R.I.P. Objective Statement

If you are one of the individuals out there still clinging to the use of an objective statement on your resume, I’m here to tell you to stop! Right now! Seriously, don’t send out another resume with an objective statement. It’s outdated, it’s boring and it does nothing to make you stand out. Obviously, the objective of any resume is to get a job, one where you can utilize your skills and support the goals of a company. So, instead of stating the obvious, use the opportunity to make yourself stand out.
You want the opening of your resume to make a hiring manager sit up and take notice and the current trend in resumes is to have a killer opening summary. Sometimes it’s called a qualifications summary or a branding statement. This is one of the most important elements of your resume. It is where you sell yourself, your qualifications and your uniqueness to a potential employer. If you hit the jackpot with your opening a hiring manager is going to want to see what else you have to offer and will keep reading your resume.

Think of it like a movie preview. They always show something that’s going to engage, excite and entice and ultimately make you want more and that’s exactly what you need to do with your opening summary.
There are a few things you can do to make yourself standout in your qualifications summary. First – Start out with powerful opening sentences using some hard-hitting keywords like: high-impact, peak-performer, visionary leader.
Here are two examples:
Strategic change-agent credited with delivering organizations to the top-tier in their industry by achieving aggressive revenue and profit generating objectives.
Enterprising, extroverted and customer-focused sales leader with a natural ability for building new business and forging loyalty with clients, vendors and external business partners.
Second – stay away from the overused words that will make you blend in: team player, creative and problem solver. Yes, these are all nice qualities to have but wouldn’t you rather be: an integral team member that seeks out and capitalizes on market opportunities or a change-agent with a visionary focus that drives business objectives or an innovative pioneer that finds solutions where none seemed to exist?
Third – think about what you have to offer that makes you the best candidate for the position and focus on those qualities. Tell what you’ve done and the results you’ve achieved. Don’t just say you work well under pressure; say that you excel in the simultaneous management of multiple complex projects while adhering to strict deadlines and budget constraints to maintain high-levels of customer satisfaction and secure repeat clients.
Don’t let your objective statement hold you back any longer. Replacing it with a qualifications summary is a necessity that you can’t ignore if you are hoping to land a new job.
Article by Megan Koehler and courtesy of WorkBloom, an employment blog incorporating a comprehensive career resources section, including the largest database of professionally written resume and cover letter samples on the Web.