How to write a resume summary?

Question

I am a fresh college graduate just preparing to apply for jobs. I have finished writing my resume and want to complete it with an eye-catching resume summary. What should I do?

Answer 1

Having a clear understanding of the job requirements and how your skills relate to them will give you a clear idea about how to write a resume summary. Always remember that the summary will be the recruiter’s first glimpse to your qualifications, so make sure to highlight your relevant skills. Show him or her why the company will greatly benefit by hiring you.

Obviously, fresh graduates who lack work experience are at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for a job. To make up for it, cite the most relevant experiences that you have while you were in school. For example, a stint in the student council will show your leadership potential while a position in the editorial board of your school paper means that you have writing skills and an inquisitive mind. List them down if you can see that the job requirements specifically listed those skills.

The challenge in writing the resume summary lies in its length. It must be short and concise because you don’t want it fill half of the first page of your resume. So don’t cram everything into that limited space. Only cite your qualifications and experiences that you strongly feel can help you land the job. If you are not sure of its relevance, leave it out. You still have a lot of space in your resume’s body for the rest of the details about you, so don’t be worried about your skills that are not included in the summary.

Here is what I found to be a very good source of resume summary samples for your reference. Note that most of them came from professionals with working experiences, but they could still provide you with a good taste of what a neat and balanced resume summary looks like:

https://www.lorainccc.edu/NR/rdonlyres/B66F95F9-26F5-4326-98C4-4E8711255D88/1448/SummaryStatementsforexperienceresumeGeneral.pdf

Answer 2

I think it’s really good that you realized the question of how to write a resume summary is important, as a resume summary is your best chance to tell a recruiter or hiring manager why you are perfectly suited for the job. What you should do is to focus on what you can offer to the company in case they decide to hire you. For fresh graduates with no work experience yet, highlight your skills and how they will be useful to your future work. It is also a good thing to mention other extracurricular activities, whether in school or in the community, that you were part of where you displayed the skills needed for the job. If you made good use of your college’s spare time, you will not run out of interesting activities to list on your resume’s summary.