If we’re talking resumes and not a CV… we hate to break it to you, but a resume IS a professional summary, and a succinct one.
Professional summaries were once useful before the days of software automatically scanning keywords from thousands of applicants, but they are usually not necessary anymore for most applicants (excluding those who would want to use a CV or Federal resume format instead, of course.)
Here’s why:
You should be including your exact job title you are applying for in the resume already. A hiring manager should be able to tell exactly what your skills and experiences are in your skills and experiences sections.
Cover letters are almost always required, and these convey exactly what a professional summary would anyway. Including an additional summary of your soft skills, personal experiences, or personality on your resume itself is redundant.
Your verbiage in a professional summary to describe yourself in your own words will probably not match the wording of the specific job listing you are applying for, therefore it will not increase your chances of being evaluated as a good candidate by ATS software.
Professional summaries generally are placed at the top of a resume, and therefore take up a chunk of prime real estate where you could instead be listing quantitative experiences and skills that will match the verbiage of the job listing. Some ATS may only scan the first page of your resume before either rejecting or approving your application for the next step in the hiring process, so don’t waste space!
