Resume summariesâ€how to write and use them

Resume summaries- how to write and use them Your resume has your contact information. It has your education and experience. It even has a creatively written section that makes your hobby of making small hats for cats look relevant for your next job opportunity. But are you sure you’re done and ready to send it out? Let’s look at whether your resume needs to have a resume summary- and if so, how to get it done. What IS a Resume Summary, Anyway?You might think that â€Å"resume summary† sounds like an objective, or a headline. And in theory, it’s similar: a resume summary, or statement, is a brief piece of text at the top of your resume, designed to call the reader’s attention to specific information. But the similarities actually stop there. A resume summary is a little more in-depth than your average headline, which is a pithy one-liner that sums you up. And while an objective tells the reader more about your goals, a summary is a way to convey what you already have in your pocket- skills, ex perience, awards, etc.The resume statement is more of a highlight reel than a headline, calling out a few key bullet points that make your resume The One. The reader will (ideally) find more information about these points later in your resume, but the summary gives them a sneak peek, and helps to grab attention to ensure that they keep reading. After all, the average recruiter or hiring manager spends only a few seconds reading a resume before deciding whether to keep it or junk it and move on to the next candidate. Those seconds are precious, so you want any advantage you can seize.You may also have seen resume statements referred to as â€Å"executive summary† (for high-level positions), â€Å"competencies,† or â€Å"qualifications summary.† These are all just different ways of saying the same thing: a collection of the talking points you want to set for your resume.Do You Need a Resume Summary?Short answer: no one has ever died from not having a resume summar y. And it’s not an element that every job seeker necessarily needs. Although it’s optional, resume statements are a way to help make your resume stand out in a pile of similar-looking printouts, from people who may be very much like you (at least on paper). Consider using a resume summary if you are:Experienced in your fieldLooking to move up in the same fieldTrying to emphasize particular stats (like sales performance, awards, or special skills that set you apart)In these cases, the resume summary is helpful because it calls out the stars of your resume- the experience points you’ve built throughout your career. You have an advantage here over the hiring manager: you know how qualified you are for the job, and what you bring to the table. Because you already have that information, isn’t it also your responsibility to make sure it sees the light of day?In an ideal world, every hiring manager or recruiter would take the time to pore over each resume, looki ng for nuances and details that show how qualified the candidate is. In reality, these are busy professionals just trying to move things along so they can fill a position. They may be juggling all sorts of other duties with the hiring process, so there just may not be enough time and attention to give each resume what it deserves. Or your resume isn’t being read by human eyes at all, but rather a screening program- and in that case, a resume summary offers you an extra chance to cram in some high-quality keywords to help bump you up to the next round.Consider skipping the resume summary if you are:Seeking an entry-level job with little experienceChanging careers without much experience in the new fieldIn those cases, where you don’t necessarily want to call attention to the experience you don’t yet have, an objective statement might be much more effective. So it’s really your own judgment call. Think about what you’re applying for, what your on-pap er strengths are, and decide accordingly whether you really need to include a resume summary.Writing a Resume SummaryOnce you’ve decided that a resume summary belongs on your own resume, let’s talk about how to craft one. Here are three strategies to use while writing your sentence.Keep it short. Include a few sentences (usually 4-6), either as bullet points or a brief narrative paragraph. These points should outline what makes you most qualified for the job at hand.Use strong, concise writing that gets right to the point. Action verbs are definitely your best friends here. You want your words to pack a punch, without taking up too much space in your valuable resume real estate.Target the information directly to the job for which you’re applying. Your whole resume should be targeted and edited accordingly for each job opening, but this is especially true in your resume summary, given that it’s your attempt to get noticed for all the right reasons. And thi s is where proofreading your resume becomes extra important- you don’t want information applicable to Job X sneaking into your resume for Job Y, especially in a high-profile spot like the resume summary. That’s almost like putting the wrong company name in your cover letter (which I’ve seen done- and it’s not pretty).And what should this information be, you ask? It can actually be anything you think is important to convey about yourself for the job opening: skills, experience, honors, direct qualifications. To figure out what you want to include in your summary, ask yourself some key questions:What are my top selling points as a candidate here?What were the high points of my career so far?What are my key strengths?What is my greatest value as a potential employee?What certifications or achievements do I have that can set me apart?What can my strengths do for this company?At this point, feel free to brainstorm. Write down what you think should be included, then take that bigger list and wrangle it into the 4-6 bullet points you think are most essential.Let’s look at some different examples of resume summaries, from different fields.OPERATIONS COORDINATORSeasoned project manager with 10+ years of completing large-scale projects on time and on spec. Excellent written and verbal interpersonal communications skills, with a focus on managing client relationships and communicating with stakeholders at all levels. Proficient in JIRA and Basecamp project management tools. Expert in leading diverse teams to timely and successful outcomes.This summary hits several key points in a very short amount of time. Right away, the reader knows that he has 10 years of experience, is good at working with team members, and is focused on results.SALES QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARYSales director with a 15-year track record of team leadership and surpassing sales goals by an average of 5%.Innovative approach to sales and customer data analysis to generate mo re/better leads.Increased customer base by more than 10%.Adept at coaching and developing talent to build teams and enhance company performance.This summary goes for a very direct, bulleted approach. This sales director wants you to know that she gets results, and provides snippets of sales and customer performance stats (which can be fleshed out later in the resume). She also emphasizes team-building and leadership, instead of just saying, â€Å"I have leadership skills.†REGISTERED NURSERegistered nurse with more than 12 years of providing end-of-life care in a hospice setting.Extensive experience and thorough understanding of pathophysiology of terminally ill patients.Work extensively with patients and families to ease the transition to hospice care, and educate patients on what to expect.Currently lead a team of charge nurses to provide comprehensive, seamless care for hospice patients.Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN ®) since 2005.This nurse uses her resume summary to do two things: show her experience and certification, and also to call out her patient care skills, mentioning how she relates to patients and their families in the hospital setting.Remember: your summary shouldn’t be a complete rundown of your resume. You just want it to be the greatest hits, so that the reader can read it and think, â€Å"Hmm, this person sounds great from these introductory bits. Tell me more!† You can go more in-depth with your experience bullet points, or your skills summary later on. The summary is a chance up front to set the narrative for your own resume, and let the reader know that the time they spend reading and considering your resume will be worthwhile.Good luck!

