What if you could compress your experience and skills into a single punchy resume section that would knock the recruiter off their feet? The qualifications summary is the answer.
Certified Professional Resume Writer, Career Expert
Ready to transform your resume from ordinary to extraordinary? Crafting a compelling summary of qualifications is your secret weapon!
Apply the knowledge you find in this article and no recruiter will just glance at your resume again.
In this article you’ll learn:
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A Summary of Qualifications is a section of your resume summarizing your accomplishments, work experiences, and qualifications in bullet points. It's a form of a resume profile that acts as an introduction to your job application.
Let’s jump right in—Here’s a good example of a summary of qualifications for a resume:
Friendly customer service representative with 4+ years of experience and skills in telesales and leadership. Seeking to boost upsell rate at Purple Dolphin Components.
As you can see in the example above, the summary of qualifications for a resume allows you to highlight your skills and work experience. And this is a win-win situation.
Traditionally, resumes start with a section called the resume profile which can take the form of a professional objective or career summary. Either of the above is a short paragraph of text. The key difference is that the former highlights your skills and the latter your professional experience.
Here’s the trick: If you go for a resume qualifications summary instead, you won’t have to make an either-or decision. You’ll put your best foot forward straight away with a catchy experience and skills summary.
Now—This has serious benefits. Studies show that recruiters spend about 7 seconds scanning a resume from top to bottom.
A qualifications summary at the top of your document can catch their eye for longer and give them what they’re looking for—on a silver platter. And what is it exactly that recruiters want to find on a resume?
Studies say that up to 62% of them consider your experience the most important factor when making a hiring decision.
Well, isn’t this exactly what your summary of qualifications highlights? Along with your top skills and achievements?
Plus, a qualifications summary gives you a great opportunity to spice your resume up with strong resume keywords. And one more thing: Who is a summary of qualifications suitable for?
As you might have already guessed, the resume qualifications summary is suitable for candidates who have some experience, skills, and achievements to show off. In other words, it would look great on a manager resume or an executive resume.
Some experts say a summary of qualifications may not be suitable for students or other entry-level candidates because they may not have enough professional skills to show on their resumes.
And with all due respect, we disagree.
A well-written qualifications summary can give you quite an edge over the other applicants even on an entry-level resume. Mind you, though, a well-written one.
Expert Hint: Don’t make one of the most typical mistakes job seekers make on their resumes, i.e. putting everything they’ve ever done. Be selective and tailor your resume to the job offer.
You’ll see examples of job-winning summaries of qualifications in the next section.
If you mess up your summary of qualifications, you’re not going to get even 2 seconds of the recruiter’s attention. They won’t care. They’ll have at least a dozen other resumes to choose from. So how to get it right?
First look at a quick comparison of a good vs. bad qualifications summary for resume:
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If you need more inspiration, take a look at the examples below:
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Here’s what you need to remember about the qualifications and skills summary on a resume:
Do you have any other questions about writing a qualifications summary? Would you like to share your opinion? We’re always happy to hear from you. Give us a shout out in the comments below!
At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.
Written by Maciej Duszynski, CPRWExperienced in the education management industry, Maciej shares his knowledge for every step of your job hunt, from landing an internship to moving to an executive position. Maciej has helped job candidates at all stages of their career paths, from interns to directors to C-suite members, to thrive in their job. His mission is to help you find the right opportunity and create a job application that gets you the career you deserve.
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