Writing an Effective Qualifications Summary for Resumes

A professional profile or qualifications summary can be a great introductory section for your resume, especially if you have over five years of experience and/or are making a career change. This can be your chance to highlight key qualifications, skills, and experiences as a snapshot for hiring managers.

This paragraph should consist of concise statements and strong action verbs to give a big picture overview of your accomplishments as they relate to the position you are targeting.

Here are some samples: Cell biologist with 12 years of extensive experience conducting RNA virus research, basic immunology research and protein interaction research. Key accomplishments include:

• Pioneered research in viral immunology focusing on innate immune responses to HIV-1
• Executed multiple anti-HIV drug screening projects utilizing human primary immune cells.
• Innovated and established an in-vitro nuclear import assay; discovery resulted in collaborations with industry leaders.
• Published three high-impact papers in prestigious journals; maintain a strong publication record

Dedicated and accomplished neuroscientist with expertise in clinical and pre-clinical research pertaining to brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries, and various disorders of the central nervous system.

• Proficient in utilizing omics approaches for biomarker development.
• Committed to improving patient outcomes by conducting research that translates into clinical practice, specifically patient outcomes around: aging, epigenetics, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, neuroimmunology and extracellular biomarkers.
• Skilled in a wide range of techniques such as MRI, fMRI, PET, EEG, patch-clamp recording
• Effectively collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of clinicians & geneticists for patient care.

Some Qualifications Summaries also include bulleted key competencies in lieu of a “Skills” section. This can be especially helpful if you work in a field where certain core competencies should be highlighted at the top of your document (engineering, data science, etc.).  As an example:

Highly skilled data scientist with a proven track record of innovating solutions and driving actionable models based on insights from complex datasets. Consistently deliver high-quality results within challenging deadlines. Utilize strong communication skills and collaborative approach to effectively translate technical concept to lay audiences. Possess advanced working proficiency in the following core skills: