A resume objective is a small, structured and strong statement about yourself that goes at the top of a resume. Since employers spend very little time scanning every resume, a striking objective can grab their attention within those precious few seconds.
You could call an objective a statement of advertisement – in a short time, it tells the employer right away whether you are a suitable candidate for the job in question.
Step 1: An objective needs to contain three bits of essential information:
- The position you are applying for
- Your skills and experience corresponding to the job in question
- How you can benefit the company.
Since an objective is targeted at a particular job, you need to craft a different objective for each job you apply for.
Step 2: A resume objective should be concise, and to the point. A long, rambling objective, with redundant and cliched phrases will put the reader to sleep before he even gets to your skills.
Here is an example:
Seeking a challenging position in sales in a top-class organization which will utilize my excellent communication skills and experience, and offer opportunities for growth.
What is wrong with this example?
- It is focused entirely on you. You want a challenging position, you want your skills to be utilized, and you want to keep advancing and getting paid better. That might be the whole truth, but there is nothing in it for the employer!
- It is full of unnecessary adjectives like "challenging" "top-class" – they sound good, and when used well, they might even add to the overall effectiveness. But usually, to employers who read a hundred resumes a day, these words look just like fluff – a filler that has no meaning any more.
- It doesn't say enough about you – about your experience, or your exact skills. Of course, the sections that come after the objective will give the requisite information, but inserting some key information into the objective itself will help the employer get a fair idea immediately about what you are.
This is how we could rewrite the above statement:
Sales executive with over 10 years of experience seeking a managerial position in sales where excellent interaction skills and industry contacts can help boost product sale volumes.
At one shot, this objective communicates the position you are looking for, your skills and experience and how you can be an asset to the company.
Also remember:
- Use bold fonts to highlight the important phrases in your resume – like the position you are looking for, your years of experience or an important skill.
- When talking numbers, use numerals rather than write them in words. "10" is more eye-catching than "ten."
Some more samples of resume objectives:
- Seeking the position of Office secretary, where excellent management and organizational skills, and in-depth computer knowledge will enable the smooth operation of the department.
- Seeking the position of Head Trainer, where 5+ years of experience in training and content development, and excellent teaching skills will aid in better student enrollment.
If you need more samples of resume objectives, here's a site that can get you started with yours.
Let's now look at an example to show how wording and presentation can make an objective look better:
Let's now look at an example to show how wording and presentation can make an objective look better:
To contribute towards organizational success by implementing my specialized skills sets acquired in the information technology industry, and bringing in valuable experience gained by working in the Gulf and in India.
Technically, this statement fulfills the requirements of a good objective.
But look at the same statement now:
Seeking to integrate technical proficiency and rich IT experience of 8 yrs across international (7 yrs) and domestic (1 yr) environments to add value to the overall organisational performance.
This is much more succinct, professional, and well put-together.
But, if you have noticed, this objective doesn't mention the target position, and such an objective is useful when you are not applying for any particular job.
So that brings us to the next question – if we are not applying for a particulr position, then is an objective necessary at all? What if my objective doesn't put across my abilities in the best light? Then what?
We'll answer these questions in the next post.
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