Developing a good resume objective in two simple steps

First, writing your resume objective is less about stating your resume objective and more about showing your employer, what you can give if you are hired, just like the rest of your resume. Forget about the overused and meaningless “seeking for a challenging career opportunity within a futuristic company” or the more self-involved “looking for a creative and fun position within a company that will allow me to exercise my creativity”. Who wouldn’t want that?

Your potential employers however, are not your wish-granting factory; they want you to be theirs. Therefore, you should use your career objective to prove to them that you are the right fit for them, and sell yourself sure and true. Consider the below examples:

OBJECTIVE: A challenging administrative career within a not-for-profit organization

OBJECTIVE: To channel eight years’ worth of administrative experience gained from office management within a corporate setting towards a mid-managerial position in a non-profit organization requiring event-planning and fundraising talent.

Which of the two resume objectives is likely to clinch the job? It’s obvious isn’t it? In the following paragraphs, we are going to share a few steps to turn your real career objective into the kind of thing that would interest your potential employers, and help you not only to land an interview, but also to get the job.

Step 1: Do you need one?

While it may seem obvious that you need objectives for your resume, many job-seekers would do fine without it. Resume objectives are important for job-seekers who have veered from their career path. If your lines of study and work have followed a kind of sequence, you can skip the objectives and simply present your summary of qualifications.

However, if your line of study and work history does not establish a straight line down some career path, you will need to enunciate to a potential employer what you’re working towards i.e. your career goal. Such people would include students, entry-level applicants, and people returning to work after a long while or people who are changing careers.

Step 2: Writing it out

You probably already have an objective (maybe like the first example above), but if not come up with a rough draft of it. Don’t worry about how plain or bland it sounds, the next few ideas just need a basis to build upon.

Use the following ideas to put your objective into the best frame:

a) Opening

This is the “To ___________” section. A few verbs you can use include ‘contribute’; ‘apply’ ‘channel’ or ‘build upon’. If you’re changing careers, use ‘transfer’.

b) Relevant experience

State your experience in your field e.g. ‘__ years progressive experience in _________ (your field)’ or ‘skills and expertise gained in my __ years in the ________ field/industry”.

If you have no work experience such as students or fresh graduates, highlight education and other useful qualifications: “a solid education in ________ (field), along with ________ (qualification/skill/knowledge).

c) Level and type of job

Highlight where you want to join the organization: “ a/an entry-/mid-/senior-level position as a _________”.

If applying for a managerial position, also qualify the level of management. If unsure of the grade of job, you could say “within a responsible role as a __________ (job type)”.

d) Type of organization

Highlight on the type of organization or alternately what the organization might need (that you have) e.g. “an established company that needs/values/can benefit from _________”.

Author Bio

Richard Johnson is an experienced HR professional. For more information or if you have any queries on “how to come up with objectives for your resume” and a list of sample objectives, visit our site or comment below post.