​It’s a new year and most of us have probably set our career goals for this year. Some of us may want to get a promotion while others are looking to change their jobs or even their industries. No matter what, the starting point for all is to have a good resume.

Now, recruiters have seen many resumes and they typically scan your resume for 7 seconds before deciding whether to give you a call or put your resume in the rejected file. Hence, in order to capture their attention, it is essential to have an original executive summary that can inform them of what you will be bringing to the table and compel them to call you up for an interview.

Here are four little tips for those who are looking to improve their executive summaries.

Have a personal brand

We don’t mean any commercial brand but rather, it is how you brand and market yourself as a person. But since this is an executive summary and you don’t have the whole day to talk about yourself, you should make it brief while packing it with information about yourself. A great way to start with your summary is to think about how a game show host will introduce you when you walk onto the stage. An example would be something like: “This is Alex who is Chief Editor in a global newsroom. He is able to lead a team of journalists with ease while also creating quality content on the side.” Think about what the company wants, what you can give them and how you can align the both of them.

Be consistent

Now that you have branded yourself as a leader or a responsible person, you should remain consistent in the other elements of your resume as well. Make sure that your value that you have set for yourself reflects in your job experience description and so on. When recruiters read your executive summary, they will be questioning the truth behind said value and when they continue reading the rest of your resume, they will be able to find an answer that backs up your summary.

Make it easy to read

Your executive summary is not your undergraduate essay with multiple blocks of text. Its aim is to help you highlight your experiences and achievements. So, in order to do just that, you can write out why you are suitable for the role and slowly cut it down to about 3-5 sentences. Be brief, be concise. This is your executive summary that is meant to attract the recruiter’s attention, so don’t cram everything inside there as you can let the other sections of your resume do the explaining (make sure to stick to your branding). It is also very important to choose a clean font that is easy on the eyes.

Get testimonials

Well, one can only go so far with promoting themselves. In order to take it to the next level, having testimonials from people you have worked with will give your resume a much-needed push. Get some short and sweet quotes from previous colleagues, managers and subordinates as they will give you more dimension and help the recruiter flesh you out. Even though it is great, do not overdo it as it is not a Glassdoor review.

These are starting pointers for your soon-to be fabulous executive resume. So, get writing and happy job hunting!