Professional summary as a unique opportunity to pique recruiter's interest

A professional summary is a few sentences at the beginning of a resume that outlines a candidate’s competencies, experience and aspirations. Because we include it in the introduction of a professional resume, the recruiter will read it first. This is why the professional summary is particularly important. Want to learn how to write them? Read more!

This article sheds light on:

• Where to enter the professional summary?
  • Why should a professional summary stand out?
• Professional profile in a CV – how to write it? In a nutshell
• A career goal in a CV in three steps
  • Employee Career Goals: Examples for Different Professions
• How to create a professional profile that will interest the employer?
• Professional goal – should you write it without experience?
  • How do you write a career goal without experience?
  • What you strive for at work – examples for students
• CV – summary in English – tips

Where to enter the professional summary?

The answer is one – it should be at the very beginning of your resume, under your name or under the entire section with personal information. You can also place your professional summary in the side panel of your resume, making it stand out graphically from the rest of the document

Why should a professional summary stand out?

A professional summary (also known as a professional goal or profile or personal profile) briefly introduces you to recruiters.
Did you know that often the recruitment team spends only a few seconds reviewing the documents of one candidate?
If you include answers to the following questions in the introduction: who you are, what are your greatest strengths and what do you strive for at work, you will gain a unique opportunity to interest recruiters. When you get their attention, your profile summary can make them call you with an interview invitation!
In the era of high competitiveness on the labor market, a professional summary is more important than ever!

Professional profile in a CV – how to write it? In a nutshell

In a maximum of 65 words, mention who you are, what your experience is, and what key competencies you have. Finally, describe your professional goal, i.e. what you would like to achieve in the position you are applying for, or define your career plans for the coming years.

You already know what to write, but how to do it?
One of the basic elements of creating a modern CV is to adapt it to a specific job offer. Your career goals should therefore coincide with the requirements contained in the advertisement, even if it means generating a different version of your CV many times.

A career goal in a CV in three steps

If you don’t know what to write in your resume, focus on each aspect one by one. Remember that the whole thing must fit into a few sentences. Therefore, the quality of the content and how much important information you convey with it is important. This is not the place to write too much. If you want to provide more information, write a cover letter. It will be a document in which you will justify your desire to work in a specific position.

How to write a resume summary – examples

1. Describe your experience and write who you are. It will be valuable to emphasize that you have X years of work experience or with X years of experience. However, that’s not all. Also add the name of the company you worked for, if it is widely known and appreciated, and has a reputation for a place that employs highly qualified employees. If the requirements in the job offer include information about a specific level of education, mention this as well. Information about continuing or completing studies will be especially valuable for people who are just starting their careers.

• Example: “I am an accountant with one year of experience in company XYZ. I graduated with honors in finance and accounting from the Kozminski University in Warsaw.”

2. Mention your most important competencies and achievements. Consider whether it is worth taking up space in the document for the description of soft skills in this section in your situation. This will be useful if you work in a profession in which competences related to character traits are one of the most important factors determining the employment of a candidate (e.g. babysitter, early childhood education teacher). However, it is best to focus on hard skills, emphasizing, for example, one selected personality trait. Also describe your greatest professional successes.

• Example: “As a responsible babysitter with 3 years of experience, I try to take care of the development of my charges. I have completed a first aid course and I help children learn English.”

• Example: “Thanks to my commitment to work, I was able to reduce the company’s transport costs by 15% in a year. I am fluent in the Symphony program.”

3. Finally, specify your career goals on your resume that relate to the position you are applying for. Another possible solution is to define the planned development path in general. Ambitious candidates are eagerly hired because they also contribute to the development of companies by going beyond basic schemes and responsibilities.

• Example: “In your company, I would like to develop my skills related to company accounting.”

Employee Career Goals: Examples for Different Professions

Job profile example for a software engineer: “I am a software engineer with 5 years of experience in designing and implementing Java and Python-based solutions. I have skills in object-oriented programming and application development. My goal is to continue working as an expert in mobile technologies, with a focus on developing scalable and high-performance systems.”

Professional profile example for an accountant: “Accountant with over 10 years of experience in financial management and accounting in a corporate environment. I specialize in financial audits, cash flow, and tax planning. My goal is to further develop analytical and consulting skills to optimize financial strategies for large enterprises.”

