A Professional Summary. This is what our Advisory Board of hiring managers wants to see in CALS student resumes in lieu of a Career Objective. They told us the Career Objective heading is old school and to stay up-to-date and avoid being screened out of the internship or job stack, you need to share what you bring to the team and why you are the right fit for the position. Composing the professional summary is challenging as it requires some reflection on your part.
Ask yourself a few questions to get started. What is your future goal? Examples are: impact the health of children, make a difference in American obesity, or improve the quality of agricultural products on a global scale. Next, list adjectives that describe you. Are you energetic, organized, dedicated or motivated? All are valuable to hiring managers. It might help to ask those close to you how they would describe you.
Now it is time to list your top three skills. Perhaps leadership, technical, creative or task management skills top the list? After that you need to narrow down the one strength you are most proud of. What is your special gift? This might be one of your skills or it could be something unique about you like your go-getter mentality, passion, strong scientific foundation or professional excellence. Finally, you will summarize and quantify your key experiences. For example, two summer internships, four lab courses, or a semester-long academic research project.
After you ponder those questions, try to craft a three line, 10 point font summary. Tweak it until it sounds just right. Once you read it out loud, feel proud and can yell, “That is me!”, you have it. Your goal is to promote what you bring to an organization, or as Dick Richards puts it in Is Your Genius At Work?, what you bring to the party. Each word in your summary should be specially chosen to promote you as persuasively as possible. Once I read it, I should want to continue with the rest of your resume to learn more about the evidence of each skill and become convinced you will succeed if I hire you.
Answer each question below and then put it all in resume language. Skilled counselors can help you once you get a draft constructed. Call (919) 515-3249 for
an appointment. Once you feel great about your resume, upload it in the
NEW ePack system so you can be seen by employers.
1- List your big picture goal and vision for the contribution you want to make in the future.
2- List adjectives that describe you.
3- List your top three skills.
4- List your number one strength or gift that you bring to the professional world.
5- Summarize and quantify your key experiences (work, internships, clubs, etc.) and what you gained from them.
Peruse the sample summaries below, but make yours your own. Good luck!
Seeking a position in Environmental Science with special interest in natural resource policy and environmental regulation. Background in these areas through 6 month Internship with EPA and academic project. Direct customer service interaction and task management demonstration.
Strong leader, determined to achieve professional excellence. Interest in leveraging a solid scientific foundation, effective communication skills, and outstanding quantitative abilities to make an immediate contribution to improving the quality of agricultural products in a global economy.
Direct clinical experience working with companion and large animals for two summers. Seeking internship experience utilizing client interaction, organizational and laboratory skills.
Motivated to make a difference in childhood obesity. Dedicated student with a strong work ethic and a drive to succeed, Determined to build on extensive nutrition coursework to gain real world experience in a pediatric clinical setting. 3 years of diverse experiences have honed strong interpersonal and organizational skills. Outstanding professional references and work samples available at my ePortfolio at www.yourname.ncsu.edu
Distinguished student with a unique education that includes a B.S degree in Biochemistry and an M.S. in Food Science. Graduate research in advanced dried probiotics matrix design and genomics. Extensive experience in the food industry with internship positions at leading food companies (Frito-Lay and Clorox). Responsible, goal oriented and well-rounded with a strong work ethic and excellent public speaking skills. Creative mindset and a passion for food.
