How to Write a Resume: Summary Section Examples
The first sample is a short and simple summary section in paragraph format that someone who has worked steadily in the same field might use:
"Office manager and supervisor with ten years experience preparing payroll for a medium-sized corporation. Thorough knowledge of payroll procedures and regulations, and highly proficient in popular business spreadsheet and word processing software applications. Graduate, Acme Business College."
You might choose to use bullets in your summary section to better highlight your information. For example:
--Ten years of publishing and information services experience for a major publishing firm
--Extensive background in project management and new product development, including recruiting and motivating authors on diverse projects
--Designed and implemented dozen of innovative and award-winning publications and marketing plans
--Master's degree in Marketing
The above summaries are designed to pique the reader's attention enough so that he will want to read the work history section. It is the work history section that will do most of the selling. Use this type of summary if you have worked steadily in one field and have moved upward.
A general rule of thumb to follow: If you have a very powerful work history section and are seeking employment in the same field, you probably don't need an expanded summary section.
Expanded Summary Example
An expanded summary section can take up the entire first page of a resume and consist of four or five functional sets with bulleted information under each subheading. People who offer such summaries generally have a weak or damaged work history and are trying to compensate by offering all of their best selling points in an expanded summary section. Those who might use this type of format are those trying to enter a new field, get promoted, hide employment gaps, or get that first job.
For example, suppose that your work history can be described as "meandering." You even worked for yourself for awhile. You have all sorts of skills and a good bit of experience, but you can't apply it to one field. You are an ideal candidate for the expanded summary.
You can organize all you have to offer under categories called functional sets. Under each function, you will list your top selling points as briefly as possible using sentence fragments set off with bullets. If you decided you have good management, supervisory, and communication skills, then you might organize your summary section as follows:
