How to Rewrite Your Social Media Manager Resume Objective into a Professional Summary

As more and more companies seek to leverage social media platforms to communicate and build community with their customers and other stakeholders, careers in social media are on the rise. But jobseekers must make a solid first impression in one of the most high-demand remote jobs. And this all starts with turning your social media manager resume objective into an attractive and intriguing professional summary.

The job outlook for social media positions is good according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that groups these positions with public relations specialists. In 2019, the median annual salary was $61,150 and the job outlook is 7% growth over the next 10 years which is faster than average.

Yet to secure one of these sought-after positions, you need a resume that is well-written and formatted to today’s standards and makes a stellar first impression. In the past, many resumes began with a social media manager resume objective. However, today’s resumes use a professional summary to introduce yourself to potential employers. If you’re unsure of how to write a professional summary, use these tips and examples to draft a job-attaining one that keeps employers interested in hiring you.

The Difference Between a Social Media Manager Resume Objective and a Professional Summary

A resume objective and a career summary have two distinct differences:

1. Length: A resume objective consists of one or two sentences that concisely highlight your experience, qualifications, and the social media position title you are seeking. In contrast, a professional summary is longer, allowing for more opportunity to expand on your background and include specific examples.
2. Perspective: While a resume objective focuses on the job you are looking for, a professional summary is tailored to presenting the value you bring to your potential employer.

How to Write a Great Professional Summary

In order to create an effective social media manager professional summary for a resume, follow these four easy steps:

1. Closely study several advertisements for your sought-after position. Then, identify the minimum requirements and the job duties or qualifications that most closely match your background. The most effective social media manager summary consists of three to four short sentences.
2. Begin your summary with an overview of your background, important skills, and qualifications. Target this sentence to illustrate that you meet or exceed the minimum requirements of the positions you are applying for. This sentence will usually include your current or desired job title and a brief job description. Don’t include your years of experience in the summary as this practice is becoming outdated. 
3. Following that, include one or two brief highlights of your skill set. Focus on the ones that you identified in the job listing and include numbers if appropriate. Also, optimize for ATS (applicant tracking system) applications by using similar terminology.
4. Round out the summary with an overview of your communication and/or management style. Again, refer to the job ads for clues. This information takes on additional importance for remote roles because potential employers will be looking for reasons to feel confident about your ability to work remotely. Highlight your ability to contribute independently, work in virtual teams, or lead remote employees.

Pro Tip: Resumes are always written from a first-person implied perspective, including the summary. This means that you write it as though you are writing about yourself, but you leave out personal pronouns like ‘I,’ ‘my,’ and ‘me.’

Professional Summary Examples

To translate a social media manager resume objective into a professional summary requires a shift in focus. Change the perspective from what you want to what the employer is looking for. You will also want to include more specific information regarding your relevant experience. Below are a few examples of rewritten social media manager resume objectives.

Job Goal: Targeting Social Media Positions That Emphasize Knowledge of Social Media Trends

Current Objective

Seeking an opportunity to enhance customer engagement through vigilant attention to emerging social media outlets and awareness of the latest social media trends.

Professional Summary

1. Rewrite your objective:

Forward-thinking social media manager with experience engaging customers via emerging social media outlets and incorporating the latest social media trends.

2. Add a sentence that adds to your credibility or expands on your skillsets:

Engage Gen Z audiences with a proven track record of increasing website traffic as a result of social media campaigns.

3. Finish with summary of your communication and/or management style:

Achieve positive results by contributing to virtual teams with a focus on promoting cooperation between members.

Pro Tip: Make sure that when you mention experience or accomplishments in your summary, you back up your statements. Include important details as an accomplishment under the appropriate job description with quantifiable information or tangible results.

Job Goal: Targeting Intermediate Level Social Media Manager Positions That Require Previous Experience Completing Projects as an Independent Contributor

Current Objective

To take on a demanding position as a remote social media marketer that will utilize proven skills developing and implementing innovative social media campaigns that generate amazing outcomes.

