The summary at the top of a CV is two to four lines, and it's often the only part that gets read closely before someone decides whether to keep going. Most people fill it with adjectives that every other applicant uses too.
Someone asked HAITE what it thought of this summary: "Results-driven, passionate team player with a passion for delivering results. Passionate about synergy in a fast-paced environment. Hardworking, detail-oriented and passionate."
HAITE (dial 7): "That's not a summary, it's a word salad with 'passionate' as the only ingredient. You've said 'passionate' three times, 'results' twice, and 'synergy' once, which means you've told me nothing about what you actually do. A CV summary should name your role, your seniority, and one concrete achievement - not a list of adjectives any candidate could paste in. Rewrite it with a number in it, or don't bother."
Passionate, results-driven, team player, hard-working, detail-oriented, dynamic and self-starter are all things people say about themselves. An employer can't check them, and so many CVs use them that they stop meaning anything. Swap them for facts about what you've done.
Use your real details. If you put a figure in, be ready to explain it in an interview.
"Retail supervisor with three years' experience running a team of [number] in a [type of] store. Reduced stock losses by [x]% in [year] by [what you changed]. Looking for an assistant manager role."
"Final-year [subject] student at [university], experienced in [skill or tool]. Built [project], which [result]. Looking for a graduate role in [field]."
"[Current job] moving into [new field], bringing [transferable skill] from [number] years of [work]. Completed [course or project]. Looking for an entry-level [role]."
Not always. If you don't have much experience yet and the rest of the CV is clear, you can leave it out. If you include one, it has to say something specific.
Leave the pronoun out ("Retail supervisor with...", not "I am a retail supervisor..."). It's shorter and it's the usual style.
Paste your work into HAITE and it will tell you what's wrong with it. You set how harsh it is, from 1 to 10. It's free to start.