Re: Having a killer resume
I do not like objectives because they lie. "Objective: To apply my writing
skills in a challenging environment that promotes growth". Okay, fine. We
got that. And by the way, we pay nothing. But, as we fulfilled your
objective, you should be fine with that. Right? Probably not.
I agree that an objective of the type that you give is worthless. If you can't come up with an objective statement that's better than that, you shouldn't use one.
The reason that this objective doesn't work isn't that it's a lie. It's not, all sarcasm aside; the need for money is obviously assumed by both sides.But the objective fails for several other reasons:
- It's too vague. What is "a challenging environment"? What does it mean "to promote growth"? If more specific information was given, then the company could at least have some idea whether the applicant would fit in. But, as written, it's useless.
- It's written in market-speak. Another poster commented that he disliked using market jargon, and that seems a sound instinct: if a piece of writing sounds insincere to the writer, it's going to sound insincere and uninteresting to the reader. Experienced marketing writers understand that. Using market jargon is always a mistake, but in this case it's especially stupid - at the very place where you want to grab the reader's attention, you're losing it.
- There's no hook, nothing to make the reader want to look at the rest of the resume.
-It talks about what the applicant wants, not what the applicant can do for the company. Why should the company care much about what the applicant wants?
I'd like to think that nobody would use such a vague objective, but being on the other side of the hiring table has taught me that many people actually do. I've detailed the problems with an objective of this sort because almost all the objectives that I've seen fail because one or more of these reasons.
But, Bruce brings up a valid point. They are often used as a concise summary
of why the company should hire you. However, wouldn't that information be
best put in the cover letter?
Yes, the information should go in the cover letter. But, as you mention resumes often get separated from cover letters. Bringing another copy of the letter to an interview doesn't help you in the time between when your application is received and candidates are short listed. For this reason, it's a good idea to have the information in both the cover letter and the resume.
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
"And it takes a stranger to understand,
What the wind says in a strange land,
And the wind says, "This year, next year ..."
-OysterBand
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