My resume objective? Eliminate yours.

photo credit: geishaboy500

Using BLUF today (Bottom Line Up Front): Please remove your resume objective.

At best, it’s a waste of space that recruiters and hiring managers will ignore.  At worst, it sends the wrong message.

Imagine you’re a salesperson going to meet with a very potential important client.  You spent hours preparing, did your research, put on that power suit and took your place at the front of a conference room full of decision makers.

“My goal in talking to you today,” you say, “is to secure a lucrative contract with you on behalf of my company, with our gold package and monthly support service.”

You can go on to enumerate the many benefits of your company and product, and prove without a doubt that you’re the best provider out there.  But you’ll be working against the impression you created at the outset, by starting with what was in it for you.

The goal of the employer’s recruiting process is not to help you with your personal career development.  Once you’re on staff, that should be one of the goals, yes.  But to start with, the goal is to find someone to contribute to the organization and help it meet its goals.  So, that’s what the employer wants to know.  How can you help them meet their goals?

If you feel that your experience doesn’t speak for itself, and your cover letter isn’t sufficient to position you, use a summary statement.  But always imagine you’re that salesperson.  Your resume is a sales document, persuading the reader that you’re the answer to their prayers.  There’s plenty of time to evaluate what you’ll get in return when you get to the interview.

Related posts:

1. Your resume summary statement: Get attention fast
2. Your resume summary statement: Quantify, quantify, quantify
3. Not everything is a job search nail: Effective use of your resume
4. Recent presentation: Your strongest resume
5. How long is your resume? Who cares?

Tagged as: Career, job hunt, job search, resume