How to Highlight Your Job Objective in Your Resume

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Most resumes should have an objective, but avoid the common mistake of trying to cram too much into the objective with statements such as, "Seeking responsible accounting management position with a large progressive firm offering opportunity for growth and pro motion, where skills in human relations and effective written communications will prove beneficial." These types of objectives are trying to combine an objective with a qualifications summary, but the combination simply does not work. The objective sounds trite. It's better to use a simple objective and then get creative in producing an effective qualifications summary.

Before starting your resume, write out your objective. Later you can change or delete it, but having an objective will keep you focused while you write. Objectives such as "Bookkeeper," "Chemist," or "Construction Superintendent" can be very effective.

Stating an objective on your resume demonstrates focus. People naturally respect you if you know what you want. A resume that says, "I'll do anything, just give me a job" will get you nowhere. If your objective states "Sales Representative" but you have never been one, everything that follows must demonstrate your potential for that position.



Simple objectives usually work best:
  • Computer Programmer
  • Senior Accountant
  • Flight Attendant
  • Secondary Teacher- Drama, English, ESL
  • Sales Manager
In the above cases, the people knew exactly what they were looking for and so they used an exact job tide. If this is your case, and the tide is recognized by all people in your field, use a specific job tide. However, if you are considering one of several positions which are all closely related, you might try something like this:

OBJECTIVE: Office Manager/Administrative Assistant/Executive Secretary

In this example, all three types of positions-Office Manager, Administrative Assistant, and Executive Secretary-are similar. A person who is qualified for one is often qualified for all three. In fact, what one company calls Administrative Assistant, another might call Executive Secretary. This person just wants a good job with a good company, and would enjoy any of the three types of jobs. If only "Office Manager" is listed as the applicant's objective, however, an employer with an executive secretary opening might overlook the resume.

You should never pair unrelated job titles as "Secretary/Sales Representative," "Teacher/Real Estate Agent," "Flight Attendant/ Bookkeeper." It's okay to be looking for both positions at the same time, but you would need two resumes with two different objectives to do so.

Sometimes an exact job title is not advised. This is particularly true in management. If you are currently a personnel manager considering positions such as Training and Development Specialist, Director of Training and Development, and Vice President of Human Resources, you might want to create an objective which incorporates all of these titles such as "OBJECTIVE: Human Resource Management."

Using the term management does not limit you to a specific job title, while "Human Resource" is specific enough that it is clear you have focus.

Use an objective if your goal can be easily stated with a job title or a descriptive phrase. Occasionally you will find it better to omit an objective and let your cover letter and the tone of your qualifications section indicate your goal. Resume writers use an objective for approximately 85% of the resumes they help people write. They frequently recommend multiple versions of a resume where the only changes occur in the objective and in the qualifications section. For example, if you were interested in both sales and marketing, you would have two versions of your resume, one with a "Sales" objective, and the other with a "Marketing" objective. One resume would be directed to sales managers and the other to marketing managers.

Prior Employment

A prior employment section is particularly useful if you are trying to shorten your resume or de-emphasize your earlier jobs. A prior employment section is an effective way to explain how you've gotten to where you are, without making the employer spend a lot of time reading about it. Other tides for this section include Previous Employment, Prior Experience, or Additional Experience.

The example below shows the most commonly used format for the prior employment section. The Assistant Purchasing Manager position is the sixth job description position on his two-page resume.

ASSISTANT PURCHASING MANAGER - 3/77-5/78. Set up and developed an inventory control program to reduce inventory and operating costs. Over the next year reduced inventory by 20%.

PRIOR EMPLOYMENT

Counterperson, Zenith Electronics, Los Angeles, OA 3/76-9/77

Expediter, Hughes Aircraft, Los Angeles, CA 4/74-3/76

Parts Manager, High Lift Equipment, Long Beach, CA 9/72-4/74

In the example above, the person has included title, name of company, city and state, and dates. Generally this information would be included. In the remaining examples, however, you will see how personal taste varies. We must generally include city and state, but if it seems like unnecessary detail for some distant jobs, feel free to leave city and state off.

In the example below, the person provides the job title, name of employer, and dates, but not the city and state.

Example (starting with the person's fifth position on a two-page resume):

National Computer Stores, Spokane, WA 5/86-6/87

SALES REPRESENTATIVE - Sold hardware and software for this

IBM authorized dealer. Consistently exceeded monthly sales goals.

PRIOR EXPERIENCE

Food Service Specialist, Johnson Nursing Home (8/84-5/86);

Cook, Boyd's Restaurant (7/82-8/84); Cook, Iron Pig Restaurant(6/81-7/82)

In the following example the individual did not feel it necessary to give specific time periods or list the names of employers.

Example (starting with the person's seventh position on a two-page resume):

Xytelin Electronics, Mountain View, California 1967 to 1969

INTERNAL AUDITOR - Discovered weaknesses in the parts inventory control procedures and recommended remedial action. Responsible for quarterly and yearly audits.

Prior Experience, 1960 to 1967: Airline Internal Auditor, Cost Clerk, Production Scheduler.

In the example below, the person listed dates, but did not list employers.

Example (starting with fifth position on a one-page resume):

Department of Social Services, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 3/70 to 4/71

ELIGIBILITY SPECIALIST - Assisted families in obtaining all of the Medicaid benefits they were legally entitled to. Provided psychological and social support services.

Previous Experience:

Cashier/Hostess 1/69 to 3/70; Sales Clerk 6/68 to 1/69; Long Distance Operator 7/66 to 6/68.

The remaining examples will simply give you more options.

PRIOR EMPLOYMENT

CASHIER - Pay Less Drugs, Elgin, Illinois 5/66 to 11/67

CASHIER - Don's Rexall, Carbondale, Illinois 4/65 to 5/66

STOCKER - Jewel Foodstores, Peoria, Illinois 9/62 to 3/65

Previous Employment

Truck driver (1963-1967); Warehouseman (1963); Machine Repairman (1962-1963)

Sometimes a person will choose not to describe all the positions with a particular company, especially the first company employed with. The person below has worked for Boeing since 1972.

PRODUCTION INSPECTOR - 3/80-4/82. Performed final interior, flight line modification, and wing line inspections on Boeing 767 aircraft. Verified that the production department installed assemblies according to specifications.

Prior Boeing positions: Assistant Production Inspector 4/77-3/80;

Tooling Inspector 5/75-4/77; Jig Builder 3/72-5/75.
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