Using Epanorthosis in Rhetoric

Using Epanorthosis in Rhetoric A figure of speech in which a speaker corrects or comments on something he or she has just said. A retraction (or pseudo-retraction) is a type of epanorthosis. Adjective: epanorthotic.Epanorthosis is also known as correctio or self-correction. The etymology is from the Greek, setting straight again. Examples and Observations Maybe there is a beast. . . . What I mean is . . . maybe its only us. (Simon in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 1954)​With a heave of his chest, Croker rose and came walkingor, rather, limpingtoward him. (Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full, 1998)​[A] good heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon; for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly. (King Henry V in Act V, scene two of Henry V by William Shakespeare, 1600)​I dont like the majority of what I do. I shouldnt say I dont like it, but Im not satisfied with almost everything that I do. (Paul Simon)​You dont think were being . . . I dont want to say sleazy, because thats not the right word, but a little irresponsible, maybe? (Owen Wilson as John Beckwith, The Wedding Crashers, 2005)​Epanorthosis, or Correction, is a figure by which we retract or recall what we have spoken, for the sake of substituting something stronger or more suitable in its pl ace... The use of this figure lies in the unexpected interruption it gives to the current of our discourse, by turning the stream as it were back upon itself, and then returning it upon the auditor with redoubled force and precision. The nature of this figure dictates its pronunciation; it is somewhat akin to the parenthesis. What we correct should be so pronounced as to seem the immediate effusion of the moment; for which purpose it does not only require a separation from the rest of the sentence, by an alteration of the voice into a lower tone, but an abrupt discontinuance of the member immediately preceding. (John Walker, A Rhetorical Grammar, 1822)​ He has lately been at work telling again, as they call it, a most gratuitous piece of mischief, and has caused a coolness betwixt me and (not a friend exactly, but) an intimate acquaintance. (Charles Lamb, letter to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Jan. 10, 1820)​Thence have I followed it(Or it hath drawn me, rather) but tis gone. (Ferdinand in The Tempest by William Shakespeare)​In epanorthosis, or setting right, one thinks better of what one has said and qualifies it or even takes it back, as in Augustines classic Give me chastity and continencebut not yet (Confessions 8.7). Epanorthosis is particularly revealing of the character of the speaker, in this case, of an untrustworthy soul divided against itself and given more to self-deception than to deception of others. (P. Christopher Smith, The Hermeneutics of Original Argument: Demonstration, Dialectic, Rhetoric. Northwestern Univ. Press, 1998)​They have a right to more comfort than they at present enjoy; and more comf ort might be afforded them, without encroaching on the pleasures of the rich: not now waiting to enquire whether the rich have any right to exclusive pleasures. What do I say?encroaching! No; if an intercourse were established between them, it would impart the only true pleasure that can be snatched in this land of shadows, this hard school of moral discipline. (Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men, 1790)​ I should probably have said at the outset Im noted for having something of a sense of humour, although I have kept myself very much to myself over the last two years notwithstanding, as it were, and its only as comparatively recently that I began to realizewell, er, perhaps realize is not the correct word, er, imagine, imagine that I was not the only thing in her life. (Michael Palin in episode two of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, 1969)