At the top of your resume, you have two options: a professional summary or a career objective. Most people either skip this section entirely or fill it with hollow phrases that add no value.
That's a mistake. The section directly below your name is the first thing a recruiter reads, and it's some of the most valuable keyword real estate on your entire resume for ATS purposes. Here's how to use it well.
What's the Difference?
A professional summary describes who you are and what you bring. It's written from the perspective of what you offer an employer. Best for people with relevant experience in the field they're applying to.
A career objective describes what you want from the role and where you're heading. It's written from the perspective of what you're looking for. Best for career changers, recent graduates, or people entering a new field — where explaining the "why" adds helpful context.
In practice, the two often blend together. Many people write a hybrid: a brief summary of their background plus a sentence about their direction. That's fine.
Why Most Summaries Fail
Open almost any resume and you'll see some version of this:
"Highly motivated, results-driven professional with a passion for excellence and a proven track record of delivering outstanding outcomes in fast-paced environments."
This says nothing. It contains no keywords, no specificity, and no differentiation. Every recruiter has read it hundreds of times. It adds no value and takes up space.
The problem is that people write summaries about how they feel rather than what they've done.
How to Write a Professional Summary
A strong professional summary has three components:
- Who you are — your role/level and years of experience
- What you do well — your area of specialisation or strongest capability
- What you've achieved or can offer — a concrete signal of quality
Template: "[Role] with [X years] of experience in [domain/specialisation]. [Specific strength or area of expertise]. [Achievement, proof point, or what you're seeking]."
Example for a marketing manager: "Performance marketing manager with 7 years of B2B SaaS experience. Specialised in paid search and account-based marketing programmes that have generated $4M+ in qualified pipeline. Looking for a senior role at a Series B or C company with a complex enterprise sales cycle."
Example for a software engineer: "Senior full-stack engineer with 6 years building production systems in TypeScript and Go. Experienced in high-throughput API design, distributed systems, and mentoring junior engineers. Seeking a technical lead role at a product-led company."
How to Write a Career Objective
If you're a recent graduate or career changer, a career objective acknowledges your situation directly and makes a case for why it's not a disadvantage.
Example for a recent graduate: "Computer science graduate with hands-on experience building React and Node.js applications through two internships and a personal project with 500+ active users. Seeking a junior developer role where I can contribute to a product team from day one."
Example for a career changer: "Former secondary school teacher transitioning into instructional design. Experienced in curriculum development, learner assessment, and delivering training to groups of 30+. Seeking a corporate L&D or instructional design role where my classroom experience translates into scalable training programmes."
Length and Placement
Keep it to 3–4 sentences maximum. Place it immediately below your contact information, before your work experience. Label it clearly: "Professional Summary," "Summary," or "Profile" — all work with ATS systems.
The ATS Angle
Your summary is read early by both humans and ATS systems, which means keywords placed here carry extra weight. Include the job title you're targeting, your key skills, and any important industry terms from the job description — woven naturally into the text.
If you tailor nothing else on your resume, tailor the summary. It takes five minutes and significantly improves both your ATS score and your opening impression.