The Objective of Your Resume Statement: A Perfect Opportunity to Grab Attention

The Objective of Your Resume is a statement placed at the very beginning of your resume. It's your introductory paragraph intended to give the reader a quick peak into why you chose your profession and where you hope to go with it over the next few years. Think of the objective for your resume paragraph as a re-worded snapshot of your cover letter.

Your resume is a time-line of your experiences in your chosen field. Therefore, your opening paragraph needs to be consistent with your past employment choices.

An employer wants to see that you have at least some sort of concept of what you want to do and that you have pursued opportunities in the past that have contributed to your skill base and your direction. It will not reflect well on you if, for example, you are a trained veterinary assistant yet you are currently applying for a position in the food service industry.

As a job applicant, it is important to have in mind the viewpoint of an employer. Second only to making sure a job applicant is qualified for the position, an employer wants to hire the person they believe will be a stable member of their team.

Remember this when writing the objective of your resume paragraph:

1. It costs money for an employer to go through the hiring process.

2. It costs money for an employer to train a new employee.

3. It costs a lot of money for an employer to hire the wrong person and have to start over.

Therefore your cover letter, the objective of your resume statement and your resume need to convey that investing in you will pay off for them. So, ask yourself: If an employer will be investing valuable time and money in me, why will that investment pay off for them?

Your resume speaks for itself. You can't change your past experiences and employment history. So, take advantage of the opportunity when writing the objective of your resume statement, as well as the rest of your applicant package, and read it from the viewpoint of the employer. If you were the employer and your time and money was at stake, would you be interested in wanting to know more about you?

But this can be tricky. So let's be clear about writing the objective of your resume paragraph:

1. Be honest and straightforward about yourself and your goals.

2. Do not write it with the purpose to impress.

3. Do not write it based upon what you think they want to hear.

4. Reduce the entire process to dollars and cents for the employer. Would you be a good investment?

5. It is not a personality contest, so avoid flowery language.

Just tell the truth about yourself, your past experiences, your skills and your goals. But word the objective of your resume paragraph in such a way that when you read it from the viewpoint of an employer, it sounds interesting.

Remember: The sole purpose of your cover letter and resume package is to get an interview. The purpose is not to land the job. You will use the interview to land the job!

Now, what if you think you have your resume package complete, but you still need a cover letter that attracts attention and helps get you that interview?

I know how hard it can be to try to sell who you are and what you can offer a company in a short cover letter that makes you stand out from other applicants.

Your next step, then, is to learn and practice these example cover letter writing tips.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to easily write a cover letter that grabs attention and you'll then be ready for more job interview tips.