resume

Media Planner Resume Summary

Dynamic media planner with experience in sales and marketing in the media/advertising industry. Creative and innovative team player with strong interpersonal skills. Skilled at purchasing and placing ads.

Check Media Planner Resume

Outreach Coordinator Resume Summary

An enthusiastic individual with skills in reaching out to the community through audience-centric communication and engagement via events and social media. An effective communicator with strong interpersonal and team coordination skills.

Check Outreach Coordinator Resume

Finance and Accounting Summaries

GST Accountant Resume Summary

A certified GST practitioner with a keen eye for reviewing, investigating, and correcting errors and inconsistencies in financial documents. Skilled in handling audit assignments.

Check GST Accountant Resume  

Medical Billing Specialist Resume Summary

Dedicated medical billing and coding specialist with almost 2 years of experience in assisting with health management operations, as well as analysing and validating patient information, diagnoses, and billing data. Expertise in ICD-9 and ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS coding.

Check Medical Billing Specialist Resume

Junior Accountant & Bookkeeper Resume Summary

Organized and detail-focused Bookkeeper and Accountant with skills in accurately and efficiently supporting overall accounting activities comprehensive knowledge of accounting principles payroll, general ledger posting,deadline-driven and invoicing.

Check Junior Accountant & Bookkeeper Resume

CA Article Resume Summary

Goal-oriented professional, with strong analytical and organizational abilities. Skilled in contributing towards controlling processes and undertaking statutory audit closure and activities. Competent at ensuring adherence to accounting policies, principles and directives, and management reporting.

Check CA Article Resume

Economist Resume Summary

A committed Economics Graduate proficient in data analysis, seeking an opportunity to provide an insight to the organization into the behavior of the financial markets and the changing trends of economies worldwide while learning from the industry experts.

Check Economist Resume

Hospitality Summaries

Cabin Crew Resume Summary

Skilled in performing cabin crew activities, and ensuring guest satisfaction, through remarkable service and flight preparedness. An energetic, reliable, and safety-conscious professional with an outgoing personality and the ability to remain calm under pressure.

Check Cabin Crew Resume

Front Desk Executive Resume Summary

An amicable and courteous front desk clerk who consistently delivers exceptional customer service and fosters positive relationships with guests to promote consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Adept at balancing multiple tasks in a disciplined manner.

Check Front Desk Resume

Food Safety Inspector Resume Summary

A meticulous food safety supervisor with a certification in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Proficient in ensuring adherence to quality standards throughout every phase of food distribution and processing.

Check Food Safety Inspector Resume

Healthcare and Medical Resumes

Dentist Resume Summary

A passionate dental surgeon with expertise in various endodontic and periodontal surgical methods and the ability to treat many patients in a short period of time, with great skills. Certified in laser dentistry and oral implantology.

Check Dentist Resume

Speech Therapist Resume Summary

Certified speech therapist with a year of experience in diagnosing and providing treatment for patients suffering from speech disorders. Adept in conducting therapy and counselling sessions. Compassionate and friendly team player with excellent interpersonal skills.

Check Speech Therapist Resume

Nutritionist Resume Summary

A determined nutritionist focused on conducting detailed nutrition consultations and creating personalized meal plans to meet the needs of each client. Currently working on developing advanced knowledge of human anatomy and physiology

Check Nutritionist Resume

Yoga Trainer Resume Summary

A devoted yoga trainer with the knowledge of all yoga asanas and transcendental meditation. Determined to motivate people for their wellness and commit to long-term health and fitness goals.

Check Yoga Trainer Resume

Physiotherapist Resume Summary

A highly motivated individual with a diploma in physiotherapy. Well-versed with required skills with excellent client-facing skills and the ability to work closely with other professionals to assess a patient’s needs and devise a suitable plan.

Check Physiotherapist Resume

Customer Service and Sales Resumes

Sales Executive Resume Summary

Enthusiastic B.Com undergraduate with exposure in selling hardware machinery components. Ability to engage and convince customers by interacting with them and meeting all the necessary requirements efficiently.

Check Sales Executive Resume

Customer Service Executive Resume Summary

Organized and skilled customer support executive with skills in responding to customer queries and clearing their doubts on various issues related to the services offered. Seeking a position in a renowned organisation whereby I can leverage my skills in customer correspondence, problem-solving, and reporting and documentation while contributing to my growth.

Check Customer Service Executive Resume

Banking Summaries

Insurance Executive Resume Summary

A motivated professional, particularly interested in dealing with personal insurance schemes including auto, home, health, life. Specializes in utilizing the internet and other new technology to find prospects and maintain contact with the client base.

Check Insurance Executive Resume

Banking Associate Resume Summary

Highly analytical and deadline-driven banking associate with successful relationship management skills in the ultra-high net worth space, performing due diligence, maximizing revenue potential, and handling complex transactions.

Check Banking Associate Resume

Banking Relationship Manager Resume Summary

An amicable relationship manager, adept at assessing the financial needs of various clients and offering them banking and financial advisory with a focus on applying knowledge of common financial products and services.

Check Banking Relationship Manager Resume

Engineering Summaries

Embedded Systems Engineer Resume Summary

A passionate and results-oriented software engineer with more than two years of experience in working with embedded systems. Adept at designing and applications with usability and high performance.

Check Embedded Systems Engineer Resume

Bioinformatics Engineer Resume Summary

Detail-oriented and creative bioinformatics engineer who aspires to analyse large genomic datasets and develop new clinical technologies. Certified in Data Mining and Protein Sequence Analysis from IIT, Bombay. Having great analytical and communication skills.

