How to Write a Tech Resume Profile Summary: The Recruiter's Guide

How do you write a resume profile summary? A profile summary is a 4-6 bullet point "elevator pitch" at the top of your CV that highlights your years of experience, core tech stack, and domain expertise. For software engineers and technical roles, it serves as ready-made review that recruiters can use instead of your work experience during the first 10 seconds screen.

As a former Google recruiter, I’ve reviewed over 50,000 technical resumes. I now use that insider perspective to provide a tech resume service that helps developers stand out from their competition. I've worked with more than 1,000 clients, many of whom come to me with common struggles and questions. I try to address each of these periodically with this blog, so that everyone can benefit from insider knowledge.

The Profile Summary is probably the one change you can make to improve conversions right away. It's also the most misunderstood resume section and it causes a lot of confusion amongst my clients.

You read that right.

There’s a ton of mixed advice on the internet when it comes to the usefulness of a Profile Summary. Many even suggest removing it entirely, notably for junior profiles which include less content to sum up.

This sounds like logical advice, but it shows a lack of understanding of how recruiters actually work. These recommendations ignore the true purpose of the Profile Summary.

Most think that the Profile Summary is there to provide a shorter version of your experience. I don't blame them: after all it’s in the name… and it would be the case if you were writing an essay or a literary piece. But it isn’t true for a resume.

You have to see your resume for what it actually is: marketing material. It is a piece of advertising which you use to promote a product (your skill set) to an audience (recruiters).

Therefore your writing should follow the principles of copywriting, not literature.

Here’s why top advertising copy does:

• It defines a clear value proposition from the get go.
• It lists benefits, instead of a laundry list of features.
• It hooks you before diving into the nitty-gritty

On a website, this would basically be the “above the fold” section. It grabs your attention, and sells you early on, before making you want to read more.

Your Profile Summary does just that, but for your resume. It's its true calling, so let it do its job 😁

Things get even clearer when you understand how recruiters actually review resumes.

They usually screen CVs at least twice. First, they're just trying to filter out the ones that don't fit. Then, they read again in more detail when deciding whom to call in for an interview.

In that first round, they go through tons of resumes and only spend a few seconds on each. This means they often don't read your work history. Instead, they’ll look for a Profile Summary to get the gist, so that they can make that first decision fast.

Hopefully, you’re starting to see the opportunity here:
Recruiters will let you do the review for them.

I wasn't different. Back when I was recruiting, I loved this part of a resume because it saved me a ton of time!

Conveniently enough, the Profile Summary is the only part of your resume where you’re allowed some level of subjectivity. You get to “judge” your own skillset and experience.

So if you write about the right aspects, in the right way… they’ll tend to get your word for it. Because of this, resumes with a Profile Summary (even for juniors) usually do much better.

Now, as mentioned, after you’ve passed the first filter they will take a look at your work experience, but it helps even then: writing a compelling Profile Summary creates a situation of confirmation bias, where recruiters instinctively look for evidence supporting your claims.

By now you must be grasping how crucial it is to have a strong Profile Summary, so the next natural question is “how?” Well, I’ve got you covered: in this next section you’ll find a Step-By-Step guide to write a killer Profile Summary.

I’ve recruited for hundreds of positions, screened 10,000s of candidates and rewrote over 1,000 resumes.

Based on my experience, here’s the structure that works best. It hits a sweet spot between core and soft skills, while ticking all the boxes for what recruiters look for.

Let’s look at each category in detail. I’ll explain what each category corresponds to, and provide an example. We’ll use a specific position so that you have a concrete example (Front-End Developer).

I'm going to tell you exactly what type of info should be included within each sentence, so that you can easily adapt it to your specific case.

Include:

• Resume Title the position you're applying to.
• Years of experience if you're a junior, stay vague with "a solid track record" or "a wealth of experience").
• Domain Expertise:your speciality within your discipline.
• Product/Systems Types you worked on.
• Key deliveries/projects that you're particularly proud of.
• Companies you worked for (only if they are well known)

Include:

• Key Technology types, corresponding to the categories of tools typically used in the role.
• Specific technologies you've used, inside parenthesis.

Include:

• Specialties/priorities within your discipline. This is your "claim to fame", the area of the job in which you excel.
• Engineering Methodologies & Concepts that are industry standard for companies within your field.

Include:

• Cross functional collaboration / stakeholders engagement, to show you as a team player.
• Development methodologies , collaborative frameworks or situations.
• Engagement style, which shows your personality and let them picture you as a human.

Include:

• People Management/Operational Leadership, if applicable.
• Peer Support/Mentorship: it's important to show you care about helping others.
• Ad Hoc projects completed outside of the scope of your main role.
• Thought Leadership which can include articles, documentation or tech talks.

This bullet point is optional, and it can include anything else that can make you stand out, such as:

• Foreign Languages
• Certifications, if they are highly relevant to the target role.
• Open-Source Contributions
• Entrepreneurship
• Awards
• Patents

Just for the sake of legibility, here's the entire Profile Summary example, without colors:

That's it!

Follow these guidelines and you will find yourself with a Profile Summary that helps your resume convert.