career summary

by kolawoke
(abuja, nigeria)

If you are a new graduate from university or polytechnic without years of experience, how do you write a career summary?

---

Highlight your education.

As a recent college graduate, you can highlight your education in the career summary to compensate for a lack of work experience.

Include topics such as...

• Degree / Major
  
• Classes and projects that relate to the target job.
  
• Special training, job related seminars, and workshops.
  
• Volunteer work and professional associations that are related to the target job.

Focus on topics that you studied in school that are related to the target job.
Examples:

• Leadership
  
• Communication
  
• Marketing
  
• Advertising
  
• Finance/Statistics
  
• Marketing
  
• Education

Search online for job descriptions for your target job. Look for keywords in the job description. Use these keywords in your career summary, and highlight how your college coursework or projects at the university are related to the job.

For example, let's say that a recent graduate majored in marketing and worked on several advertising projects at the university. His or her career summary could look something like this:

Michigan State University graduate with Master's Degree in Marketing. Designed strategic advertising materials to promote student involvement in sporting events, and increased participation by 20%. Relevant coursework includes Advertising and Sales Promotion, Advertising and Social Media Strategy, Global marketing Strategy, and Brand Management.

The key here is to leverage your college education, which is more relevant than your work experience.

Sincerely,
Victoria E.