Explaining How to Write an Objective for a Resume
A resume cannot be complete without a resume objective statement. It is also called your career objective and states your goals. If you are a job seeker, you are expected to include it in your resume, at the top. This is because the employers would like to know about your career goals before they go ahead to read more about you.
In order to increase your chances of getting hired, you should write it in a clear and perfect manner. It should be eye-catching, yet should not be too common, else the employer would stop reading your resume right from there.
This article is specially written to help you understand what is an objective in a resume and how to write it effectively. The guidelines and tips given in this article can positively change the starting part of your resume. It will increase your ability to get hired for your dream job.
What is a resume objective statement?
In a more comprehensive definition, an objective in your resume states your goals you are committed to for the employment. It is written in about two to three sentences long and placed at the top of the resume, just below your name.
It makes you stand out from the crowd
When you are applying for a job, you are not the only applicant with the best resume format out there. There will be many other candidates with similar or better qualification, experience, and skills. But the ultimate winners will be only those who have a definite career objective. Because with a well-written statement of objectives, they can effectively show that they are a perfect match for that job.
It is in line with the objectives of the company
A powerful objective should be written by keeping the job that you are applying to in mind. It can be written by including the career you are looking for. It should also contain your skills, qualification, and experience that makes you the best fit for the job.
You may also mention your past achievement and those you are hoping to achieve in that particular job. Knowing about the company and writing your goals that match with those of the company will increase the chances of your selection.
It says what you can offer
An ideal career objective is not just about what you are looking to achieve. It should also smartly tell the employer about what you can offer and how can you contribute to the company’s growth.
You should write about your skills, abilities, experience, and knowledge that can be used to achieve the company’s goals. Any hiring manager would be interested in knowing what you can do for the company rather than knowing what you expect from it.
Why do you need an objective for resume?
It is useful to get attention when there are a lot of applicants
Though this practice is considered outdated by many experts, it is good to include your objective in your resume. Because it is, without any question, useful to get an attention of an employer if you have effectively written it.
You can emphasize your abilities, ambitions, and job-specific skills to make your statement impressive. It’s your chance of telling why you are a good fit even when you don’t have a lot of experience in that job.
Helpful when you are changing the job
If you are in the middle of changing the career or a fresher and looking for the first job, this line in your resume can be helpful. It will allow you to tell your potential employer that you have something to offer even when you lack the necessary experience in that field. It can also make it easy for you to show your intention and aim when you are changing your career.
How to write an efficient objective for your resume
A well-crafted objective should be focused on the skills and experiences that specifically match the job requirements. If you include a goal statement in your resume, make sure that it is customized to the role and responsibilities of the post you are applying for. You can do this by taking the keywords from the job advertisement.
Write job specific objectives
Your chances of getting a job will be more if your resume and objectives are written for that specific job profile. So you should define a new objective for each job application. This will not only make your resume eye-catching but will be able to convince the employer. It will tell them that your skills and experience are perfectly aligned with the role and responsibilities of that particular job.
If your objective is having too general meaning that fits for all jobs, expecting the selection for your dream job will be too much. Your resume will be rejected as soon as the employer or the hiring manager reads your objective. To avoid this situation, you have to make your objective job specific.
Avoid stating goals that are not feasible within a company
While creating a career goals statement by keeping above things in mind, you also have to avoid doing one thing. That is, stating the goals that are not feasible to achieve in that particular position or in that particular company.
For example, if your goal is to become a chief technical officer at a software company, but you are applying to a BPO company, you can not achieve your goal. You either have to apply to a software development company or have to change your goal to grow in a BPO company.
Highlight your strong points
Sometimes, an objective on resume can reduce the chances of success. This can happen when it is too focused on yourself, on your own goals and what you want to achieve in your career. If you write this way, you fail to show what you can do for the growth of the company.
So while you should include your goals in your objective statement, you should also highlight those plus points that can add value to the company. It will help you present yourself as the best match for the position you are applying for in that company. Do this by highlighting your most suitable skills, most suitable experience and the years of experience.
For example, if you have spent 8 years in a company and have achieved something special during these years, you should highlight it. It can be the processing time reduced as a result of your innovative ideas or increased profit by reducing the operating cost or controlling the operational costs to bring them within the budget or any other improvement you have achieved in your previous job.
Write it in the shortest possible way
While it is good to mention your main skills and experiences and highlight your special achievements that can match with the job requirements, you should not make your objective statement too long.
The hiring managers get hundreds of applications for a position, and they have little time to evaluate them all in detail. So they quickly check the resumes and those with a strong objective will have a chance of being shortlisted. And the one which is the shortest yet the most appealing would have the highest chance of selection.
Resume objective examples
As you have the guidelines and tips for creating a strong objective, you can write yours with confidence. However, to help you further, we have given some good examples of objectives. Carefully read and understand them. They will help you create yours that can improve your chances of selection in your preferred company and on your dream position.
Example 1. An experienced person looking for a job in the same industry.
Seeking a position as a chief technical officer in a software development company where I can use my 10 years of experience in software development, projects management, quality assurance and technical innovations to reduce project costs.
In this example, you can observe that the applicant has given all the information by following the guidelines given in this article. It has the goal, i.e. he wants to work on or reach on the position of a chief technical officer. It has the mention of where he wants the job and where he can fulfill his goal, i.e. in a software company. This statement also contains the experience, number of years, the skills and areas in which he has the experience.
These things make it a strong objective line because a software company would like to hire a person who has that long and specific experience and have a goal of advancing his career in the same field and industry.
Example 2. An experienced person looking for the career change
Seeking a position with a public relations management role in a hospitality management company where I can use my experience of 7 years in client experience management and public speaking in a healthcare organization.
This is a good example of an objective statement where the person wants to change the career. He has worked in a healthcare organization but it has given him some portable experiences so he can work in a hospitality management company.
Example 3. Fresher looking for an entry-level position
Motivated, fast learning and dedicated software graduate seeking an entry level programmer position in Omnitechsoft LLC.
This is a good example of a career objective of a fresher where he has mentioned his or her qualification and targeted job position as well as specific company name where he or she is applying.
We hope the definition, guidelines and the examples given in this article will help you write an efficient and strong objective for your resume. Best of luck.
