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A professional summary is 2 to 4 lines at the top of your resume that tell the reader what you do, at what size, and why you fit this posting.
It's the part of the page most likely to get read, so it's worth writing last. The rest of the page is in our finance resume guide.
What is a professional summary on a resume?
A professional summary is a short block at the top of your resume, under your name, that says what you do and why you fit this job. For finance, write your seat, the process you own, the size of it, and one or two results. Keep it to 2 to 4 lines, in fragments or short sentences, with no "I".
Here's one for an FP&A analyst.
> FP&A analyst running the monthly reforecast for a [size] subscription business, explaining each variance to the sales leaders who use it. Built the [model] the team now plans from. Excel and [system from the posting] daily.
Columbia's career office calls the summary a snapshot of your skills, accomplishments, and knowledge.
A snapshot, not the album.
I didn't pay mine much attention for years. My profile was a one-liner, the results-driven finance person passionate about something.
Then the interviews started. When the person across the table says they have your resume in front of them, they typically start with that paragraph and skim the experience.
After my first interview request I started working on it properly. Now it reads like the case for this hire, with my background and how it maps to the company, not a slogan. The sign-off line mine opens with is on the manager resume page.
The unusual part of your background goes here too, and what keeps a reader going past the proof explains why.
Do you need a professional summary?
Not always. UCLA's career center says a summary is not a required element of a resume, and it lists three times it earns the space. Columbia adds two more: when you're changing careers, and when you have many years of experience to compress into a few lines.
Write one if any of these is true
- The employer isn't asking for a cover letter.
- Your degree doesn't obviously fit the role.
- Summaries are the norm in the field you're targeting.
- You're changing careers.
- You have many years of experience to compress.
In finance, the last one covers most people past their first few years.
Professional summary vs resume objective
A summary looks back at what you've already done. An objective looks forward to the job you want. Use a summary when your recent roles already point at the seat you're applying for, and an objective when they don't, like a career change or a first job out of school.
Virginia Tech puts it well: a summary gives an overview of work experience that fits the specific requirements for the job.
The objective side, with its own examples, is in when an objective beats a summary.
Why a summary works like the cover of a month-end pack
The first page of a month-end pack has three headlines, and nobody believes them on their own. They believe them because each headline ties to a schedule further back. A resume summary works the same way: three lines up top, and every one of them tied to a bullet the reader can check below.
"Owns the forecast" sends a reader looking for the forecast bullet. If it isn't there, the summary just cost you credibility.
That's also why the summary gets written last. You can't write the cover until the schedules are done.
How do you write a professional summary from the posting?
Read the posting first, pull the three requirements it repeats, and answer each one with a fact from your own record. Then put your seat and scope on line one, the proof on lines two and three, and any system or credential the posting names at the end.
From posting to summary
- 1Read the posting twice | Once for the job, once for the words it repeats
- 2Circle three requirements | The ones that show up in the title, the duties and the must-haves
- 3Match each to your record | One fact per requirement, from a bullet you already have
- 4Write line one | Your seat, what you own, and the size of it
- 5Write lines two and three | The proof, in the posting's own words
- 6Check it against your bullets | Every line should point to one
Three is enough, because a posting with thirty keywords isn't asking for thirty things. When I set up scoring for my own search, I had it pull a short bank of the important words in each posting, not the whole thing.
UCLA also says to frame your experience using the language from the job posting. If they say "planning", don't write "budgeting".
The summary is part of the top third you change for each posting, and the rest of that work is in how much to tailor for each job.
What should a professional summary include?
Four things, in this order: your seat and years, what you own and at what size, one or two results you can prove, and the tools or credentials the posting names. Put the seat first because the reader is placing you.
What goes in a finance summary
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Seat and years | Senior accountant, [number] years in public and industry accounting |
| What you own, and the size | Month-end close for a [number]-entity group, [revenue size] |
| One or two results | Close cut from [number] to [number] days |
| Tools and credentials the posting names | NetSuite, BlackLine, CPA |
Line one is the hardest, and it should be something you'd say out loud.
When someone asks me to describe myself, my answer is a finance person who basically sits in both worlds, and the proof comes right after. One idea, then the evidence.
Size is the part most people leave out. "Owns the forecast" could mean one small team or a whole company, so give the reader a number, like revenue, entities, headcount or budget, to place you.
If a number is confidential, use a range or a relative size, like "a mid-size business" or "a [number]-entity group".
What should you leave out of a professional summary?
Leave out pronouns, adjectives with no proof, soft-skill lists and anything the posting didn't ask for. UCLA's guidance is to skip full sentences, so you never write "I" or "he", and to only include skills the employer is expressly looking for. Short sentences with no "I" work too, as some examples here show. The rule that matters is no pronouns and no padding. Everything else pushes the proof further down.