Professional Summary

1. Rewrite your objective:

Innovative social media marketer with 5 years of experience developing and implementing social media campaigns that exceeded project goals.

2. Add a sentence that adds to your credibility or expands on your skillsets:

Exceed sales targets while increasing the quantity and quality of engaged followers through utilizing analytics in campaign strategy.

3. Finish with summary of your communication and/or management style:

Collaborate with internal departments and manage vendors to facilitate on time delivery of social media projects.

Job Goal: Targeting Senior-Level Social Media Manager Positions That Require Experience Leading Creative Teams

Current Objective

To join with a progressive organization that will benefit from talents in building, mentoring, and leading virtual teams that develop winning social media messages across diverse social platforms.

Professional Summary

1. Rewrite your objective:

Creative, solution-oriented team leader with extensive experience planning and executing social media marketing projects that accomplish strategic goals.

2. Add a sentence that adds to your credibility or expands on your skillsets:

Thrive at creating and improving project and operational workflows to design winning campaigns across diverse social platforms

3. Finish with summary of your communication and/or management style:

Hire and mentor exceptional talent, building top-performing teams and implementing effective, transparent communication strategies.

A Few Tips to Optimize Your Social Media Manager Professional Summary

Before you sign off on your shiny new social media manager professional summary, make sure that you check your work against the tips listed below:

1. Avoid Using Jargon and Acronyms

Your summary should be a smooth easy read for hiring managers written in plain English. You do not want recruiters or hiring managers to feel like they are wading through obscure terms. Remember that it is likely that your resume will be reviewed initially by non-technical personnel.

2. Use Terms Common to the Industry

If your current company uses labels and names that are unique to them, translate those before using in your summary. For example, it’s an employee engagement initiative, not the “5 Steps to Success” program.

3. Use Superlatives Sparingly

You may indeed have garnered “amazing” results from your last campaign, but that doesn’t mean anything to a potential employer. Try and quantify your success or restate the project goals. For example, if you redesigned the holiday social media campaign to increase engagement, you could write: “Boosted follower engagement by reimagining prior year’s holiday social media campaign.”

4. Interject Descriptive Words

The summary is the only accepted opportunity on a resume to provide an indication of your personality. Don’t overdo it, but throwing in a “dedicated” an “innovative” or a “collaborative,” can give potential employers insight into your your personality strengths.

5. Replace Empty Phrases and Cliched Words

There are certain words and phrases that have been so overused that they are meaningless. Examples include, participated, evaluated, team player, and quick learner. Always try and be as specific as possible when using an adjective or phrase to describe your work.

6. Don’t Overuse the Thesaurus

When getting rid of empty phrases and overused words, try not to replace them with anything overly dramatic or obscure. Mirror the language used in job ads. Going overboard with the thesaurus can actually hurt your job chances and come off as pompous or pretentious.

What to Do If You Don’t Have Much Relevant Experience

Creating a professional summary for a social media manager position can be a little intimidating, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. You don’t have concrete examples of your work, and you may not have any skills that directly translate to the job. But if you’re a recent graduate or making a career transition, here are a few tips:

1. Use the entry-level title in the summary.
2. Highlight your education or coursework.
3. Instead of summing up your past experience, look forward to how you can contribute.
4. Draw examples from volunteer work or school projects.

An Example of How to Put These Tips Into Practice

If you’re unsure of how to implement these tips, here is an example to get your creativity flowing:

Here are some additional tips on how to upgrade your resume as a recent college graduate:

Summarizing the Summary

While a resume objective may sound easier to create, a summary better highlights your value to an employer.  Don’t forget to consider the specific type of position you are applying for when you write your summary. Make sure it’s clear you meet the minimum requirements and then use past experience to showcase how you have used those skills in practice. In general, just remember to be concise and focus on why you are a great fit for the position.

Do you have any tips on how to write a social media manager resume objective or professional summary? Did you find that one worked better than the other? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and questions. We’d love to hear from you!