Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Words to Get Hired By
Chapter 3: Your Professional Profile: Bullet Points that Capture your Strengths in a Nutshell
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Examples of substantiated bullet points:
- Demonstrated organizational skills at the highest level; successfully completed all assignments meeting all goals and timelines, from initiating complex and sensitive operations in the United States and abroad to establishing an office in a foreign country.
- Successfully deployed unsurpassed interpersonal skills during professional interactions with U.S. government personnel, representatives of Fortune 500 defense-industry corporations, and as an instructor/lecturer for business groups and government employees.
What should be in your Summary/Profile section? 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). Many employers, however, believe soft skills can be substantiated only in an interview, so if you include soft skills, provide examples to substantiate them.
- "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 (for example, you might mention your sense of humor).
- Possibly affiliations if integral to the job, otherwise in a separate section.
- Any extremely prestigious colleges, employers, or clients.
- Keywords/buzzwords from ads or job postings you're responding to. (See Chapter 2).
- 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, or 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.
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