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What’s wrong with an objective on a resume? Plenty. But let’s begin with
resume writing in general. If you haven’t in the past, it’s now time to
consider selling yourself. Through your resume, I mean.
From now on, think about your resume as your personal marketing
document. Or an ad designed to SELL YOURSELF. Because that’s exactly
what a resume is – its goal is to sell your way in the door and land
you an interview.
There is no question about it - you have to create a compelling ad copy
if you want your resume to stand out from the hundreds of other resumes
HR personnel receive each day. Do you think an objective can help you
accomplish that? Think again. As your own advertising agent, you have to
use the most persuasive strategies in your resume preparation and that
means you have to kill your objective. It’s useless and outdated.
Don’t use an objective. Use a power statement.
Let me illustrate what I mean by giving examples of both. Here is a typical
objective, one that HR personnel see on resumes all the time:
“Customer Service Representative position allowing me to fully utilize
my skills and attributes and providing professional advancement
opportunities.”
What did this objective tell me? The above objective communicated to me
basically nothing but for the sake of this case-study here are a few points:
- The person is looking for a Customer Service position. (No problem
with that.)
- The individual’s priority seems to be his/her professional
advancement within the organization. (Oops, that’s not the way to
treat a potential employer. That’s not what the company wants to hear.
They want to hear how you will BENEFIT THEM, not yourself.)
- The candidate didn’t specify skills and attributes thus didn’t
give any glimpse into what he/she can do for the company. (Not good
because employers want specifics.)
- Self-oriented instead of employer oriented. (Not good at all.)
Let’s translate the same objective into a power statement.
“Award-winning, highly accomplished and motivated Customer Service
professional with proven track record of rapport-building, resourceful
problem-solving and communication skills.”
What did this tell me? The power statement communicated to me that:
- The person is a competent, distinguished (award-winning)
Customer Service professional who has excellent working knowledge of
his/her trade. (Good.)
- Has a proven track record of relevant attributes. (Good.)
- The reader can get a glimpse into how the person could benefit
the company as a result of mentioning specific skills and abilities that
are necessary to do that particular job well. (Very good.)
- The power statement is employer-oriented, not focused on self.
Remember, when employers look at your resume, they read it with one
thought and one thought only in mind: What Can This Person Do for Us?
If you include a self-oriented objective, instead of an employer-oriented
power statement at the top of your resume, you will turn off the potential
employer before they even get a chance to read your entire resume.
The main difference between the objective and the power statement is that
while the objective is self-serving and self-focused, the power statement is
employee-oriented and results-focused. Employers only care about results
– the results you will produce for them on the job whether it will be
saving money, solving a problem or increasing profitability. If you can
hint within your power statement in a short and compelling way how you will
benefit the company, you are on your way to your interview. Go get them!
Rita Fisher, a
nationally published and recognized professional resume writer, is the
owner of Career Change Resumes, an online resume writing service. Rita
specializes in writing carefully crafted, powerfully written resumes
for individuals changing careers or re-entering the workforce. Visit
Career Change Resumes at
http://www.CareerChangeResumes.com. |
