Do I Need an Objective Statement on My Resume?
Why? Because the average resume only gets read for 15 to 30 seconds.
If you can effectively illustrate that you have something to offer an employer, quickly, within 10 seconds of reading, the hiring manager may continue to read your resume.
So with this in mind, the question: DO I NEED AN OBJECTIVE STATEMENT ON MY RESUME? becomes very important.
I have seen many resumes that include an objective section at the top of the resume, yet fail to provide any value to the resume.
Often times, the objective section does not speak to the interest of the employer, as in describing what the candidate has to offer the company.
I have seen many resumes that begin by only discussing the candidates own interests, for example a one-liner that states: "To obtain a management role that provides me with the opportunity to advance my career and enhance my current skills.
" A statement like this does not give the employer any reason to continue reading through the resume, because it has not provided them with any benefits of hiring the candidate.
Using a personal profile or summary section in place of the objective statement will illustrate what the candidate has to offer to a higher degree.
For example, the same management candidate could start off the same resume with a summary section that says: "A diligent bilingual professional with more than 15 years of experience in management, sales and customer service.
Self-motivated with a history of success building and leading high performance organizations towards productivity goals.
Detailed oriented in budgeting and operations management.
Encompasses the ability to increase profits by utilizing interpersonal skills to build vital relationship while communicating in both English and Spanish to develop new business.
" Now let me ask you, which resume would you continue reading? I suggest only using an objective statement under 3 situations: 1.
You are just entering the workforce 2.
You are re-entering the workforce after an extended absence 3.
You are changing careers