Retail leaders: If there are no numbers in the summary on your resume, it's probably not going to be read

Most recruiters have read thousands of resumes over their careers. As such, they have seen thousands of summaries or profiles at the top that drone on and on about how incredible the person thinks they are. After, say, 50 of them, they start to realize they're virtually meaningless.

After all, how many times can you read "Dynamic, results-oriented, and highly motivated retail professional..." and not fall asleep? Everyone thinks they are dynamic, results-oriented, highly motivated, etc., or at least they think recruiters WANT them to be (and all they need to do is say so and the recruiter will take their word for it). It's a silly game that detracts from the impression you're trying to make as a job-seeker.

The fact is, recruiters aren't all that interested in what you think of yourself, they're interested in what you've done and what others think of you and your past performance. So instead of wasting valuable space with endless adjectives, actually summarize your experience - and that means numbers. Here's an example:

AWARD-WINNING RETAIL DISTRICT MANAGER

• More than 15 years of progressive leadership experience in specialty retail with Payless ShoeSource and Men's Wearhouse, including 6 years as a district manager.
• Oversaw up to 10 stores at a time with direct accountability for up to $14M in annual sales. Developed and led teams of up to 125.
• Drove 2 different districts from the middle-of-the-pack to the top 10% company-wide on the overall performance scorecard.  Awarded "District Manager of the Year" in 20XX.
• Expertise in talent development (promoted 10+ store managers internally), new store development (opened 8 stores), and shrink reduction (lifted 5 stores off the focus list).
• Rated at the highest level ("consistently exceeds expectations") on 8 out of the last 10 annual performance evaluations.

(I know, I know. We still don't know whether this person is dynamic, results-oriented, or highly motivated, but if I were a recruiter, I'd roll the dice.)

To be clear, I don't believe every resume has to have a full summary at the top - many times a bold, compelling headline works better - but if you're going to include a summary, make sure you're actually providing the reader with some valuable information.

Happy job searching!