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A CV summary is a short 3–5 sentence profile (it can also be a list of 3–5 bullet points) of your work history as an experienced professional.

Your CV summary details your most impressive accomplishments, years of experience, key skills, and relevant academic and vocational qualifications.

A CV summary doesn’t usually target a specific role or company; the idea is that you’re so skilled or accomplished that companies will want to reach out to you instead. For that reason, it’s a good idea to add your CV summary to your LinkedIn profile.

Your summary sits at the top of your CV, where employers will see it first, like this:

An example of a CV summary on top of a curriculum vitae.

Use This Design

Here’s a copy-and-paste, templated summary for a CV you can fill in with your own information:

 

[Adjective 1], [adjective 2] [Your Job Title or ‘student’] with [number] [weeks/months/years] of experience in [your primary responsibility at work or task in university or school]. Possess [Name of Qualification] in [Subject Name]. Excited to apply my [skill 1] and [skill 2] skills to the [Job Title] role at [Company Name].

 

14 CV summary examples

Here are professional CV summary examples that you can use for inspiration as you write yours.

Sales associate

If you’re writing a sales CV, gain ideas from this CV personal summary example:

Friendly, reliable Sales Associate with 2 years of experience selling mobile phones and contracts for EE and O2. Increased monthly contract uptake at EE by 12% over my initial 6-month period. Recognised by EE’s regional manager for Wales for my ability to persuade customers to switch from prepaid plans to long-term contracts.

📜 Related CV samples: Sales manager CV, sales CV, sales assistant CV, sales executive CV

Receptionist

Crafting a receptionist CV? Write something along these lines and your CV is sure to impress:

  • Approachable, dedicated Receptionist at County Hall, Hertfordshire
  • Welcome an average of 74 visitors a day, directing them to the departments they’re seeking
  • Pushed up Hertfordshire’s visitor satisfaction rate to 85% from 74% 2 years ago
  • Trained 2 new receptionists during my 5-year tenure at County Hall

Cleaner

Here’s a neatly organised cleaner CV summary example:

Cleaning operative with 7+ years of experience deep cleaning industrial locations. Possess a BICSc Licence to Practice and have undergone advanced workplace cleaning courses. Looking to help Primark keep its Bristol Cabot Circus location clean and create a safe, hygienic environment for staff and customers alike.

📜 Related CV template: Hospitality CV

Waiting staff

Looking for waiting staff work? Highlight your skills, qualifications, and work experience in a professional summary on your waiter CV.

Waiter with 3+ years of experience serving customers. Currently employed part-time at Jesmond Dene House serving afternoon tea to an average of 47 parties per week, with a 95%+ customer satisfaction rate. Working towards a BA in International Tourism and Hospitality Management at the University of Northumbria.

📜 Related CV samples: McDonalds CV, restaurant manager CV, barista CV

Supervisor

Take inspiration from this supervisor CV summary example to craft your own:

Supervisor at Greggs, responsible for overseeing a team of 7 bakers and sales assistants. Frequently liaise with outside contractors and delivery persons. Looking to apply management skills and organisational skills to supervise staff at Costa Coffee.

📜 Related CV templates: Assistant manager CV, manager CV, team leader CV

Customer service representative

Here’s an effective customer service CV summary that uses hard numbers to showcase the candidate’s excellent customer service skills:

Reliable, cheerful Customer Service Representative with 4 years of experience at Royal Bank of Scotland. Provide prompt and courteous service to over 60 personal banking customers per shift, helping them open and manage current accounts, set up and administer Direct Debits and standing orders, and apply for credit cards and personal loans. Maintain a 0% complaints rate.

📜 Related CV examples: Customer service advisor CV, customer success manager CV

Administrator

If you’re applying for administrative roles, highlight your time management and organisational skills on your CV:

Data-Entry Clerk with one year’s experience entering data at the Department for Work and Pensions. Reduced incidents of inaccurate data entry by 7% and was recognised by my superior for my achievements. Looking to apply my organisational skills and attention to detail in the private sector by filling the Administrative Assistant position at PwC.

