CV Career Profile: How to Write an Effective One.

You come across your dream job, send your well-crafted CV and you anxiously wait for the call-back but it never comes to pass. Does that sound familiar? Yes, to most of us. But how does that happen? Probably your professional profile is not good enough and that is the reason the employers don’t read through it.

For me, writing a career summary was quite difficult. In fact, I didn’t know whether to use a sub-title as a personal summary, career profile, or executive summary. I had gotten it wrong and that was the reason my resume was skipped over the career summary was not written well.

A CV career profile is a brief snapshot of you as a professional at the top of your CV that ‘sells’ you to the potential employer. It highlights the relevant skills, and expertise and proves to the employer the value you will bring to the table.

Unsure of how to write one that it aligns with your career goals?

In this article, I have broken down the five effective steps;

1. Customize It To The Specific Role

The only sections that I used to update were the experience, and the skills that I gained forgetting to update the professional summary on my CV.

In most cases, every job requires different skills and experience which makes it essential for the career profile to be tailored to fit the role.

The most relevant aspect that gives a snapshot of your professional history should only be highlighted in this section.

2. Highlight The Facts And Figures

Back up your statements with figures and facts for instance the years of your experience in your area of expertise and results.

For example an experienced operations professional with over 6 years of experience working in automotive, commercial, and manufacturing industries. I am skilled in change management, and continuous improvement that leads to quality delivery.

3. Keep It Brief And Concise

A career profile on your resume should be short and the big question is how long should it be. Experts claim that it should be four to five lines and should be between 180 to 200 words for employers to fall in love with your resume.

It can be written in bullet form or as a short paragraph, including the job title, years of experience, professional strengths, and the value you will bring.

4. Include Relevant Skills & Experience

Highlight the professional skills and experience that are relevant to the job you’re targeting to make your career summary stand out.

Shy away from using unnecessary adjectives for example critical thinker, hard-working, detail-oriented because they will distract you from showcasing your core capabilities.

A sales professional with effective customer service, interpersonal, strong communication, persuasive, and negotiation skills.

5. Proofread

Just like any other document should be error-free and easy to read before sending it, your CV career profile should be edited well to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes because it is the first section that the employer looks at.

Summary

There is no ‘one size fits all’ career profile in a curriculum vitae but it is important to ensure that it is unique and impactful to make it stand out.

If you are looking for CV advice on how to write a perfect professional statement, please get in touch with our professional CV writers.