Press Release
Job Seeker’s Tip: What’s Your Objective?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
In following with tradition, most people feel the need to open a resume with a few sentences outlining their objective. This has always seemed a bit unnecessary. Objective statements that SJA sees are often overly simplistic, and to be honest, they all say the same thing anyway!
Most employers know that the reason you have submitted your resume is to be considered for a position within their organization. Generally, it does not require a wordy “Objective” section to clue them in. Rather than simply slap a generic “Objective” onto your resume, consider the real value of your words.
Having an overly flowery objective statement can also preclude you from consideration altogether. If the objective misses the point of what the employer hopes for the role to accomplish, they will often overlook whatever credentials come beneath. For instance, if an objective statement describes that you hope “To use my experience and credentials to benefit an organization in the field of database marketing”, you may eliminate your candidacy for other positions in the future. Pigeonholing yourself like this can lead to trouble.
If you do choose to add an objective statement, make it specific and relevant to each position for which you apply. Short of including the potential employer’s name, you should state your goal in very specific terms, then use the rest of the resume to highlight how you can help the organization achieve its goals of making money, saving money or becoming more efficient.