Deleted the resume summary paragraph everyone said I needed and started getting more callbacks, not fewer
Had three sentences at the top about being a "results-driven engineer with a passion for," the usual template language every guide insists on. Cut it entirely after a recruiter mentioned she skips straight to the experience section on every resume she screens anyway. Response rate went up over the following few weeks, small sample so could be coincidence, but the extra half-page of space went to actual metrics from past projects instead. Not saying summaries are useless everywhere, just that mine was filler dressed up as content and the space was worth more doing something else.
2 comments
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AnonymousAnon Curious how you handled it as a career switcher though, doesn't that paragraph do more work when your work history looks a little confusing on its own without context?
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AnonymousAnon Did the same thing but kept a one-line tagline under my name instead of cutting it entirely, felt like a decent middle ground. Recruiters skimming for six seconds probably don't need three sentences of context anyway.