Starting a resume with a summary allows you to encapsulate your career into a few lines and provide readers with a helpful, quick overview. Unlike objectives, which I think are often unnecessary, I do believe executive summaries have a place in a good resume, even though expert resume readers can scan a well written resume and sum up the background as well as any summary.

The most common problem

The biggest problem with most summaries is that they attempt to do too much. Instead of merely providing an overview of a person’s career, people try to use it as an additional sales tool, filling summaries with all sorts of subjective assertions that are not even in evidence in the resume. For example: exceptional leadership and change management skills, or being an innovative problem solver and strategic visionary.

You may think it’s fine to pile assertions into a summary without any supporting details. Wrong! Whenever you write anything that may raise questions or doubt, that’s the place where supporting details need to be presented. Allowing questions to develop without an immediate response weakens your resume. (See the article Lost in the land of make believe.) A summary is often too short to provide sufficient evidence, which is why it’s best to use assertions sparingly.

When a summary is crucial

There are a few instances when the use of a summary is crucial. One case is when a person has a diverse background and a reader may wonder, “What is your expertise?” What are your true strengths? Are you a marketing executive with strong exposure to finance or visa-versa? In such cases, a summary can provide a frame of reference that allows a reader to more easily follow your resume and assess your suitability.

Vinny Stabile, the SVP, People at JetBlue cites an example when he was considering candidates for a staffing role and received numerous resumes from human resource generalists. In many cases, it was difficult to gauge the strength and relevance of their staffing experience.

An HR generalist may have gained significant staffing experience over time, but it may be reflected in only a few scattered lines throughout a resume. A well written summary can pull such experiences together and convey two or three core competencies that might otherwise get lost in the body of the resume.

In this particular case, the proper use of a summary would have made it easier to determine if any of them had sufficient staffing experience to be invited to an interview.

How long is too long?

Summaries should be brief. Ideally one mid-sized paragraph, but definitely no longer than 2 or 3 short paragraphs. In a resume, anything longer is no longer a summary.

Facts are always stronger than assertions

The best summaries are fact based so use details that are not subject to personal interpretation. For example:

Financial executive with an MBA/CPA and 22 years in the hotel and restaurant industry, including experience in mergers & acquisitions, IPOs, and corporate strategic planning. Also includes five years of intense start-up experience.

This is a brief example of a fact based summary. You either have an MBA and CPA or you do not. You either have direct experience in mergers & acquisitions or you do not. You’ve either worked in a start-up or you have not. Fact based statements don’t rely on the subjective judgment of the individual making the claim, unlike communication, leadership, or change management skills.

Unique aspects

Finally, look for any unique aspects in your background that deserve to be pointed out in the summary. For instance, experience with start-ups, highly creative businesses, or fast growing companies are all examples of unique experiences that should be brought front and center. In particular, think of items that make you unique and are also relevant to the kinds of positions and companies you are going after.

Some people might consider these unique aspects to be subjective assertions themselves, but they are much less so than the examples cited earlier. For instance, anyone can claim excellent communication skills, but it would be impossible for an executive with the US Postal Service to claim to be working for a start-up, just as it would be difficult for a coal company executive to claim to be working in a highly creative and innovative business.

Adding these unique aspects puts a spotlight on them and ensures they’re not overlooked during the review of your resume.

I’ve received nearly a dozen resumes over the past six months that include gigantic summaries that are nearly identical. There must be a book somewhere that urges executives to fill their summaries to the brim with subjective assertions and along with it provides an example for people to copy.

What do you think?

I would like you to critically absorb this next paragraph and see how it strikes you. Is this summary effective? What in this summary can you be certain of? Ask yourself, is this summary an advocate or an adversary for this person?

Here goes:

“Competitive, pragmatic and responsive Sales & Marketing management executive with a proven track record of success. Creative & persistent problem-solver who thrives on challenges, excels under pressure and gets the job done. Bright, bottom-line oriented team builder who possesses outstanding interpersonal and excellent communication skills. Hands-on leader and catalyst, organized & thorough planner, and capable negotiator especially effective dealing with senior management. Accustomed to a fast pace & multiple projects while consistently maximizing business opportunities, relationships and profits.”

