While professional resumes have traditionally started with an objective statement clearly defining the applicant’s career goals, many career counsellors and resume writing professionals now suggest that this practice is going the way of lifelong employment.
Since candidates are no longer expected to remain with a company throughout their working lives, employers are less concerned with a candidate’s projected career path and more concerned with his or her current skills and abilities. Thus, the resume objective is being replaced by the resume summary of skills, which highlights an applicant’s prior experience and current abilities, showing how they relate specifically to the job being applied for.
Goal and Benefits of a Resume Skills Summary
A summary of skills is essentially a mini-resume, tailored exactly to the job description of the position being applied for. The goal is to list the three to six skills that best reflect those requested in the job advertisement. It is important, however, that the summary of skills be accurate (that is, that the applicant actually has the skills or experience mentioned).
The main benefit of the summary of skills is that it shows employers exactly what the candidate can do for them. Unlike the resume objective, which tends to tell employers what the candidate wants, rather than showing what the candidate can do for the employer, the summary of skills shows employers exactly what the candidate can do for them.
By highlighting the applicant’s current skill set and previous employment experience, the summary of skills indicates to an employer that the applicant is already prepared for the position. For today’s employers, this is the important information.
Tips for Crafting a Summary of Skills
The right summary of skills grabs an employer’s attention and convinces him or her to keep reading. The wrong one, however, simply takes up valuable space on the resume page. Here are some tips for crafting a successful skills summary:
- Favour recent experience. Try to list skills or experience gained in the previous two or three years. In today’s fast-paced employment climate, older experience tends to be viewed as outdated.
- Mimic the job ad. Choose skills that are specifically asked for in the job posting, and try to use similar language. (Do not, however, simply regurgitate the job ad.)
- Use action verbs. Use verbs in the present or simple past (For example, “manage” or “managed”). Employers want to know what candidates have done or can do. Putting this information up front with strong action words saves employers time and demonstrates an understanding of their needs.
Of course, the traditional rules of resume writing apply, too. Pay attention to detail, ensure absolute correctness (no typos!), and keep the list parallel (that is, always start with a verb, and make sure all the verbs are in the same tense).
A strong summary of skills at the top of the resume encourages a potential employer to read on. It shows the candidate’s fitness for the position and acts as a sort of mini-resume or highlight reel showcasing the applicant’s best, most relevant skills and experience.
Written properly, the summary of skills can replace the resume objective as a strong lead-in to what is probably the most important professional document a person can write.
Emily Jones - Emily Jones began her writing career by practising the alphabet on her mother's newly papered kitchen walls. She was promptly given a ...
