If you are looking for resume objective examples you are in the right place.
I am going to save you a lot of time and possibly help you increase your chances of landing a job interview by saying that you do not need to write a resume objective.
YES. You read that right.
What is a resume objective?
A resume objective or career objective is a small introduction at the beginning of your resume where you are stating what are your career goals and how these goals are hopefully translating to the job you are applying for.
Usually a resume objective looks like this:
“Passionate sales professional with 5 years of experience in the media industry, looking to advance my career by working for an international corporation where I can use my sales skills and experience to help grow the company’s business.”
Why this resume objective doesn’t work
First, because everybody uses this style of resume objective.
Please do yourself a favor and delete this immediately if you have it on your resume.
The reason why this doesn’t work and never worked actually, is because it’s all about you.
The resume objective doesn’t say anything to your potential employer about what actual value you bring to the table, other than the minimum basic of having the required experience, which most probably all the other applicants have.
Second, it’s a given that all or most job seekers would love to work in a professional environment where they can use their skills, grow and have an impact.
Third, let’s be honest, it makes you sound like a big fat liar.
Everybody knows that unless you are applying to Facebook or Google, which many people dream of, you most probably need the job because you need the salary.
It’s not like you’ve dreamt all your life about working for a company that nobody ever heard of, for an average salary, commuting 2 hours every day.
How to write a resume objective
As stated above, by definition a resume objective means you stating your career objective, which in turn is not efficient when wanting to stand out in a pool of hundreds or thousands of job seekers.
You do not need a resume objective. Let me say that again. You absolutely DO NOT need a resume objective.
You have two options:
- Delete your resume objective.
- Write a professional summary or professional profile
Instead of using precious space on your resume, you are better off without a resume objective at all.
Trust me.
Most HR professionals and hiring managers don’t even read it and even when they do, in most cases they don’t believe it.
Instead, if you really want to have an introduction to your resume, you have much better chances of standing out with a professional profile.
What is a professional profile?
A professional profile is a short paragraph at the beginning of your resume where you write about your experience (the relevant one to each role you are applying to) and the achievements you are most proud of (relevant to the role you are applying to).
Professional Profile Examples
“Sales professional with 5 years of experience in the media industry, having helped my current and past employers to increase sales by 2 digits on a year by year basis. Experienced in dealing with C-level executives while having a closing rate of 30%.”
Why will this professional profile get you a job interview?
Because the person reading it will understand that you hit your targets by having a double-digit growth on a year by year basis and because out of 3 meetings you go to, you get out with 1 contract.
This is a fact and a solid experience that any employer can use.
Why is the professional profile better than the resume objective?
If you are still wondering, a professional profile is better than the resume objective because you are backed by solid facts and numbers, as opposed to the resume objective where you are basically just writing a wishlist for your career in the future.
The professional profile states exactly how you will be able to help your potential employer and what value you bring to the table without any additional information.
As someone who has hired people in the past, if I see a professional profile like the one above, I don’t even need to see the rest of the resume.
I don’t care about your job responsibilities or any other jobs you’ve had in the past, because I know you can handle this. I will just pick up the phone and invite you for an interview.
[convertkit form=1584758]How to write an effective professional profile?
While the professional profile can make you stand out and land you a job interview, it can also land your resume into the “no” pile if it is not tailored to the job you are applying to.
You need to tailor the professional profile for each job that you apply to.
You might be looking for 2 different types of jobs, one in sales and one in marketing, for example.
It would be very awkward to say that your biggest achievement was running a successful national marketing campaign for a big brand when you are actually applying for a sales position.
It’s the same as writing a cover letter, except you are only writing a paragraph.
Don’t be lazy and please tailor all professional profiles depending on the job you are applying to. It will be worth it, I promise.
Below is a resume template that you can purchase in order to create a modern-looking resume that will surely land you a job interview. It includes 1, 2 and 3 pages templates, along with a cover letter template.
Besides it is fully customizable in terms of colors, fonts and sizes and a detailed instructions on how to write your resume.
With your purchase, you will also get a 50+ page “Guide to Landing the Job” bonus.
Click on the image below to check it out.
Words to avoid using in your professional profile
You might be the perfect fit for the job that you are applying to, however, this doesn’t guarantee that you will be invited for a job interview.
It all depends on the language you use in your resume and, particularly in your professional profile.
For your sake, avoid using the following words in your professional profile at any cost:
- Hard worker
- Fast learner
- Goal oriented
- Problem solver
- Team player
You get what I’m talking about.
Whatever is an adjective about yourself, without being able to back that up by evidence (numbers mostly), just delete it.
What you need to understand is that these words are just your opinion about yourself and hiring managers don’t care about that. They care about the facts.
What if I don’t have any big achievements to write on my resume?
Sure, not everyone closed a million-dollar deal or helped a business grow. This is absolutely normal.
Achievements can be anything like:
- Providing excellent customer service which led to several customers referring me to their family or friends.
- Being promoted earlier than anticipated because I’ve proven myself by achieving targets, getting a positive client review, helping my boss with a project, etc.
- Coming up with an idea that was accepted and implemented by a more senior team.
The bottom line is that you need to use all your strengths, experience and skills to sell yourself to your potential employer.
You need to put yourself in their shoes.
What would make me call this person for a job interview?
Is this person bringing any added value to the team or will this person just be an extra salary on my monthly payroll?
When you look at things like this it is much easier to understand what employers want and need.
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