How To Build an Effective Resume Objective

In today's tight job market, resumes are now used as a quick "screen-out" tool. Your resume objective can help win you a phone screen for an interview or get your resume tossed into the nearest trash bin. It's actually easy to add a resume objective that can effectively work in your favor. Here's how you do it:

Toward the top just above or just underneath your "Keyword Competencies", put your resume "Objective" section which is quite simply the object of your job search, the title of the job you are seeking.

Here's a Lousy Resume Objective Example:

Most people put in a title (like "Software Developer" or, "Lighthouse Keeper" or, "Marketing Director" or "Product Manager" or "NASCAR Pit Boss" in some long droning sentence like this:

"Challenging opportunity as a (title) where I can effectively use my managing and sales skills in my ongoing effort to help grow an organization, blah, blah…"

This is not only boring, it’s also highly ineffective resume objective.

Your resume has only so much available space and your potential reader so little available time. This sort of verbiage does not transmit key information that will widen your net. Use the  Resume Objective to do one thing, focus on your objective.

Here's a Better Resume Objective Example:

Instead of just filling out the target title as "JAVA Programmer" for instance, also list other closely allied titles that the searcher may be searching on. For instance:

"Java Programmer, Software Engineer, Application Developer, Software Developer."

Use each section in your resume to answer one question only. By putting several potential titles in the Objective heading (and leaving out the skill-set info of the first example), you tighten up your focus and you widen your net. Even within larger companies, there may be several different job requisitions at any one time. For example, it hasn’t been uncommon for a company to have concurrent openings for "Java Programmer", "Software Developer", "Software Engineer", all of which you may well be qualified for. So don’t limit yourself with your objective title. Use this space to your best advantage and you will reap greater returns.

Summary

Wow, that was pretty easy wasn’t it? But you know, most of your competitors in the job search process don't pay attention to this simple, yet important addition.

Add this improvement to your resume today and you’ll find yourself rising out of the lost resume abyss.  Keep improving and you'll find yourself back in the game and closer to getting that job you really want.

Don't Sweat Writing a Great Resume... 

Can your resume sell you in 20 seconds or less? 

More than ever, your resume must accomplish more in less time to stimulate the desire button and get employers to make that call.

Regardless of how great your background is, if your resume can't sell you in 20 seconds or less, you may have no chance of success.  Otherwise, your resume is just another reject.  

Why not let Joe Turner, the "Job Search Guy", Write it For You.   Click here for full details.

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Joe Turner
"My Goal is Getting You Hired Faster"