Check Bioinformatics Engineer Resume

Nuclear Engineer Resume Summary

Well-versed in nuclear energy processes and various guidelines while handling radioactive substances. Seeking an opportunity to work as a nuclear engineer to utilise my skills and experience in a renowned organisation.

Check Nuclear Engineer Resume

Solar Engineer Resume Summary

Responsible solar power engineer specializing in energy generation evaluation and system design of large-scale multi MWPV systems. Passionate about programming and data analysis. Adept at explaining complicated engineering concepts clearly to a wide variety of audiences.

Check Solar Engineer Resume

Robotics Engineer Resume Summary

An innovative robotics professional specialized in ABB and Fanuc techniques. With an ability to write powerful code and develop a cutting-edge product. Experienced in working with leading robotics multinational corporations.

Check Robotics Engineer Resume

Agricultural Engineer Resume Summary

An enthusiastic and determined agricultural engineer, possessing remarkable knowledge of agricultural equipment and technology. Able to demonstrate agricultural and engineering expertise with proficiency in ICP instruments and CAD technologies. Recently completed a course in horticulture sector development.

Check Agricultural Engineer Resume

Electrical Engineer Resume Summary

Analytical Electrical Engineer, seeking to work in a challenging environment whereby I can leverage my skills, and knowledge in coordinating construction, installation, maintenance, documentation, and testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, and customer requirements. Trained in working on PLC and SCADA

Check Electrical Engineer Resume

Academic Summaries

Chemistry Teacher Resume Summary

Budding teacher, seeking assignments with a leading education institute aimed at leveraging the knowledge of inorganic chemistry and laboratory skills for students’ development. Ability to engage students and utilize effective instruction guidelines to meet students' learning needs.

Check Chemistry Teacher Resume

Primary School Teacher (TGT) Resume Summary

Aspiring teacher with skills in classroom management, lesson planning and organisation along with a compassionate and caring attitude focused towards inspiring, motivating and developing each student’s imagination and innovative thinking. Ability to juggle multiple priorities and achieve results through alignment of cross-functional and multidivisional activities in a highly collaborative, multicultural, team-oriented, and fast-paced environment.

Check Primary School Teacher (TGT) Resume

Academic Researcher Resume Summary

A passionate and diligent researcher, willing to rigorously contribute to scientific discoveries by systematic investigation into a problem. Passionate about venturing into the unknown using remarkable knowledge of several astrophysics and astronomy topics.

Check Academic Researcher Resume

Librarian Resume Summary

A detail-oriented personality with a course in strategic library planning and public library marketing. Experienced in working with school and college libraries. Possessing great communication, organisation skills, and an ability to engage in a friendly interaction.

Check Librarian Resume

Administration Summaries

Front Desk Executive Resume Summary

An amicable and courteous front desk clerk who consistently delivers exceptional customer service and fosters positive relationships with guests to promote consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Adept at balancing multiple tasks in a disciplined manner.

Check Front Desk Executive Resume

Office Administrator Resume Summary

A dedicated office administration professional with experience of 2 years. Excellent communication skills and competence in organizing information, managing correspondence, and maintaining office supplies while working with little supervision.

Check Office Administrator Resume

Psychology Summaries

Forensic Psychologist Resume Summary

A passionate forensic psychologist with expertise in legal matters including mental health evaluations, jury selection, and dispute resolution.Open-mindedness and non-judgmental approach. Possesses strong skills in clinical assessment, interviewing, and case presentation.

Check Forensic Psychologist Resume

Substance Abuse Counsellor Resume Summary

A motivated and analytical drug and alcohol counselor, focused on connecting with clients and motivating them to develop healthy coping mechanisms.

Check Substance Abuse Counsellor Resume

Fashion & Interior Design Summaries

Fashion Design Graduate Resume Summary

Organised, motivated, and creative fashion enthusiast, skilled at hand drafting and designing fashion apparel. Endowed with excellent color sense and artistic presentation skills; looking for a highly professional fashion organisation to give my career a push start in the fashion industry and contribute to bringing in new trends of fashion.

Check Fashion Design Graduate Resume

Merchandiser Resume Summary

Hardworking and dedicated merchandiser with a sound understanding of textiles and vendor management techniques. Competent in recognizing areas of improvement while working closely with varied departments to ensure adherence to procedures as per aviation industry ethics & requirements.

Check Merchandiser Resume

Interior Designer Resume Summary

Creative Interior Designer with prior experience in project coordination, space planning, and computer-aided design. Seeking a respectable position in an interior design firm to enhance my skills and expertise to yield the most lucrative returns.

Check Interior Designer Resume

Footwear Designer Resume Summary

Highly creative and detail-oriented individual. Extraordinary achievements in designing and creating footwear collections and conducting detailed marketing research. Excellent time management skills and strong ability to perform well under pressure

Check Footwear Designer Resume

Media and Entertainment Summaries

Video Editor Resume Summary

A creative and talented video editor highly attentive to both video and audio editing details. High level of proficiency in video editing software particularly Adobe after-effects, premier, and Cyberlink Powerdirector. Wth a deep passion for visual things; seeks to share her talent as video-editor.

Check Video Editor Resume

Sound Technician Resume Summary

A multi-talented sound producer with recording, editing and mixing experience.Diverse background in on-location and product sound engineering. In-depth knowledge of sound development techniques and different music genres.

Check Sound Technician Resume

Photographer Resume Summary

A skilled photographer with the ability to capture beautiful and mesmerizing moments. Observant and interactive personality, with the knowledge of latest photography trends, equipment, and technology.

Check Photographer Resume

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To conclude,

A resume summary should be kept clear and concise in a limit of 100- 150 words. It should be stimulating enough for the recruiter to pass it on for further rounds of selection.

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