The resume career objective-a guide to getting it right and moving ahead of the competition.
One key to making your resume stand out is to tailor your objective in your resume to the job opening. Once you’ve drafted the basic job or career objective it’s vital to tailor each objective to match as closely as possible to the employer’s needs. If you are changing careers it is even more critical to get the drafting of your objectives in line with the employer’s needs.
Even though your qualifications and experience may demonstrate you are a perfect fit for the job, if the recruiter is not impressed with your career objective, your resume may not get read any further and you’re out of the game before it gets started.
The objective section of the resume should be one paragraph of one to four sentences and located under your personal contact information and be above the fold.
First, you want to lead the reader directly to the job position you are applying for and tell them why you are uniquely qualified for the job. Also, you want to tell them how it all fits into your career goals.
A one size fits all jobs career objective will just not work. Maybe you’ll get lucky and hit the bulls eye, but more likely your resume will end up in the do not contact file. It’s always better to give the prospective employer what they want.
Use the keywords in the job announcement to tailor your objective to match the required qualifications and experience. Spend some time building your own career objective-never copy something from the internet and expect it to do the job for you.
Your career objective should be unique to you that positively sells the employer on how close your background matches his requirements. Get your relevant experience and what you have to offer in front of the employer so you have maximum impact.
Therefore, a well written resume career objective statement is concise, effective and contains the following:
1. Resume Location: Top of resume behind your contact information. You are looking for maximum impact to lead the reader into reading the rest of the resume.
2. Structure:Your layout of the career objective should tell the employer what you are looking for, clearly without any fluff. It is no place for you to discuss your long-term career plans or where you want to work.
3. Abilities you bring to the job: Quickly give 2 or 3 examples of your achievements as they relate to what the employer is looking for. Highlight what you have to offer. Use keywords that are in the job announcement. If the employer is looking for someone to lead teams, you’ve successfully managed teams, and if the employer wants someone with three years of a specific experience you’ve got the experience. If you are changing careers focus on what you will do in the future rather than emphasize what you did in the past.
4. Career Objective length: One to four sentences in a short paragraph works best. Your job objective should cover a short clause; mid-paragraph highlights your achievements and experience and finally something about other skills like leadership.
5. Keep it professional: It should demonstrate your ability to communicate, keep it tight and to the point. Pack as much as possible in a small space but keep it readable and focused on what you have to offer.
We could provide you with a roomful of resume career objectives in a variety of careers and jobs. They may be helpful providing ideas but the critical thing to understand is the career objective must reflect you and not some cut and paste effort. Moreover, failing to address the specific employer’s needs will usually result in failure.
You will have worked to hard on your resume than to neglect this important aspect of a winning resume. Get the career objective on your resume right and you’ll move to the next level in the hiring process.