Why Its Time to Ditch Resume Objective Statements

Why Its Time to Ditch Resume Objective StatementsWhy Its Time to Ditch Resume Objective StatementsIts Time to Ditch Your Resume Objective StatementDitch the run-of-the-mill objective statement for a compelling resume professional summary.When you first graduated from school or started looking for a job, chances are someone advised you to include a career objective statement at the top of your resume. And chances are, you listened to that rolle and continued this practice whenever it was time to search for new work.Unfortunately, the resume objective statement is an outdated custom thats best forgotten. In fact, Id go out on a limb and say that objective has become a dirty word among the resume-writing community.Let me explain.Weve all seen those generic resume objective statements that talk about a motivated, hard-working self-starter looking for opportunities in ___ field that will allow me to leverage my ___ skills. This type of statement makes most resume writers cringe for a few reasons.Reasons why you need to replace your career objective statementIts vagueA sentence like that doesnt tell the reader explicitly what position youre targeting and why youre qualified for such a role.Theres a lot of fluffMotivated. Hardworking. Self-starter. All of these terms are considered filler words by recruiters and hiring managers. Dont say youre hardworking instead, use your resume professional summary to explain what youve accomplished because of your hard work. Avoid throwing in a bunch of extraneous marketing fluff wherever possible.It uses pronounsWhile there is some debate within the resume-writing world, most professional writers mucksmuschenstill believe that the resume should not include pronouns such as I or me. Save those for the intro paragraph of your LinkedIn profile summary. Instead, stick to whats known as the absent first person, which is when you remove the pronouns. Heres an example of how a professional summary can begin using the absent first personS trategic business-development professional with more than 10 years experience leading B2B sales teams to generate revenue, increase market share, and exceed quotas for organizations within the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector. Possess in-depth knowledge of lead generation and qualification techniques ...Its all about youResume objective statements talk about the type of job you want when it should focus on what you can offer a potential employer. Remember, youre writing this resume for recruiters and hiring managers to read. Instead of listing out your needs and wants, use this space to deliver your elevator pitch.In approximately three to five sentences, explain what youre great at and most interested in by describing how you can provide value to a prospective employer in this type of role. I call this section the executive summary or resume professional summary. Others refer to it as a career statement or career summary. To figure out what to include in this section, ask yourse lf the following questionsWhy am I qualified for the position Im targeting?What about my experience, education, and skills make me a good candidate for this type of role?How have I used these qualifications to create results and provide value to my previous employers?Ideally, your resume professional summary should communicate your record of achievement, experience level, value, industry (assuming this is relevant to your current goals), and your immediate career goals. This section will set the tone and focus for the rest of your resume, so give it some careful thought.Related How to Define Your Career GoalsWhat to add to your professional summaryIn addition, take a look at the following additional pieces of information you may want to include at the end of your professional summary to further clarify your intent and value.Language skillsIf you speak more than one language, make sure this information gets incorporated into the resume professional summary section of your resume snap shot. For instance, you might add Bilingual Spanish and English or Multilingual Russian, Arabic, and English, depending on your language skills. This ensures that the recruiter or hiring manager wont overlook these valuable skills, which are usually mentioned toward the bottom of the resume.Travel welcomeSome jobs require a certain amount of travel on a regular basis. You usually see this with outside sales positions, business-development roles, or consulting jobs. If you relish the idea of jet-setting across the U.S. or around the globe for work and youre targeting jobs that require such travel, include this information as well. Incorporate a short sentence such as Willing to travel up to 50% of the time to make your intents known. If the job descriptions youre looking at include specific language around the travel requirements, feel free to use that wording as the basis for your blurb.Relocation interestsIf youre interested in relocating for work, dont be afraid to mention this in your professional summary as well. If you want to relocate to a specific location, you can include a blurb like this one Interested in relocating to the greater Chicago, IL area. You can take it a step further and mention that youre willing to relocate to location at own expense to show employers how dedicated you are to making such a move. If youre still toying with the idea of relocating, your best bet is to leave a line like this out until youve done your research and found a specific location that interests you and is a realistic option, given your career and the locations current job market.International applicantsIf you have a non-U.S. degree or if much of your experience took place in a different country, recruiters may assume you require sponsorship to work for their organization. As a result, you may be automatically screened out by employers who dont want to take on these additional hiring costs.If you do not require sponsorship to work in the United States, make this cry stal clear. Include a blurb at the end of your professional summary such as U.S. Citizen No sponsorship required or Green card holder no sponsorship required, depending upon your circumstance, to avoid being overlooked for a role.Yes, its time to officially ditch the resume objective statement. And even though writing a resume professional summary can be a challenging exercise, it will make your resume all the more competitive.Click on the following link for more resume advice.Need help crafting a resume professional summary that sells you? Get objective feedback and advice from a TopResume professional writer todayRecommended ReadingThese 6 Things Are Killing Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile3 Steps to Writing a Powerful LinkedIn Profile SummaryHow to Properly Customize Your Resume for Each Job Application