A “Professional Summary” on your resume is generally a collection of 4 or 5 one line statements, often found in a bulleted list.
“Tooting your own horn” is often difficult for many job seekers. To come up with a great list of things to include in your professional summary, think about notable accomplishments you may have had. Go through each item that you are including on your resume (work experience, curriculum, training, etc) and think about the specific highlights. These make for great bullet points.
Summaries are also a great place to sprinkle in industry buzzwords. Properly using field specific terminology helps establish credibility. It also has the side benefit of allowing your resume to turn up in more computerized searches. Make sure to only use terms that you are familiar with, as you will probably be asked about them.
Sample Professional Summary
A “Summary” section for an entry level applicant might look something like this:
Summary
- Youngest person hired by 10 year old software engineer firm
- Established 8 man web development charged with revamping school website in under 6 months.
- Collegiate spelling bee champion 3 years in a row.
- Graduated with a 3.5 general GPA, 3.95 in major.