What Is a Resume Profile?
Writing Tips & Examples

Resume profile

Your resume is what a hiring manager will typically use to determine whether they want to call you in for an interview. If you want to effectively introduce yourself on a resume, you’re going to need a resume profile. Here’s everything you need to know about the profile section on your resume, including how it works and how to put it together.

What is a resume profile?

A resume profile is a short description of who you are that showcases why a potential employer should hire you. It indicates a few of your most relevant skills, goes over the best pieces of your work experience, mentions one or two of your key achievements, and often indicates how many years of experience you have. In essence, it’s a very short statement at the top of your resume that highlights whatever you would show off to a recruiter if you only had one paragraph to hook their attention.

Three common types of resume profiles

If you want to make the resume profile section of your resume stand out, there are three types of resume profiles you should consider:

1. Resume summary

The first (and most common) resume profile style is a resume summary. A summary statement is what it sounds like – it’s a summary of your resume information. It typically goes through your resume, picks out the most important pieces of information and showcases them. It includes metrics about successes in past jobs and shows how you can connect your experience section to the job you’re applying for now. A resume summary might look like this:

Administrative assistant with six years of experience. Improved clients’ social media reach by 54% on average and staffed four years of customer satisfaction training to improve customer communication. Pro at sourcing office materials and creating new processes for startup companies.

2. Resume objective

Another resume profile option is the resume objective. Where a resume summary typically goes over your proven track record, a resume objective talks about where you want to go in the future. It highlights valuable skills rather than work history and indicates what you’re looking forward to. An objective is typically used by job seekers going through a career change or are recent graduates. Here’s how a resume objective might look:
Digital marketing expert looking for a position in the marketing sphere. Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Graduate Certificate in Social Media. Strong management and leadership skills, with marketing manager experience through education.

3. Resume summary of qualifications

The last type of resume profile is a summary of qualifications. This is typically a list of qualifications presented in bullet points, and it’s meant to highlight your best skills in an easy-to-digest profile statement. This type of profile is good for featuring a list of your best skills and experience. You might see a resume summary of qualifications written like this:

What to include in your resume profile

The actual information that you include in your resume profile may vary depending on what you want to showcase. However, these are a few of the bullet points you may want to incorporate:

Essentially, having the best resume for the job you’re applying to gives you the best chance to proceed to the interview stage of the hiring process. No matter what industry you’re in – computer science, healthcare or even human resources – your job application needs to start out with a header that showcases why you’re the perfect person for the job, and that’s where you can make a difference with a solid resume profile role.