10 Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews
A resume summary statement usually comes right after a job seeker’s contact info and before other resume sections such as skills and work experience. It provides employers with a brief overview of a candidate’s career accomplishments and qualifications before they read further.
Because of how early it appears on the document, your resume summary statement (or your CV “profile” in the UK) is one of the first places recruiters and employers look.
And without the right information, they’ll doubt that you’re qualified and may move to another resume.
So I got in touch with a select group of professional resume writers, coaches and career experts to get their best resume summary examples you can use and adapt to write a resume summary that stands out and gets interviews.
As a former recruiter myself, I’ll also share my best tips to write your resume summary effectively.
Why the Resume/CV Summary is Important
You may have heard that recruiters only spend 8-10 seconds looking at your resume. The truth is: they spend that long deciding whether to read more. They do glance that quickly at first and may move on if your background doesn’t look like a fit.
However, if you grab their attention, they’ll read far more. Recruiters aren’t deciding to interview you in 8-10 seconds, but they are ruling people out in 8-10 seconds.
And this is why your resume summary is so crucial. It appears high up on your resume (usually right after your header/contact info) and is one of the first sections employers see. So it’s part of what they’ll see in the first 8-10 seconds.
Your resume summary statement is one of your first (and one of very few) chances to get the employer to stop skimming through their pile of resumes and focus on YOU.
10 Resume Summary Examples for Various Industries:
These career summary examples will help you at any experience level – whether you’re writing a professional summary after a long executive career, or writing your first resume summary without any experience!
After you finish this article you’re NEVER going to have to send out a limp, weak resume summary statement again (and you’ll get far more interviews because of it).
1. Healthcare Sales Executive Resume Summary Example:
Turnaround & Ground Up Leadership
Concept-to-execution strategies for untapped products, markets + solutions that yield 110% revenue growth
Negotiates partnerships with leading distributors + hospitals—Medline to Centara + Novant Health to Mayo Clinic
Revitalizes underperforming sales organizations via scalable, sustainable infrastructures emulated as best practice
C-Level networks of clinical + supply chain leadership acquired during tenures with XXX, XXX and XXX
Why this resume summary is good:
This resumes summary example’s strength lies in the detailed, unique information that has been included. By including revenue stats, names of past employers and partners, the reader right away sees that this person will bring to the role a strong networking ability with key players in his industry, and more importantly can build, grow and revitalize a sales organization, market or product.
2. 15+ Year Business Owner Resume Summary Statement:
Dynamic and motivated marketing professional with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, designing educational strategies, and coaching individuals to success. Skilled in building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and making critical decisions during challenges. Adaptable and transformational leader with an ability to work independently, creating effective presentations, and developing opportunities that further establish organizational goals.
Why this is a good summary section:
This is a resume summary statement that was for a candidate returning to work after having her own business for 15+ years. Because of this, we needed to emphasize her soft skills and what she can bring to this potential position. In addition, we highlighted the skills she has honed as a business owner so that she can utilize these qualifications as a sales professional, account manager, and someone knowledgeable about nutrition, medicine, and the overall sales process.
3. Human Resources Generalist Resume Summary Example:
Human Resources Generalist with progressive experience managing employee benefits & compliance, employee hiring & onboarding, performance management processes, licensure tracking and HR records. Dependable and organized team player with the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently. Skilled at building relationships with employees across all levels of an organization. Proficient with HRIS, applicant tracking and benefits management.
Why this is a good resume summary:
The applicant highlights their experience across a wide range of HR functions from the very first sentence, and continues this pattern throughout the rest of the summary. They then use easily digestible langue to showcase their hard skills (in the first & fourth sentences) and soft skills (in the second & third sentences). They also integrate a variety of keywords to get past automated job application systems, without sounding spammy or without over-doing it.
4. Social Media Marketing CV Profile Example (UK):
Social media expert with successes in the creation and management of social media strategies and campaigns for global retail organisations. Extensive experience in the commercial utilisation of multiple social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; I build successful social strategies that increase brand awareness, promote customer engagement and ultimately drive web traffic and conversions.
Why this summary is good:
This summary is well-written, short, sharp and gives recruiters a high-level explanation of the candidate’s core offerings in a persuasive and punchy style. A quick scan of this profile tells you the exact type of social media platforms the candidate is an expert in, as well as the campaigns they have experience of running and types of organisations they have worked for. Most importantly, the summary is rounded off by showing the results that this person achieves for their employers, such as increased web traffic and conversions.
Editor’s note: This CV profile summary was written for the UK market… this is a great one to use/copy, but make sure you put it through a spell-checker if you’re applying for jobs in the US (utilisation vs. utilization, etc.)
