- What are common types of resume introductions?
- Resume summary
- Professional profile
- Resume objective
- How do you start the beginning of a resume?
- Keep it short
- Focus on your top qualifications
- Tailor your introduction to the job
- Emphasize your unique value
- Proofread carefully
- Key takeaways
Do you need to write a resume, but don’t know where to begin? Stop staring at a blank page and learn how to start a resume introduction with our helpful guide, expert tips, and examples you can use for inspiration.
Your resume tells the story of your career. And just like any good story, it needs a strong opening to capture the reader’s interest. In a few sentences, your resume introduction should highlight your most impressive qualifications and get an employer or hiring manager excited to keep reading.
In this article, we’ll show you how to start a resume for a job you want with examples and tips for writing a compelling introduction.
What are common types of resume introductions?
You only have one chance to make a good first impression with your resume, so it’s important to know how to start off a resume with a strong introduction. Choose the right type of introduction based on your experience and skills.
Here are the different types of resume introductions with examples you can use for guidance:
Resume summary
A resume summary is a classic choice if you have relevant work experience and skills for the job you’re targeting. Your summary can be a short paragraph or a bulleted list outlining your career highlights and key qualifications.
It should include some or all of these elements:
Years of experience
Major projects
Significant accomplishments
Relevant skills or certifications
Check out this example of a resume summary:
Results-driven marketing director with over eight years of experience leading digital campaigns to drive brand awareness and increase revenue. Proven track record of leveraging data analytics to optimize campaigns, resulting in an 85% increase in website traffic within one year. Certified in social media strategy with exceptional content marketing and leadership skills.
Professional profile
Use a professional profile for your resume introduction if you have many years of experience or if you specialize in a specific field or area. A professional profile typically has a hybrid format. It includes a paragraph summarizing your qualifications, followed by a list of key skills or accomplishments.
It should include the following:
Years of experience
Area(s) of expertise or specialization
Your most impressive career achievements
Top skills related to the job
Here’s an example of a professional profile:
Highly skilled and compassionate critical care nurse with over a decade of experience providing expert care in emergency room settings. Demonstrated ability to manage complex cases and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to implement life-saving interventions.
Improved protocols in a Level 1 Trauma Center which led to a 20% decrease in patient complications.
Mentored and trained over 20 new nurses to maintain stringent patient care standards.
Certified as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) with extensive knowledge of ventilator management.
Resume objective
Wondering how to start a resume with no experience? A resume objective is the best answer for this situation. It’s a short paragraph that describes your transferable skills and enthusiasm for the role. A well-written resume objective can convince an employer to hire you, even with minimal work experience.
It can include:
Relevant work, internship, or volunteer experience
Transferable skills or strengths
Education or training you’ve completed for the role
Follow this example to write a resume objective:
Motivated computer science graduate eager to launch a career in technical support and system troubleshooting. Strong foundation in network security with two years of internship experience in IT helpdesk settings. Able to apply problem-solving skills and technical knowledge to support users and optimize IT systems.
How do you start the beginning of a resume?
Once you know what format you want to use, follow these tips for how to start a resume introduction to make it impactful:
Keep it short
Most recruiters and hiring managers only spend seconds looking at individual resumes. Your introduction needs to grab their attention—and keep it. Focus on the most important information you want employers to know about your skills and experience. Choose your words carefully and keep the length of your resume summary, profile, or objective to a few sentences at the most.
Expert Tip
Include keywords in your introduction
Your resume introduction is a great place to incorporate keywords from the job description. Using the right keywords can help your resume pass through an applicant tracking system (or ATS). Read the job description closely and take note of keywords or phrases the employer uses. Include those same words in your resume to describe your skills, experience, and qualifications.
Focus on your top qualifications
Your resume introduction is not only your chance to grab the reader’s attention, but also an opportunity to highlight your most impressive qualifications. Focus on the achievements you’ve had in your career, providing measurable data whenever possible. These metrics will impress hiring managers because they prove your capabilities and show the results of your work.
Tailor your introduction to the job
Every time you send out a resume, adjust your introduction to target the specific job. Look at the job description for clues about the most important requirements for the role. Does the employer emphasize a skill more than once or mention a certain certification? If so, include those qualifications in your introduction to show that you’re a perfect match for the role.
Expert Tip
Include keywords in your introduction
Your resume introduction is a great place to incorporate keywords from the job description. Using the right keywords can help your resume pass through an applicant tracking system (or ATS). Read the job description closely and take note of keywords or phrases the employer uses. Include those same words in your resume to describe your skills, experience, and qualifications.
Emphasize your unique value
No two job candidates are alike. Your resume introduction should show an employer the unique value you have to offer. If your introduction sounds like it could apply to any professional in your field, think about how you can differentiate yourself. Describe how your strengths and abilities will allow you to address the employer’s needs or contribute to the team’s success.
Proofread carefully
Last but not least, make sure you edit your introduction carefully. It’s the first part of your resume that an employer sees, so it needs to be polished and professional. Use an online editing program or ask a detail-oriented friend to review your resume introduction for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
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Key takeaways
A strong introduction sets the tone for your resume. Make it compelling and focus on your most impressive skills, projects, and achievements.
Write a resume summary or profile if you have relevant experience in the field. If you’re just starting your career, use a resume objective to emphasize your transferable skills.
Keep your resume introduction short and stress the value you can bring to the role. Include keywords to target your resume to the specific job you want.
