Before and After Resume Summary Sample
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 01:29PM 
Sometimes I get to work with people in new-to-me fields of work, which is the case with today's sample. A client, referred by a former client, is a new (double) Master degree grad, searching for work as a research scientist in agriculture. Not that many of these folks around, not compared to teachers, clerical staff, customer service representatives ... but I love a new challenge!
The client's "before" resume listed generic skills in the profile or summary, with eight statements:
- demonstrated knowledge of (province name) agri-food issues, challenges and opportunites
- superior problem solving, interpretation and presentation skills
- superior listening, speaking and writing skills
- expert in using diverse information technology, social media and computer skills
There were also a few bullets that dealt with more academic knowledge, specific to the field.
Those are far too generic to reliably get a recruiter's attention. Here's what I came up with (some names, titles etc. have been changed to protect identity, which does affect your readability, but it can't be helped!):
Agriculture specialist distinguished by unique qualifications:
- Selected as one of (province name) Ministry (related to Agriculture) inaugural recipients of its (Name of) Scholarship, 20xx-20xx
- One of a handful of Canadians trained in use of complex (name of) software, with experience in (name of study), a growing and competitive agri-business field
- Attained academic excellence demonstrated by awards, scholarships and achievements
I then listed four categories - Leadership, Communication, Project Management and Research & Analysis - and defined how this client delivered in each.
These four categories' details contain many of the key words and phrases found on the job postings the client shared with me, such as: organization, teamwork, industry representatives, government agencies, product development and marketing, efficient, quality-driven work, mathematical skills, and even more! AND, the categories also were inspired by the job postings.
Not only is the resume peppered with these key words and phrases, but it is unique to the client's background, is an interesting read (compared to the generic resume that everyone seems to have), and builds this client as a dynamic candidate.
This candidate stands out in the right way by demonstrating a unique value proposition unlike his job hunting competitors!
- working to YOUR career's success! - Stephanie
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