A professional summary is a concise overview of a candidate's professional career that highlights their relevant educational qualifications, work experiences, and expertise. It is an integral part of a resume and serves as one of the best ways to highlight their career’s successes and achievements. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses that help the employer get a holistic view of the potential candidate. Moreover, a good professional summary goes a long way in securing international teaching jobs.

Many-a-times, people tend to confuse a professional summary with a resume objective. A resume objective is defined as a brief statement of intention that allows the employer to understand your objectives and goals. On the other hand, a professional summary is a comprehensive overview or summary of your skills and potentials that makes you stand out from the rest.

Be it corporate employees or teachers, a professional summary in a resume helps everyone in getting the desired job that matches their profile. For instance, it can make a difference between getting shortlisted or being rejected. But how do you create a professional summary that makes your resume stand out? Let's find out.

A professional summary allows you to highlight specific skills or expertise that an employer seeks for the vacant position. For instance, an employer of an educational institution might be looking for a candidate with classroom management skills for an elementary teaching and so a professional summary in a resume with such skills might have higher chances of getting selected.

Here are some tips you should follow to make your professional summary stand out:

First and foremost, keep your professional summary short, simple, and concise. Limit it to 4 or 5 sentences and make use of the bullet points to highlight your skills. Include all important information like job title, years of experience, and professional expertise that make you best for the job.

Make sure you’re (only) adding skills that are relevant to the job. For instance, including information about a degree in child psychology in the professional summary will help you more than including skills like punctuality or team work for a teaching job.

Talk about your achievements and success stories in your professional summary. For instance, mention all recognitions and awards that you achieved in your professional career. Listing down quantifiable achievements catches attention and goes a long way in impressing employers.

Last but not the least, put the professional summary smartly on your  resume document. A well-written professional summary increases the chances of your resume getting shortlisted. For instance, you can place it at the top of the document.  Employers and hiring managers typically go through the top parts of the resume first. 

Listing down relevant skills and ensuring correct placement of the professional summary in a resume will only help if it describes you, your work experience, and your suitability for the job. Thus, it is important that you keep note of the following things -

• Mention all the  relevant experiences like online teaching experience, distinctive field experience, study abroad experience, etc. 
• Choose your words wisely and carefully. Keep it simple and avoid using complex words, metaphors, or any other figurative language.
• Be yourself and avoid including skills or attributes that don't describe you. Omit words that you don’t feel confident about. 
• In case you’re applying for a teaching job abroad, make sure to incorporate a professional summary in an internationally accepted CV format. For instance, you can create a Suraasa profile for free and download it as a CV. It can help you grab international teaching jobs that match your profile.

A strong professional summary helps you to position yourself as a leader in your resume. It highlights you as the most appropriate and suitable applicant for the job. Moreover, it can play a significant role in convincing the employer that you're the right person for the job. So add a professional summary on your resume now and make it stronger. You can enrol yourself in Suraasa’s Boosting Employability program for understanding more about the nuances of the interview process and creating an impressive resume.