How to Use Resume Objectives Effectively
No matter what type of resume style you choose to use when seeking employment, you may or may not decide to state resume objectives at the beginning of your resume. Some folks insist that a clear resume objective listed in a nutshell gives our employer a focus statement to consider while reviewing your qualifications. Other people will tell you that having stated resume objectives is really just a waste of space, as everyone’s objective is really the same when you come right down to it. After all, the resume objective of everyone who submits one is pretty obvious – the objective is to get the interview and the job, right?
That being said, a clearly stated resume objective is an easily changeable way to customize your resume for a particular position. For example, let’s suppose that Company ERGO is looking for a top-notch salesman to market its new website and line of toddler foods. Let’s say you have always wanted to work for a toy manufacturer; you can easily delete one line of text from your resume and change your resume objective to say something like, “To enrich the lives of America’s children by promoting the healthy nutrition found in ERGO’s organic foods.”
At the same time, maybe ComputerComps IT Services needs someone to write their marketing press releases. Since both positions are essentially sales jobs, much of the information in the body of the resume would be the same. You could make the resume fit the position by simply re-wording the resume objective to saying something along the lines of, “To use my writing degree and interest in technology to aggressively market computer products.”
Even though baby food and computer systems are two entirely different products, since the positions are similar, the resume could be the same one, with just a change in the resume objectives field. Such attention to the very first sentence of your resume gives the appearance that you are not interested in just any old sales job; you actually want to work for that specific employer or have a strong belief in that company’s products and services.
Although having a written objective is optional, it can be an effective way to create the appearance of a resume written just for that organization. Resume objectives can also be a way to focus yourself as you create a resume because you have a statement right at the top that specifies your goal, and you can refer to it as you build your resume. It can be quite helpful in forcing you to focus your details so that superfluous information does not crowd out desirable information.