Ditch the Objective

//Ditch the Objective

Ditch the Objective

Despite what you might have learned in your college business writing courses, resumes do not fit into a standard template, at least not anymore. Often times there are no right or wrong ways to write a resume, it just needs to align with your career goals. One common misconception is that your resume must have an objective section, but our advice is to ditch it and move on to something a bit more current.

Why?

Objectives are antiquated. They focus on what you are looking for. It is evident what you are looking for – to be hired to the position that you applied for. Employers care about what you can do for the company, not what you are looking for in a job.

What should you use instead?

A targeted summary paragraph. The summary statement details your strengths and how well you are aligned with the position. It shows the added value you can provide to the company that others might not. You will get much more mileage out of your resume if you use a targeted summary and the chances that you will pique the interest of a recruiter and hiring manager are much, much higher. Geoffrey Coon, President of RP goes on to say, “If there is one message I could get across to the general public about resumes, it would be to ditch the objective. Real estate on a resume is highly valuable and you need to make sure every bit of the content you provide is properly positioning you for that specific role.”

Applying to more than one type of role?

Most people’s skills don’t fit with just one industry or role. Hence the importance of a targeted summary, and as mentioned previously the “more mileage” you will get out of your resume. It’s easier to change up your summary to highlight specific traits or industry-specific so called “buzz” words to get the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager. If you are not a wordsmith, don’t worry. There are plenty of qualified professional resume writers that can assist you with meeting your goals.

 

 

 

 

By | 2017-12-18T16:08:58+00:00 November 6th, 2014|Uncategorized|0 Comments

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