Well? Does this summary impress you? Do you want this person’s phone number so you can hire them before someone else steals them away? Or, have the assertions overwhelmed you to the point where you aren’t sure about any of the claims?

Now every assertion made in this summary may be true. There are a few people who are truly exceptional in every respect. However, it’s very rare and unfortunately most if not all of the capabilities cited here are based on individual perception.

One secret about assertions

The simple truth is, if you claim three great skills it’s more believable than when you claim 41 skills. The more you claim, the more suspicious it becomes. If you are absolutely determined to use subjective assertions, carefully weigh your skills and single out a few primary ones.

Doubt raises questions

As a critical reader I look at the summary above and question each assertion. First, is there evidence to support each assertion? Second, does this person have the expertise to accurately gauge their strength in all of these areas? Third, does it suggest insecurity or a lack of acuity?

When people make subjective assertions, it’s proper to question the voracity of their claims.

Evaluating the claims

Whenever faced with a resume full of subjective assertions I tend to become more critical. Note how the questions that result from this summary skew toward the skeptical:

Competitive:

• Are you a team player?
• Is it your way or the highway?
• Are you blindly competitive?
• Will you step over teammates to further your agenda?

Pragmatic:

• Are you capable of more complex solutions when needed?

Creative:

• Many people claim to be creative, but how does it show itself?
• Compared to artists, designers, etc, most business people just aren’t creative.

Persistent:

• Are you bullish and headstrong?
• Do you pound a single solution over and over until you get your way?

Problem solver:

• Do you solve problems on your own and not as part of a team?
• Do you work better by yourself than with others?

Bright:

• What’s your I.Q.?
• What degrees do you hold?
• Are they from elite institutions?

Bottom-line oriented & team builder: (Interesting combination)

• Can you quantify or qualify being bottom-line oriented?
• How do you know you build strong teams?
• What track-record do your teams have? Any metrics?
• What is the turn-over rate among your team? Has it improved?
• How many of your team members have been promoted?

Outstanding interpersonal and excellent communication skills:

• Yet another person claiming excellent communication skills.
• Have you received commendations or awards for your communication skills or did a few people tell you that you communicate well?

Hands-on leader:

• Do you micro-manage?
• Do you look over the shoulders of your staff and tell them how to do their job?

Catalyst:

• A “good” catalyst or a “bad” one? A catalyst for disaster?
• Are you a catalyst in the sense that you pressure people to work harder?
• Does being a catalyst mean you drive people around you crazy?

Organized & thorough planner:

• Do you have problems making timely decisions?
• Whenever quick decisions and execution are necessary are you a deer in the headlights because you have to thoroughly plan things out?

Consistently maximizing profits:

• Qualify or quantify how you maximize profits.
• You may tout a 7% increase in profits while competitors are achieving profit growth of 15%.
• Is there any evidence you maximize profits more than others?

Assertions affect the whole resume

Now that we have all these questions in our minds, we can go on and read the rest of the resume. Is this the frame of mind the writer would like the reader to be in? No, but it’s what this summary has created.

Be wary of unintended consequences. During an objective read-through, determine how first time readers might absorb the information. Be especially aware if you are trying to say too much. This resume is already being crushed by the weight of a summary that can’t possibly support all the assertions it makes.

Read the article How to write a strong summary to get helpful hints on how to write a powerful summary.

Adding an objective to your resume may seem beneficial. It gives the reader a clear idea of the kind of position or company you are interested in. Here’s a little secret: I rarely read this section and most of my colleagues don’t either.

With great certainty, most resumes would be better off without an objective.

Why?

