Monday, 1st May, 2006
Should You Use a Resume Objectives section in your resume?
Why include resume objectives on your resume?
What are resume objectives anyways?
And just how does resume objectives help or hurt your resume and interviewing chances?
Objective sections have traditionally been used to give the applicant a small window of personal goals to the prospective employer. A mini briefing to the employer in your own words rather than cold descriptive experience verbiage. However this was before cover letters became the vogue and new means of lending personality and expression (personal dialog) to the resume submittal process.
The entry level resume might still find good use for the objective section but on more experienced worker resumes, they seem contrived and a tad hooky.
The better method is to simply add a line or two into the miscellaneous section of your resume and drop the objectives section all together if you have more than 3 years of experience in your chosen field.
Resumes are the initial contact parchment that lists your skills, education and experience in a
marketable presentation. The resume is your spec sheet and gives you the chance to statically and dryly show a little bit of your "stuff".
The resume is used to persuade and interest readers in the hopes of getting a face to face interview.
It is your goal in writing your resume to make it "The One" the most attractive and compelling resume the recruiter has read.. so you get the interview. That is your real objective.
"Employers on average take only 30 seconds to look at a resume."
Many believe that the objectives section is the first thing that catches their eye. This alone makes leaving that section out of your resume (unless your entry level).
"If you are not looking for a targeted job you can skip the section without many negative consequences.
It would be advisable to skip the resume objective section rather than be too vague. Unfocused objectives will put off many hiring managers. They may not end up looking at your experience and skills, which would of shown you to be a suitable candidate for the job."
Use focused resumes that zero in on specific jobs rather than shot-gun approach resumes (again, unless your entry level). in todays custom TV's, iPODs, clothes and everything else.. take the time to make custom resumes that fit the prospective employer career category you want to work in.
But make your cover letter the vehicle for defining your objectives and goals. Don't forget to use a cover letter if you remove the objectives section.
Hud is a regular contributor to this blog and http://www.preferredjobs.com
