A resume is essentially a document for selling your skills and work experience. However, if you directly jump to work experience section from your name and contact information, recruiters will lose interest in your profile and it will leave a bad impact. Therefore, it is necessary to come up with a good introduction for a CV. 

We all know the importance of the competencies and work experience section for a resume. But do we ever place the same importance on writing a good introduction? The answer will be mostly negative. This is one of the reasons why even a well written resume and a deserving candidate get no response from the recruiter. A good introduction to a resume is as important as dressing well is for an interview.

The objective or the summary can be very helpful as it presents the recruiter with very specific reasons of getting you on board. It describes the value you can bring to the employer by the virtue of your skills and work experience. By adding a well written introduction, you basically make the task of the recruiter easy as he won’t have to go through the entire lengthy history of professional experience and education to get an idea about your credibility for the role. A customized introduction, in the form of an objective or a summary will spur the recruiter to read the entire CV.

Objective or Summary: Which one to go with?

First we begin, it is important to understand the difference between an objective and a summary and what should be used when.  Only if you are creating a fresher resume or are re-entering the workforce after a long break that you should use an objective. More and more recruiters these days have an unfavorable view of objective and are more inclined towards inclusion of summary in CV. Another case in which an objective fits perfectly is if you are deciding to change careers. In all other cases, one should stick with summary. Once you are ready to go, here is how you can write a compelling introduction or summary.

Include a Title

Would you buy a book that has no title? Have you ever seen a research paper or a PowerPoint presentation without a title? Have you ever noticed a brand without a tag line? The answer to all the above questions is in negative. A good resume will instantly convey that the recruiter is viewing a relevant CV and provides an idea about what is next to follow.  It is also an easy way of tailoring the resume to suit a particular profile or job. The time taken is next to none.  If the job that you are applying to is similar to what you have been doing, you don’t have to put many efforts for the title and can narrow it down.

However, if the fit between the job that you are applying and your current position isn’t as tight then choose a broader title.  Plus, avoid using clichés like Experienced, and Expert amongst others.

 Include your skills

Following the title should be a list of your core competencies or technical skills. However, make sure to include only the most relevant skills. The list should not be greater than of 15 bullets. If the list is getting longer than what is desirable you can cleverly combine on the same lines.

Keep your grammar perfect

The biggest mistake that you can commit while writing any piece of formal document is use incorrect form of grammar. This not only raises serious question over your professional credentials but also about your seriousness for the job, simply because, had you been serious, you would have got the document checked by someone with good knowledge of that language.

Make an impact with the introduction

Your biggest objective of writing an introduction is to make a positive impact on the recruiter. Between your title and skills you need to add a short and sweet summary, which should have a touch of your personal attributes that are unique to you. The summary should be a short paragraph, (& not in bullet form as many do), something as long as four to six statements.

Saurabh Tyagi. Saurabh is a blogger with interests in various new media technologies. He made a radical shift from his core engineering degree to this world of internet. He provides advice on how to formulate a resume as well. His article also offers about building a successful career as he offers advice on getting hired by various means like fresh job alerts.