Objectives are often too vague. If you are like most executives, you don’t want to lose out on good opportunities by making your objective too narrow. But that’s the very point of an objective. The result is that you make the more serious mistake of including an objective that is so vague you may as well write “Seeking a position that requires someone with a pulse.”

Rules that determine inclusion of an objective

The only instances when an objective makes sense, is when you’re:

1. In a narrow niche or in a highly specialized field.
2. Thoroughly committed to a very specific or well defined position.

For example, if you are a physicist who is only interested in directing ship-based research projects in atmospheric studies, by all means put that objective right at the top.

The only other time an objective might make sense is if your background is extremely diverse and lacking a clear focus. Imagine someone who’s worked in operations, finance, and marketing across five industries and is really interested in a senior finance position in the hospitality industry. In such case an objective does help create focus. But note how it narrows the scope of your search.

Just as a reminder, if much of your career had been in finance within the hospitality industry, this objective would be completely unnecessary.

Typical objectives divert attention.

Unfortunately, most objectives waste space and time with text like this:

“Broad based retail executive desires senior management position with a major retailer seeking to transform an underachieving sales organization through innovative leadership.”

Yikes, what gobble-dee-gook. Nearly every management role can use a star leader who can transform a team with innovative leadership skills. As an objective it doesn’t narrow down the target much at all. It’s more of an underhanded sales pitch. You’re telling the reader what you consider yourself to be. And you’re telling us by sneaking it in as an objective.

Another faux-pas objective:

Another objective that doesn’t go over well with reviewers is the “ultra-tailored” objective that targets a single position. You hear about the opening for Coca-Cola’s Vice President, Marketing in Europe and send your resume with this gem:

Objective: To become the V.P. Marketing of Europe for Coca Cola.

No doubt this meets the requirement for a narrow, well-defined position. But this is overkill. I always joke that if they don’t get this job, their career is basically over because it’s their only career objective. It’s just too cute. Don’t do it.

Your objective should also not change with every shift in wind direction. Instead, ask yourself seriously, if the positions you will consider can be narrowly defined to make an objective worthwhile. If the answer is no, don’t add an objective to your resume. A poorly written objective can cause a roll of the eyes before the reader even gets to the meat of your resume. That’s not how you want them to begin reading your resume.

“Exceptional communication, leadership, and change management skills.” To a trained resume reviewer that line reads: yada-yada-yada.

Why?

People who read resumes for a living dismiss such comments, because they are subjective assertions made by the only person who has anything to gain from them. You!

How do I know if you have the expertise to make accurate assessments about the quality of such skills? Most people don’t have the acuity to make accurate assessments, which is why these comments are met with skepticism. As a result, it’s best to limit the use of “subjective” assertions.

The truth about assertions:

1. Subjective assertions are most powerful when used sparingly.
2. The most powerful assertions are those the readers make on their own.

So limit the use and instead provide information that leads the reviewer to come up with the very conclusions you want to make. Then you really have a powerful resume.

Example:

Imagine you’re a Vice President of Operations. In a resume you cite how you grew your operations team from 2,100 to 4,000 employees and started-up three new manufacturing facilities in five years. You instituted management training programs and teaming processes that drove decision making down to the level that the actual work is being done; rolled out quality improvement programs including six-sigma; developed a succession planning process that ensured capable replacements for each of the 11 Manager and Director positions within your organization, as well as a bonafide back-up for your own position; that of your four direct reports, three of them have been promoted to more senior positions in other parts of the company.

You go on to cite statistics showing a 25% reduction in turn-over and a 37% increase in job satisfaction among your work force. You additionally list key metrics that show how the operations have improved year over year for the past four years.

As an objective reader I can make many assertions based on these facts. They suggest you have excellent communication, leadership, and change management skills. (Sound familiar?) You also appear to be exceptionally quality oriented. Having me, the reader, come to these conclusions is more powerful than you telling me you have these great skills.

The secret of a great resume is that it leads the reader, on his or her own, to come up with the very assertions you would like to make. The best way to achieve this is to show, not tell. Use facts, not feelings.