Update Your Contact Info and Summary
The top of your resume is the most read section. Recruiters spend an average of 6-7 seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to read further. Your contact information must be perfect and your summary must immediately communicate your value. A strong summary is the difference between a recruiter reading on or moving to the next candidate.
The top of your resume is the most read section. Recruiters spend an average of 6-7 seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to read further. Your contact information must be perfect and your summary must immediately communicate your value. A strong summary is the difference between a recruiter reading on or moving to the next candidate.
Open your resume in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or whichever tool you use. Have your LinkedIn profile open in another tab for reference.
Complete these steps
Update your contact information Check and update:
Full name (use the name you go by professionally)
Professional email — if yours is unprofessional create a new Gmail today
Phone number with area code
LinkedIn URL — go to your LinkedIn profile, click Edit public profile and URL, customize it to linkedin.com/in/firstnamelastname
Location — City, Province/State is enough. No need for full address.
Portfolio or personal website URL if relevant to your field
Write your professional summary Your summary sits at the top of your resume below your contact info. It is 3-4 sentences that answer: Who are you? What do you specialize in? What are you looking for?
Use this formula: Sentence 1 — Your title and years of experience Sentence 2 — Your biggest strength or specialization Sentence 3 — A key result or achievement Sentence 4 — What you are looking for next
Example: "Marketing professional with 6 years of experience in B2B SaaS companies. Specializes in demand generation, email marketing, and content strategy. Led campaigns that generated $2M in pipeline revenue in 2023. Seeking a Senior Marketing Manager role at a growth-stage tech company."
Tailor your summary to your target role Go back to the target role statement you wrote on Day 1. Make sure your summary aligns with it. The job title in your summary should match the role you are applying for.
Tips for success
Write your summary last after you have updated the rest of your resume — it is easier to summarize when everything is fresh
Keep it to 4 sentences maximum — recruiters do not read long paragraphs
Avoid starting with "I" — start with your title or a strong descriptor