CV summary: 10 examples and how to write one
The summary is the first paragraph a recruiter reads, just under your name. In three or four sentences, it should make them want to read on — and tell them why your CV fits their job offer. The method, then ten examples to adapt.
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What is a CV summary?
Also called a “profile”, a “professional summary”, an “intro” or, in the UK, a “personal statement”, the summary sits at the top of the CV, under your name and job title. It answers the question every recruiter asks when opening a CV: “who is this person, and do they match what I'm looking for?”
Without a summary, the recruiter has to piece your profile together from your experience. With a good one, they know in ten seconds.
The four-sentence method
- Who you are. Your job and your level of experience: “Accountant with six years' experience in practice”.
- What you do well. Two or three skills or areas that matter for the job you are targeting — not an exhaustive list.
- One piece of proof. A concrete achievement, ideally with a number, that makes the first two sentences credible.
- What you are looking for. The role, sector or type of company you are aiming for, framed around what you bring.
Aim for 40 to 100 words. Below that, the summary says nothing more than your job title; above it, it becomes a paragraph people skip. To check yours, paste it into the free CV checker.
CV summary examples for your situation
Recent graduate
Career change
When you change careers, the summary builds the bridge: where you come from, what you bring from your previous job, and the training that makes you credible in the new one. Don't apologise for the change — present it as a choice.
Experienced professional
Returning to work after a break
Student or apprentice
The careers and figures in these examples are fictional: borrow the structure, not the content.
CV summary examples by job
Five short summaries built with the same method. Replace each part with your own: the job, the skills, the proof, the role you want.
Fictional profiles: borrow the structure, not the content, and only write figures you could back up.
The most common mistakes
- Adjectives without proof. “Dynamic, rigorous, motivated”: everyone writes it, nobody believes it. Replace each quality with a fact that shows it.
- Talking about what you want, not what you bring. “I want to grow and develop my skills” says what the company will give you; the recruiter is looking for the opposite.
- One generic summary sent everywhere. Reuse the title of the job you are applying for and the two or three skills the offer highlights.
- Forgetting the job title. Just under your name, a line such as “HR Assistant” or “Maintenance Technician” says in a few words what the summary develops. Without it, the recruiter has to guess.
“I” or not? Both work. A first-person summary is more direct; the implied-subject style (“Accountant with six years' experience…”) is more compact. Pick one and stick to it all the way through.
Tailor it to each application
The summary is the part of the CV that is easiest to change from one job offer to the next. Keep the same structure, and change the proof and the target role so they answer what the ad asks for. It is often the only change needed for a CV to look written for the job.
How OpusCV helps
OpusCV flags a CV without a job title, or a summary too short to say anything — the same check as the free CV checker, applied to your whole CV. It can rewrite your summary from your career history, and tailor it to a job offer you paste in: each suggestion is shown as a before/after, and nothing changes without your approval.