Professional profile example for a professional Digital Marketing: “Specialist in the field of SEO/SEM with 3 years of experience in running marketing campaigns. I have strong analytical skills. At XYZ, I was able to successfully increase the visibility of the brand online. My goal is to further develop my SEO competencies, with a particular focus on automating activities.”

Professional profile example for a physiotherapist: “An experienced physiotherapist with over eight years of practice in orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation. I have advanced skills in manual and exercise therapy. I strive to constantly expand my knowledge in order to provide the highest quality of care to patients with diverse rehabilitation needs.”

Professional profile example for a graphic designer: “Creative Graphic Designer with 3 years of experience in graphic and visual design. I specialize in creating illustrations, advertisements and promotional materials. At XYZ, I would like to expand my skills in creating advertising campaigns and create innovative and engaging projects.”

The examples given are concise and contain only the most important information that is relevant from the employer’s point of view. You don’t have to describe everything in your professional summary, because you will do it later in your CV or in your cover letter.

How to create a professional profile that will interest the employer?

The most important purpose of writing application documents is to get a job. However, before you can achieve this, you need to receive an invitation to a job interview and send a polished CV beforehand. If you create an effective career goal and complete your resume properly, you will increase your chances of getting a better job.

Are you wondering how to write a professional summary, after which the recruiter will read your resume in more detail? Here are some practical tips:

• Describe your most important success. When creating a profile summary , use specific examples of achievements, such as projects you have led or goals you have completed. If possible, provide achievements in the form of measurable results, e.g. a 20% increase in sales.

• Write down what you want to achieve in the short or long term. Align your goals with the position you’re applying for, showing how you can contribute to the company’s success.

• Avoid very difficult, specialized terms as much as possible. Recruiters are often representatives of the HR department who have not worked in a specific industry (e.g. as programmers, graphic designers, etc.). A lot of professional jargon can make it difficult for them to understand your resume.

• Your professional summary should be concise. You need to fit them into a few sentences that will bring a lot of information. Write briefly but concisely.

• Always carefully review all your application documents to make sure there are no language or grammatical errors.

Professional goal – should you write it without experience?

A resume summary provides an excellent opportunity to show your motivation for employment, so you should write it. Some employers are willing to hire people without professional experience or, for example, students. The demand for specialists is high, but beginners can also count on working in promising positions.

Hiring an ambitious student or graduate is a good choice for many employers, because people motivated to learn quickly acquire new skills, and after some time they become independent employees who know their responsibilities well.

How do you write a career goal without experience?

Universal career goals are difficult to define because they depend on the specific industry and the individual abilities and expectations of the candidate. However, you can use this quick guide to learn how to create an accurate resume summary yourself.

CV career goal student – step by step:

• Describe what field of study and specialization you have completed or are continuing. Add a title you own.
• Mention your strengths. List your skills, taking into account what might be useful for the position you are applying for.
• List projects or additional activities performed during your studies that were valuable experience and allowed you to learn something important for a given industry.
• Communicate your successes, perhaps you graduated with honors or won a significant competition.
• At the end of your professional summary, write about the most important thing, i.e. your motivation to take up the job. Answer one of these questions:

• Why do you want to work in this company and in this position?
• Why should an employer hire you?
• What would you like to achieve in your professional career?
• What will you strive for at work?

What you strive for at work – examples for students

“I am a third-year computer science student at the University of Warsaw, I am passionate about software development. I have experience in working with Java and Python languages, gained during an internship at XYZ company. I am looking for opportunities for further development in the area of web and mobile application development.”

“I am a third-year student of biochemistry at the Jagiellonian University. I took part in a research project on cancer therapies, which allowed me to develop analytical and laboratory skills. I am passionate about biotechnology and am looking to join a team focused on innovative treatments.”

CV – summary in English – tips

In a CV written in English, a professional summary is a standard. Therefore, it is worth remembering about it. In this case, it is especially good to pay attention to avoid mistakes. The best way will be to show your finished document to another person, even if you know English very well. If someone else looks at your CV, including your professional goal, they will have a chance to catch the shortcomings that you did not pay attention to.

It is already known that the professional summary in the CV in English is important, but is it different from the version in Polish?
A foreign employer may not know what the companies you worked for have been doing, so you can mention it briefly.
Example: “Engineer with eight years of experience in the electrical sector, mainly at PGE (the most important supplier of electricity in Poland)”.

Check also other materials available on our website:
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CV templates will make it easier for you to create a professional CV
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