Writing a powerful resume that attracts attention and sells the goods; can be a challenging and sometimes daunting task. No question about it, a well written resume is a marketing document. And what it is marketing and selling is you.
A qualifications summary is the opening headline and content in a well written resume. It tells the reader, who you are, briefly outlines your relevant experience and highlights you skills that matches as closely as possible with the needs of the employer. It's also space to interject some personality. Think selling from the first word you write in your qualifications summary.
First, before content is written let's think format. Job title first and centered, perhaps 13 or 14 pt font, and highlighted. Next in 12 pt font, center two lines listing your best qualities. For example: cost-cutter, life-time learner, motivator, team-leader, project manager, sales professional, creative engineer, technological whiz, production manager, you get the idea.
It's best to include the nouns contained in the job announcement in this area. Of course only include skills that you can later back up in the body of the resume.
You'll need to list skills and accomplishments that describe you overall work experience. If you have an atta-boy/girl file this is your starting point. Otherwise look at previous performance reviews, completed projects, processes you managed, skills learned and applied, anything that describes you abilities and results achieved. Awards won are another possible area where you can highlight a specific skill.
Now comes the qualification summary, it can be in paragraph form or three to five bullet points. Bullet points seem to work best for most people.
In listing your qualifications in the summary you will get your direction from the job announcement. If the first skill set required is, "cost-cutting," your first sentence or bullet point should highlight your skills at cost-cutting. Use strong action verbs, for example rather than using the word "developed" a better choice is "created." Keep the point short, quantify the results and move to the second skill.
Again get direction from the job announcement. Continue this through three to five major points. Whenever possible naturally use keywords from the job announcement.
Now read over the bullet points you have written. Do they accurately reflect and sell you as a viable candidate for the job? If not, rewrite until you are satisfied.
As your job search progresses, you will have warehoused ten, twenty or more separate qualification summaries. This allows you to tailor each resume and cover letter submission to closely match the needs of the prospective employer. Don't get lazy on this point. The closer your qualification summary matches the requirements of the job you are more likely to be called in for a job interview.
Now you have the most important part of your resume written. The balance of the resume should back-up what you have told the employer in the summary. As a marketing document it will be doing its job, if the hiring manager reads beyond the qualification summary, you're more likely to make the sale and get called in for a job interview.
