Results tagged “Strengths” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

You may wish to present a Qualifications Summary or Profile section on your resume. In addition to Profile and Qualifications Summary, these resume-topping sections go by numerous names: Career Summary, Summary, Executive Summary, Professional Profile, Qualifications, Strengths, Skills, Key Skills, Skills Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Background Summary, Professional Summary, Highlights of Qualifications. All of these headings are acceptable, but our favorite is Professional Profile.

Twenty-five years ago, a Profile or Summary section was somewhat unusual on a resume. Career experts trace the use of summaries or profiles to include information about candidates’ qualities beyond their credentials to the publication of the late Yana Parker’s The Damn Good Resume Guide in 1983. For the last 20-plus years, resume writers have routinely included these sections; however, the age of electronic submissions has now caused the pendulum to swing the other way.

On one hand, electronic submission means that hiring decision-makers are inundated and overwhelmed with resumes and have less time than ever before to peruse each document. That means that many of them do not read Profile or Summary sections.

On the other hand, the age of electronic submissions has increased the importance of keywords so that candidates can be found in database searches. Even some of the hiring decision-makers who don’t read Profiles and Summaries advise including them as a way to ensure sufficient keywords in the resume.

A vocal contingent of decision-makers, especially among recruiters, strongly advocate for a Summary section — but one that is quite succinct — a short paragraph or single bullet point. They want to see in a nutshell who you are and what you can contribute.

For a detailed discussion of these sections, including guidelines for crafting them and samples, see Chapter 3 of our e-book, The Quintessential Guide to Words to Get Hired By: Your Professional Profile: Bullet Points that Describe Your Strengths in a Nutshell.

And use our Resume Professional Profile/Qualifications Summary Worksheet to help you develop bullet points for this very important resume section.

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A paragraph in your cover letter should describe who you are and what makes you stand out writes Deborah Brown-Volkman, president of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc. a career, life, and mentor coaching company. “Include your strengths and what you are passionate about in your career.” Brown-Volkman advises that you think of this paragraph as completing the sentence, “Here’s why I am a good candidate…”

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Including a leadership/personal brand statement is one of the trends executive resume and branding expert Meg Guiseppi writes about in her article for Quint Careers, Five Top Trends for Executive Resumes. Guiseppi advises: Begin to build a vibrant message highlighting your vitality, pivotal leadership strengths, and unique value proposition by answering questions like this:

• What jazzes you about your work each and every day? What are you most passionate about getting to and accomplishing at work?
• What talents and characteristics do you possess that represent the best in your field?
• How did you achieve the career successes that most benefitted your companies? What specific actions did you take?
• What critical contributions did you make to past companies that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t there?

You will further support your brand statement if you weave key brand attributes throughout your resume.

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One of the “Top 5 Reasons Why Job Hunters Fail” is “not writing a cover letter,” Robin Ryan notes in an article in her monthly newsletter.

“Human-resources managers state that cover-letter writing is becoming a lost art,” Ryan writes, “since job hunters think they can skip this step when they apply electronically.”

“A well-written cover letter has great power with employers and should always precede any resume sent. Open the letter with a powerful first paragraph that sums up the background, key strengths, skills and accomplishments you have to offer. Human-resource managers say that a good cover letter demonstrates your communication skills and can capture the interview,” Ryan advises. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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What is a resume? It’s a document that tells prospective employers all about you — and why you would make a great employee — so you want to focus it on your strengths and accomplishments, as well as your education and work experiences. It is designed to help get your foot in the door, to help you get the job interview. Teen job-seekers do not need to have a resume when job-hunting, but if you want to stand out from the crowd, then developing your resume will do so. Think you know how to write a great resume? Take our quiz and find out!

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

To sharpen your resume’s focus, you can add a section called something like “Summary of Qualifications,” “Profile,” or the like. Such a section, in a reader-friendly bulleted format can contribute to powerful resume opener that draws the reader in; it can be part of the top third of resume that showcases your best selling points, catches the prospective employer’s attention, and immediately demonstrates your value as a candidate.

A synthesis of the ideas of two leading resume experts, Susan Britton Whitcomb, author of Resume Magic, one of the best books on the market for resumes, and Deb Wile Dib of Advantage Resumes, reveals that a Summary/Profile section can contain:

• Title/functional area/level of your current position and/or position you seek.
• Number of years of experience (which, for age-discrimination reasons, should not exceed 15-20; “15+” is a good guideline for mature workers)
• Industry you’re in or seeking to be in.
• Core competencies/areas of expertise/strengths/specialization for that field.
• Highlights of representative accomplishments, especially used to demonstrate skills and competencies you’ve used throughout your career.
• Top business, leadership, craft-related skills, both “hard skills” and “soft skills” (such as communication, interpersonal, teamwork); however, be aware that many hiring decision-makers believe soft skills can be substantiated only in person or by references, so be sure to provide strong substantiation of these skills in your resume.
• “Value-added” information: Skills/accomplishments/experience that
• add to your value because they are not necessarily expected of someone with your background (e.g., operations manager with deep knowledge of IT).
• Any advanced degrees, certifications, or licenses that are integral to the type of job you seek.
• Language and international business skills, if relevant.
• Technical/computer skills, instead of burying them at the bottom of your resume (Exception: IT professionals, who should place IT skills in a separate section).
• Personality /management style: Open a little window into your personality with your Summary/Profile (e.g., mention sense of humor)
• Possibly affiliations if integral to the job, otherwise in a separate section.
• Any extremely prestigious colleges, employers, or clients.
• Quantification whenever possible, using numbers for, e.g., revenue generated, size of accounts, typical budgets, money saved, etc.
• Positive quotes, testimonials from supervisors, clients, taken from memos, letters, performance evaluations.
• Awards you’ve earned, such as Employee of the Month and President’s Club, can also be listed in the Summary/Profile section to give them more up-front attention than if they were listed in their own section.
• Keywords/buzzwords from ads or job postings you’re responding to.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.