📜 Related CV templates: Administrative assistant CV, administrator CV, civil service CV, office manager CV

Teacher

Here’s the best personal summary for a CV written by a teacher:

Creative, inspirational Art Teacher with 7 years of experience at a busy inner-city Bristol comprehensive school. Increased the number of KS3 pupils deciding to take an Arts GCSE by 17% over the last 3 academic years. Have the highest rate of students (90%) attaining Grades A*–C in Arts A-Level among colleagues in the Art Department.

When writing a teacher CV, always clarify which key stage you’re trained for, what kind of teaching qualification you have (e.g., PGCE), which subject(s) you teach, and what kind of school you’ve taught at (e.g., primary or secondary, comprehensive or grammar, and state, public, or private).

📜 Related CV samples: Teaching assistant CV, tutor CV, librarian CV

Healthcare assistant

If you’re working for the NHS, you’ll need lots of hard skills related to your medical abilities, so emphasise them in your healthcare assistant CV summary.

Empathetic, skilled healthcare assistant with 3 years of experience. Known for managing patients’ grooming, serving meals, greeting visitors, and emphasising patients’ needs when dealing with clinical teammates. Have excellent communication skills and a BTEC to allow me to fill the HCA role at Seven Bridges NHS Trust.

📜 Related CV samples: Health care assistant CV, support worker CV, nursing CV, care worker CV

Accountant

Writing an accountant CV? As you’re used to dealing with data, stick some hard numbers into your CV summary to provide context for your achievements:

Skilled, practical Chartered Certified Accountant with 7 years’ experience. Audit company accounts for 47 companies of different structures, including LLPs, PLCs, and CICs. Currently maintain a 99.9% accuracy rate and a 100% client satisfaction rating.

📜 Related CV examples: Account executive CV, account manager CV, finance CV

Marketer

Underline your experience as a marketer by showing how you improved the sales of products you worked on.

Digital content marketer with 4+ years of experience and a BA (Hons) Marketing (Dunelm). Currently work for Tyne & Wear Marketing Agency, where I’ve increased CTR for all clients by an average of 17% over the last 6 months. Experienced in SEO tools, including Google Analytics and Search Console, Ahrefs, and Moz Pro.

📜 Related CV templates: Marketing CV, PR CV, social media CV

Engineer

Individual and team successes should be highlighted in an engineering CV summary:

Problem-solving civil engineer with 10+ years of experience implementing public infrastructure programmes. Experience leading a team of 15+ to bring projects to fruition ahead of schedule and, on average, 5% under budget. Most recently collaborated on TfL’s Crossrail 2 project.

📜 Related CV examples: Engineer CV, civil engineer CV, mechanic CV

Data analyst

Writing a data analyst CV? Add some data into your CV summary to show recruiting managers what you’re capable of achieving for them.

Veteran Data Analyst with 9+ years of experience. Adept at analysing data to find patterns and trends to supplement the work of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Investments Division, helping them increase return on investment by 17% over my 4 years with the company. Looking to achieve similar successes as a Senior Data Analyst at Barclays Bank.

📜 Related CV templates: Data scientist CV, ecommerce CV, business analyst CV

Retail

Interested in a career in retail? Put your best foot forward by writing a good summary for your CV.

Experienced Store Manager with 7+ years of managerial experience at Darlington’s branch of Boots. Managed team of 47 full- and part-time employees to increase customer footfall by 17% during my tenure. Oversaw 17% increase in profits and cut spending by £2,000 per annum.

Including hard numbers in your summary is a great tactic if you’re writing a retail CV. Here are some ideas for numbers:

  • how much you increased sales
  • how many customers you served daily/weekly
  • how many colleagues you worked with

📜 Related CV templates: Retail assistant CV, shop assistant CV, Tesco CV

Need more ideas on how to write an effective job summary for your job application? Have a look at industry-relevant CV examples to see how another applicant in your field has done so.

How to write a summary for a CV

One key CV writing tip is to leave making your summary until last. First, write your CV’s other bits (including sections like work history, education, skills, etc.), and then pick out the best achievements on your CV for your summary. Here are the three key steps:

1. Start with your years of experience and main responsibilities

In the first sentence of your CV summary, provide your position or industry, years of experience, and key job responsibilities.

