In my opinion, they are basically the same thing. It is a brief review of your most marketable skills and experience. The beauty of this section is that 1) It does not need to be chronological in nature. All of your responsibilities and achievements are fair game to include in a Professional Summary. Think of it as a book summary. A book summary does not indicate what you will read at the beginning of the book or at the end of the book. The book summary indicates what you read when you read the entire book. 2) Many people think most recruiters or final decision-makers spend about ten seconds reviewing a resume. If that is true (I take that statement with a big gain of salt, but it is basically true) where will they spend that ten seconds? Probably on the Summary. If they like the Summary, they probably will review the entire resume. I usually recommend using PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY as the title of the section for job seekers that have experience and PROFILE if the job seeker is a student or entry level. You can listen to our Job Transitions podcast on the importance of a Professional Summary or Profile by clicking here:
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