All right, that's a bit strident. Some professional resume writers would strongly recommend an objective statement. There's nothing necessarily WRONG with one, but I think it's a challenge to make any objective strong and compelling enough, and sometimes it gives you enough rope to hang yourself. A typical objective statement goes something like this: "A challenging position with a respected and dynamic company in the industry." Let me rephrase that for you: "A job." Most resumes have such a poorly written objective that the person reading uses it for garbage bin target practice. Don't misunderstand me here. It's possible to have a well-written objective statement. That would look something like this: "An extremely motivated Senior Manager with a proven track record in operations management and quality improvement. Possessing expert TQM skills in addition to excellent communication, interpersonal and analytical skills. Seeking a challenging position where these skills will be used fully." That objective statement probably won't get your resume thrown out. See the difference? The first resume objective statement was more about you than about them. The second one certainly had things about you in it, but it was (I hope) targeted to the specific kind of job you're looking for, and it included your qualifications for the job. In other words, it's about what you can do for them. An even better resume objective would look like this: "A highly experienced sales and marketing professional with comprehensive strategic planning and implementation skills, and $27 million in total profit improvement added in 8 years, seeking a position as a Sales Manager where these skills will add value." You're hired! No, probably not yet. But you're not eliminated as a candidate either. A weak resume objective statement gets your resume tossed. A strong one won't necessarily get you the job interview, but it'll pass the initial screening, and encourage the reader to get the details that back up your intro. If the details are good enough, you'll get the interview. That's the goal. Copyright (c) by Roy Miller |
