Improve Job Search Success - Add a Resume Objective Statement!
by Marcia Robinson Saturday, July 10, 2010
For 13 years, Marcia Robinson has coached, written and trained on career, workplace, employment, human resources and entrepreneurship issues. She has a MBA with emphasis in Strategic HR Management and career management experience in Higher Education, Technology and Hospitality. Send her questions through the ASK Us at TheHBCUCareerCenter.com.
Full Bio
I just read a post on a new career blog where the writer proclaimed that resume objective statements are unnecessary. I don't agree!
Of course I don't support resume objective statements that say nothing, but I know for sure that a resume objective is a good way to get the reader's attention. Isn't that your goal?
Imagine you are in a busy HR office sifting through stacks of resumes from potential candidates for a position you needed to fill yesterday. You would probably wince at overused resume objectives which, although well written, tell a busy recruiter nothing about you, your skills, specific goals or your potential value to the organization. Generic resume objective statements typically won't get your resume past the recruiter's 30 second power scan.
Increase employer call back rate, by auditing your resume objective statement against these guidelines:
• Be specific with goal statements - Specifically mention positions or departments that are of interest to you. Identify specifics like a preferred company branch location, or a specific project on which you would like to work.
• Demonstrate immediate value to the employer - The resume objective statement is a great place to show what you can do for the company to improve the bottom line. eg. state your desire to work on enhancing a new brand or meet a specific fund raising goal.
• Avoid superfluous "nothing" statements - Your resume objective statement shouldn't be a "nothing" statement. It shouldn't be a list of overused cliché words. Clearly a case where more is not better - just more.
• Tweak resume objective statement per job - Just as no one resume fits all jobs, no one resume objective fits all resumes. Make adjustments as needed to keep it meaningful for recruiters. Make the connection with the job description.
• Avoid the 1 or 2 word resume objective statement - "Management", "Supervisor", "Part-Time" and "Sales" are some common one-word or two-word statements recruiters see. Dump them!
• Minimize the use of personal pronouns such as "I", "me", "my" - Many professional resume writers advise job seekers to eliminate these personal pronouns completely from the resume objective. If removing them would disrupt the flow of an otherwise good, effective statement; Keep them!
• Supporting evidence --- please! - Once the resume objective statement is complete --- you MUST provide supporting evidence that you can meet the stated objective. Keep in mind -- the top 30% of your resume is the most important. Place the most important evidence first!
Confident job seekers use the resume objective statement to communicate interest and value (both are important) to HR. Be bold about where you want to be and what you have to offer.
Of course I don't support resume objective statements that say nothing, but I know for sure that a resume objective is a good way to get the reader's attention. Isn't that your goal?
Imagine you are in a busy HR office sifting through stacks of resumes from potential candidates for a position you needed to fill yesterday. You would probably wince at overused resume objectives which, although well written, tell a busy recruiter nothing about you, your skills, specific goals or your potential value to the organization. Generic resume objective statements typically won't get your resume past the recruiter's 30 second power scan.
Increase employer call back rate, by auditing your resume objective statement against these guidelines:
• Be specific with goal statements - Specifically mention positions or departments that are of interest to you. Identify specifics like a preferred company branch location, or a specific project on which you would like to work.
• Demonstrate immediate value to the employer - The resume objective statement is a great place to show what you can do for the company to improve the bottom line. eg. state your desire to work on enhancing a new brand or meet a specific fund raising goal.
• Avoid superfluous "nothing" statements - Your resume objective statement shouldn't be a "nothing" statement. It shouldn't be a list of overused cliché words. Clearly a case where more is not better - just more.
• Tweak resume objective statement per job - Just as no one resume fits all jobs, no one resume objective fits all resumes. Make adjustments as needed to keep it meaningful for recruiters. Make the connection with the job description.
• Avoid the 1 or 2 word resume objective statement - "Management", "Supervisor", "Part-Time" and "Sales" are some common one-word or two-word statements recruiters see. Dump them!
• Minimize the use of personal pronouns such as "I", "me", "my" - Many professional resume writers advise job seekers to eliminate these personal pronouns completely from the resume objective. If removing them would disrupt the flow of an otherwise good, effective statement; Keep them!
• Supporting evidence --- please! - Once the resume objective statement is complete --- you MUST provide supporting evidence that you can meet the stated objective. Keep in mind -- the top 30% of your resume is the most important. Place the most important evidence first!
Confident job seekers use the resume objective statement to communicate interest and value (both are important) to HR. Be bold about where you want to be and what you have to offer.