How to Write Your Summary of Qualifications

What To Put In Your Qualifications Summary

For a professional resume, it’s all about making the most of the space you have to demonstrate to the recruiter that they should offer you a job interview. A good summary entices the recruiter to read on and highlights skills and experiences that the job needs. Look over the job description for keywords in these areas, applying them to your summary. This will help it pass applicant tracking systems (ATS) that employers sometimes use to sift through resumes.

The best qualifications summaries will focus on your proven ability and performance track record. This is not the place to list transferable skills, or skills that are valuable for any job (such as communication skills and organizational skills). Save these skills for your skills section.

Here are some tips to consider:

• Include 3-5 of your strongest relevant resume “highlights”:

  Examine the job description or job posting for the key competencies that the employer is looking for. Match your strengths to these key competencies. These are the elements you should pick out and prioritize in your summary of qualifications.

  Let’s see this in action with a specific resume example. Let’s say you are applying for a management role. Naturally, management experience and leadership skills are required to fulfill the role’s responsibilities. Rather than simply listing the skills you have, it’s better to use action verbs (e.g., “increased,” “implemented”) words and give giving evidence from your work history that prove you are suitable:

  - Delivered several projects under budget and on time.
  - nIncreased customer satisfaction rates by 20% over a 6-month period.
  - Spearheaded employee training program.
  - Implemented a new communication system to improve workflow.

  With bullet points like these, you imply your soft skills through relevant experience and achievements. These clearly and concisely demonstrate your professional suitability for the management role.

• Use active voice:

  Be proud of your abilities. Writing in the active voice instead of the passive voice helps to communicate what you did more clearly. For example:

  Passive voice: A 20% increase in sales was achieved from 2020 to 2021.
  Active voice: Achieved a 20% increase in sales from 2020 to 2021.

  The difference is subtle, but writing in the active voice adds weight to your statements when detailing your achievements.

• Use quantifiable data:

  Hiring managers like to see concrete examples of your career successes. So, any numbers you can attach to show your proven track record will catch their eye. This will vary depending on the role you are applying for. Sales professionals should talk about sales figures, marketing professionals may mention lead generation, and human resources professionals could refer to staff retention rates. Find details to support your achievements and show the recruiter why they should consider you.

• Include your current job:

  If your current job is especially relevant to the job description, use one bullet point in your summary of qualifications to reference this. Again, the focus is on drawing the line between your experience and the advertised role in this initial section. So, staying with our example of a management role, a bullet point could look like this:

  - Seven years experience as a manager at [company name], overseeing a team of 10 employees.

  This pinpoints the highlight for the recruiter. You can go into your specific responsibilities in your work experience section or your cover letter.