How to write a Resume Objective

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A resume objective is a 2-3 sentence statement that you place at the top of your resume. While it’s short, it is meant to be powerful and tell potential employers exactly how you will be of value to their company. If you include an objective on your resume, it can help maximize your opportunity to capture their attention and make them interested in you.

The ideal objective statement will instantly give employers a clear idea of how you can fill the job they have open. You should use objective statements when you’re specifically targeting a position. Objective statements cannot be blanket statements about your desires or capabilities. When you use a resume objective, you are targeting whatever job vacancy you are trying to fill.

Who Should Use a Resume Objective?

• Students applying for internships, co-ops or trainee jobs.

• Entry-level applicants, recent graduates

• Career-changers

• Anyone in a creative career

• People with diverse experience

Objectives help employers see what they can gain from people with little experience. It also helps give a focus to a resume that lacks directly relevant career experience. If you have the experience, but recent experience doesn’t properly reflect the breadth of your capabilities, using a resume objective helps bring added focus and/or show how your skills can be a clear asset to the prospective employer.

Do Not Include a Resume Objective If …

• There is a breadth of potential positions that you are qualified for in the organization. Doing so can limit your options and the employers focus on where you can fit.

• If you’d like to be considered for any alternative positions in a company.

• If you’re submitting your resume to a job bank, career fair, employment exchange.

Sample Resume Objectives

You’ll want to be very specific with your resume objective. Think about the name of the job, the skills and strengths you have that relate to you, and the company’s needs and your ability to deliver on them.

Avoid the use of personal pronouns. Also, make sure the statement is about the employer and not about you – do not have any phrases like “to challenge me” or “with room to grow.”

Examples:

• Obtain a position at XYZ company where I can maximize my XYZ skills.

• Position as a ________, utilizing XYZ skills.

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