The same opener, rewritten
I am a detail-oriented finance professional who is passionate about numbers.
Senior accountant, [number] years, running the close for a [number]-entity group.
- Pronouns. "I am a finance professional who..." takes six words to say nothing.
- Adjectives. Detail-oriented, results-driven, dynamic, strategic. A reader can't check any of them.
- Ratings. "Advanced Excel" is a rating, and a rating is the weak half of the Excel answer. Name what you built in it.
- Soft-skill lists. Communication and teamwork belong in a bullet that shows them, not a list that claims them.
- Your career goals. That's an objective, and the job you're applying for already tells them.
The same rule applies to your skills section, and the skills to leave off a resume has the full list.
Professional summary examples for finance, by seat
Pick the seat closest to yours, copy the shape, and fill the brackets with your own facts, in the same order as the table above. If you can't fill a bracket with something you'd defend in an interview, cut that phrase.
Financial analyst
> Financial analyst with [number] years on monthly variance reporting and the rolling forecast for a [size] business. Built the [report or model] the [team] now uses every month. Excel and [system from the posting] daily.
Senior financial analyst
> Senior financial analyst who owns the forecast for [business unit] and explains the monthly variances to its leaders. [Number] years in FP&A, including a [one-off project, such as a pricing or acquisition model]. Trained [number] analysts on the reporting pack.
FP&A manager
> FP&A manager leading budget and forecast for a [size] [industry] business, with [number] analysts. Planning partner to the [function] leaders on [type of decision]. [Planning system] and [BI tool].
When I'm asked how many people I've managed, the count goes first, and your summary should give it as a number too.
Controller
> Controller for a [number]-entity group with [revenue size], running a [number]-day close and the annual audit. Moved [process] from [before] to [after]. CPA.
Accounting manager
> Accounting manager running month-end close, reconciliations and audit support for [entity or unit], with [number] staff accountants. Cut the close from [number] to [number] days. [Credential or exam status].
Finance manager
> Finance manager who owns the numbers for [business unit], from close through forecast, and sits with its leaders on [type of decision]. [Number] years across accounting and FP&A. Team of [number].
For a finance manager or business controller seat, lead with the unit whose numbers you own end to end. My why this role frame is built the same way.
If the seat leans toward partnering, what a finance business partner does shows the words those postings use.
Career changer
> [Current title] moving into financial analysis, with [number] years of budget and reporting work for a [size] [team]. Built the [report or model] used by [who]. [Course or credential] completed in [year].
When your titles don't line up, name the thread that runs through them. Mine is turning complicated financial and operational detail into something a business leader could understand.
New grad
> Finance graduate with [number] internships in [area, such as FP&A or audit], including [one specific output]. Excel, [tool] and [course or exam status].
Only write one if your internships say something the education section doesn't.
Weak professional summaries, rewritten
Most weak summaries describe the person and skip the work. A strong one names the seat, gives the size, and points at a result the reader can find in the bullets. In every rewrite here, a claim gets swapped for a fact the reader can go and check.
One summary, rewritten
Dynamic, results-oriented finance professional with a proven track record of driving value and strong analytical skills.
Senior financial analyst owning the quarterly forecast for a [size] business unit, with [number] years in FP&A and a rebuilt variance pack its leaders use monthly.
Two more:
- Weak: Strategic thinker with excellent communication skills. Strong: FP&A manager presenting the monthly forecast to the [function] leadership team, with [number] analysts.
- Weak: Experienced finance leader seeking new challenges. Strong: Controller for a [number]-entity group, [number]-day close, clean audits for [number] years.
A summary can also name the business you did the work in, like subscription revenue, a multi-entity close or a retail network, and not just the task.
Should you call it a summary, a profile or a summary of qualifications?
It doesn't matter much. Professional Summary, Summary, Profile and Summary of Qualifications all mean the same block to a reader and to the screening software. Pick one short label, match it to your other headings, and spend the space on the lines underneath instead.
A manager summary tends to read differently from an analyst's, and the summary line on an FP&A manager resume shows the difference at two levels.
Professional summary checklist
Check your summary against this list for each posting, since no two postings ask in the same words. Two misses means start again from the posting.
Before you send it
- 2 to 4 lines, fragments or short sentences, no "I".
- Line one says your seat, what you own and the size.
- It answers the three requirements the posting repeats.
- Every line points to a bullet below it.
- No adjective without proof next to it.
- Systems and credentials match the posting's words.
Would you defend every line in the interview? If not, cut it now.
Write it last. Prove it below.
