What Makes a Good CV About Me Section?

Your CV’s ‘About Me’ or professional summary is often one of the first things a recruiter or hiring manager will read. It doesn’t need to tell your whole career story. Instead, it should give the reader a quick, useful snapshot of who you are professionally, what you bring to the table and what you’re looking for next.

For Sean, the key is keeping your introduction focused.

“You should keep this to two small paragraphs, outlining a brief overview of your experience, what field you’re working in and what you’re looking for in your next role/company.”

Think of it as an introduction rather than a condensed version of your entire CV. Your employment history can provide the detail; the summary should give the reader a reason to keep going.

For example, if you’re a civil engineer, you might briefly mention your level of experience, the areas of infrastructure you’ve worked across and the type of opportunity you’re now seeking.

A good summary should sound like you, not like a generic CV template.

Sean recommends avoiding third-person introductions such as: “Jackson is a Civil Engineer…”

As he puts it, this can make it sound “like someone else has written it for you or you got Chat GPT to do it and you forgot to amend it”.

Writing in the first person can make your summary feel more natural and authentic. You can still keep the language professional without making it overly formal.

Your summary should be relevant to the position you’re applying for. Consider the experience, skills, qualifications or achievements that are most useful for that particular opportunity, rather than trying to include everything you’ve ever done.

If you have a specific achievement that demonstrates your experience, it can also be more useful than simply listing a skill. Where appropriate, include a project, result or figure that gives some context to your experience.

Your ‘About Me’ should reflect where you are in your career now. As your experience and goals change, it is worth revisiting the section rather than using the same summary for every application.

Most importantly, make sure you can back up anything you claim elsewhere in your CV.

If you’re staring at a blank page, try answering three questions:

What do I do? Briefly explain your professional background and area of expertise.

What do I bring? Highlight the experience, skills or achievements most relevant to the type of role you want.

What am I looking for? Give the reader an idea of the role, project, company or direction you’re interested in next.

Keep it concise, make it relevant and, above all, make sure it sounds like you.