5. Marketing Manager Professional Summary Example:
Marketing Manager with over eight years of experience. Proven success in running email marketing campaigns and implementing marketing strategies that have pulled in a 20% increase in qualified leads. Proficient in content, social media and inbound marketing strategies. Skilled, creative and innovative.
Why this summary is good:
This resume summary stands out because it gets straight to the point. Through immediately introducing the number of years of experience the candidate has, the HR manager doesn’t need to spend time adding up years. The candidate also jumps right into his or her strongest skill, provides a statistic, then gives additional skills.
6. Warehouse Supervisor Resume Summary Example:
Warehouse Supervisor with Management, Customer Service, & Forklift Experience
Dependable manager with 15+ years of experience in warehouse management and employee supervision.
Skilled at managing inventory control, shipping & receiving, customer relations and safety & compliance.
Certified Power Equipment Trainer, Forklift Operator and Reach Operator skilled at coaching other staff.
Promoted to positions of increased responsibility given strong people and project management skills.
Why this summary is good:
The applicant was applying for a warehouse supervisor position that required them to have demonstrated management, customer service and forklift experience. As such, the applicant showcased their experience in these areas with a few keywords in the title, followed by additional details in the accompanying bullet points. Their final bullet shows a record of promotions, while reinforcing the applicant’s customer service and project management skills.
7. IT Project Manager Resume Summary Example:
Experienced Project Manager with vast IT experience. Skills include computer networking, analytical thinking and creative problem solving. Able to apply customer service concepts to IT to improve user experience for clients, employees and administration.
Why this resume summary is good:
Because this candidate is switching career paths, it’s important he or she take skills used for previous positions and apply those skills to the new job listing. This is a great example because the candidate makes it clear that his or her experience is not in the new field, but that they are still able to bring relevant experience to the table.
When writing your resume summary, keep these tips in mind: Use writing that is straight to the point, clear and concise, you’ll have a higher chance of getting noticed by the hiring manager.
8. Career-Changer Resume Summary Example:
Earn trust, uncover key business drivers and find common ground as chief negotiator and identifier of revenue opportunities in sales, leadership and account management roles spanning e-Commerce, air travel and high-tech retail.
Navigate cultural challenges while jumping time zones, lead international airline crews and manage corporate accounts to deliver an exceptional customer experience. A self-taught techie sought after as a go-to for complex billing systems and SaaS platforms alike—bridging the divide between technology and plain-speak.
Tenacious Quest for Success + Learning. Earned MBA and BS in just 3 years while working full-time – gaining hands-on experience in research- and data-driven product roadmap development, pricing and positioning.
Results-Driven Leadership. Whether leading Baby Boomers, Gen X or Millennials—figures out what makes teams tick, trains and transforms individuals into top-performers.
Challenger of Conventional Wisdom. Always ask the WHY. Improve the user experience through smart, strategic thinking that anticipates outcomes. Present cases that influence, and lead change that drives efficiency and profitability.
Why this summary is good:
This client was eager for a career change and had moved from role to role and industry-to-industry. After completing her Master’s degree, she was eager to tie her skills together to land a role – which she did – as a Senior Technology Account Strategist for a global travel company.
Although a bit longer than a traditional summary, the strength of it lies in the details. Without ever getting to the experience section, the reader gets a clear idea of the scope of responsibility, and hard and soft skills the candidate brings to the table.
9. Project Management Executive Professional Summary Example:
15+ years of initiating and delivering sustained results and effective change for Fortune 500 firms across a wide range of industries including enterprise software, digital marketing, advertising technology, e-commerce and government. Major experience lies in strategizing and leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy, process, and profitability – both as a leader and expert consultant.
Why this resume summary is good:
“Project Manager” is one of those job titles that’s REALLY broad. You can find project managers earning $50K, and others earning $250K. The client I wrote this for was at the Director level, and had worked for some of the biggest and best tech companies in her city. So this resume profile section shows her level and experience, and the wide array of areas she has responsibility for in her current work. You can borrow or use some of the phrasing here to show that you’ve been responsible for many important areas in your past work.
10. Startup And Finance Management Consultant Career Summary Example:
Experienced strategist, entrepreneur and startup enthusiast with a passion for building businesses and challenging the status quo. 8+ year track-record of defining new business strategies, launching new ventures, and delivering operational impact, both as a co-founder and management consultant.
Why this resume summary example is good:
This summary was for a highly-talented management consultant looking to break out of finance, and into trendier tech companies like Uber. His track record and educational background were great, so the goal of this summary section was to stand out and show he’s more than just the typical consultant with a finance background. So we emphasized his passion for startups, his ability to think outside the box and challenge the status quo. That’s something that companies like Uber and other “disruptive” tech companies look for.
Now you have 10 professional resume summary statements and explanations of why they’re effective. Next, I’ll share tips for how to write your own in case you’re still unsure how to begin based on these examples above.
How to Write a Resume Summary: Steps and Hints