Summary Of Qualifications

by Stephanie Blye

Surprisingly, this section is omitted by the majority of the job seekers who are building their CV, even if the summary of qualifications might as well be THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ONE'S RESUME.This area will offer the best image of your qualifications, taking into account the objectives you have established for a certain position. This is the place where every employer wants to get when reading your CV! It is in this section that the employer will find out whether you are the perfect candidate for the position he has advertised or not. It is this area which could make the difference between you and other candidates. It is here where you should introduce the employer to the competitive advantages you offer him!



When listing the summary of your qualifications, avoid writing them in a chronological order. Just list them and try to use as many keywords as possible. These keywords become very useful whenever an employer searches them in his database.

Believe it or not, this is also the most difficult to write part in your resume. Don't try to write it all in just one day or without having filled in all the other areas in your CV. You first need to see all the information listed in order to make a selection of your best assets.

The summary of qualifications may include between 3-7 lines. Use as many nouns as possible, not action verbs. You will use the latter in the Experience section of your resume. Also, follow the line of your work experience, your voluntary work or your extracurricular activities in terms of time, purpose, objectives etc. If you don't have any relevant experience, enhance your abilities and competencies which you have developed in interpersonal relationships, organizational environments, etc.

5 steps towards building an effective summary of qualification area:

1. list the experience you have taking into account the CV's initial objective (i.e. one year experience in graphic design);
2. describe the knowledge you have about the various components and aspects of the job you aspire for;
3. enumerate the skills and abilities you have in order to cope with any task this job implies (the ability to solve problems, communication abilities, time management, etc);
4. list your academic knowledge. This completes the practical experience you have accumulated (design, resource evaluation, marketing etc);
5. enumerate the personal characteristics and abilities you have and which are requested by the post you are applying for (i.e. fidelity, the ability to work under pressure, creativity etc.)