For example, if you’re writing a nursing CV, mention your speciality (e.g., paediatrics, gynaecology, mental health, orthopaedics, etc.), level (e.g., RN, matron, nurse practitioner, ward sister, etc.) and years of experience.

Also worth mentioning is what you do every day at work. For example:

Ward Sister on the Paediatrics Ward at the King George Hospital, Kingston-upon-Thames with 7+ years of experience providing care to children.

This sample briefly sums up the job applicant’s current job title, years of experience, key responsibilities, and their daily duties.

2. Name your biggest achievement

Employers don’t just want to know what you do on a daily basis. Use your second sentence to describe a big achievement — one that’s relevant to the job you’re applying for.

‘Relevant to the job’ means that the accomplishment is something potential employers would like you to repeat for them. For example, if you increased iPhone sales at Vodafone, O2 would be interested in hearing about it.

Here’s an example of a noteworthy accomplishment in a CV summary:

Spearheaded a new marketing strategy for the London Overground Midmay Line that led to an 11% increase in ticket sales during Q1 20xx.

See how this job hunter uses hard numbers to give employers some context about their accomplishments. To include hard numbers in your CV, you could also use amounts in pounds (e.g., ‘Increased profits by £47,000′).

Try to fit numbers into your CV summary no matter what job you’re applying for.

Here are some more examples of hard numbers highlighting achievements in CV summaries:

Served as Front Desk Agent at Newcastle’s New Croft House Clinic, processing an average of 109 patients per day.

Averaged £156 in commission per week from CeX for being No. 1 salesperson in its busy Marylebone branch.

Manned the front desk at a busy grammar school with 2,470+ pupils.

3. Mention other skills and achievements that make you the perfect fit

In the last sentence of your summary, mention any other skills, qualifications, or licences that make you the perfect fit for the job you’re going for.

For example, if you’re applying for a position that requires technical abilities, name-check some of the tools you know how to use. Take this plumber CV summary:

An example of a CV summary that highlights the candidate

You can also add extra details about any work-related accomplishments, as in these chemist and lorry driver CV summaries:

Achieved a 100% error-free rate in dispensing prescriptions.

Clocked up 470,000+ miles while maintaining a <1.7% lateness rate.

Frequently asked questions

Here are the answers to several frequently asked questions about CV summaries:

1. Should you put a summary on a CV?

Yes, you should put a summary on a CV so the recruiting manager can quickly see whether they should continue reading your CV.

So make things easier for the recruiting manager by adding a CV summary.

Start My CV Summary

2. What are four things to avoid in a CV summary?

Here are four things to avoid in a CV summary:

  1. negative comments about your current and previous jobs or colleagues
  2. talking about what you want from the job without considering what kind of person the company needs
  3. adding qualifications you don’t have
  4. making it obvious you don’t know anything about the company or the position

3. How can I make my CV summary attractive?

You can make your CV summary attractive by using a splash of colour. However, keep the rest of the font for your CV summary’s colours black or grey.

Find a good CV template design and download it to your device to save yourself time setting up a document.

4. Is a CV summary the same as a CV personal statement?

No, a CV summary is not the same as a CV personal statement. A CV summary is designed to be used by someone with several years of experience in their current field.

Meanwhile, a CV personal statement can be used by anyone so you can write one if you’re writing a CV with no experience.

So if you want to write a summary for a student CV, school leaver CV, or a CV for a 16 year old, use a personal statement instead.

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Samuel Johns
Written by

Samuel Johns

Samuel Johns is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Senior Editor on the CV Genius team, with 6+ years of experience in the careers space. He has helped countless job hunters craft high-quality CVs and cover letters, exceed expectations at interviews, and obtain their dream jobs. Born and raised in County Durham in the beautiful North East of England, he graduated with a BA (Hons) in French Language and Literature from the University of Bristol in 2013 and has worked in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, London, Paris, and Taipei as a French–English translator. He’s determined to use his native English and fluent French skills to help UK and French candidates get the jobs they deserve. In addition to the British and French versions of CV Genius, Samuel’s job-hunt advice has been published on numerous websites, including Careers.org, the University of Warwick, the Enterprisers Project, and HR.com. If you’d like to collaborate, please reach out to Samuel through LinkedIn. Please note, we don’t accept guest posts and won’t reply to such requests.