Objective Statements: Why You Need One & How to Write it
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An objective statement on a resume summarizes what type of position you hope to attain, your biggest strengths or accomplishments and where you’re headed in your career. It usually can be a 2-3 sentence statement.
When crafting your resume, it’s important to remember that hiring managers are skimming hundreds of applications before deciding to dive into the details. Many recruiters won’t even read your cover letter. An objective statement gives you a chance to grab the recruiter’s attention and quickly communicate what you do, helping to increase the chances that your application will be read.
Consider these different takes about why you should include an objective statement on your resume.
If you can concisely show that you are a well-qualified candidate for the role, Indeed's Career Guide suggests an objective statement helps the hiring manager quickly determine if you're a good match for the position.
If you are a new graduate, you might lack appropriate experience for the position. Thus, you may need to include an objective statement "to make your resume look complete," Executive Coach David Ginchansky writes in a LinkedIn post. Including an objective so your resume looks full and polished could help you present yourself well and make a better impression on the hiring manager.
If you are making a career change, Ginchansky suggests an objective statement could be a quick useful way to explain how your former experience will benefit the specifics of this new position.
How to Write Your Objective Statement
Revise the traditional objective statement so that it packs a punch and reads more like a summary of your skills and experience. Remember, focus on outcomes and answer the question: How have you positively impacted business? Every worker has an impact, you just have to shift your mindset to thinking about how your actions fit into the big picture of your company.
Here’s another question that can help you define your impact: What would happen if you, and everyone with the same role as you, stopped working for a month? Whatever fallout you can imagine correlates to the importance of your role.
For example, if you are an administrative assistant, instead of saying that you “filed documents”, an impactful rephrasing could be “maintained efficient systems that decreased the time it took for the team to find important documents.” To take it a step further, calculate how much time it actually saved and how that translates into dollars and cents saved for your company.
Identify the keywords of the job description and use them in your summary of your background. Career Sidekick explains, this will show the value you add and help an automated system spot your resume and place it in the "qualified" stack for the hiring manager to review.
Example of an Objective Statement:
Thoughtful and enterprising retail cashier with over 15 years of experience satisfying customer needs, acting as a teamplayer, and driving sales to create heightened business revenue. Improved efficiency of cashier operations and built rapport with customers which led to repeat sales.