Writing a Powerful Resume Objective

March 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Razor-Sharp Resume Objectives

D. Wayne Bogue
Pro Resume Writer
Visit us at http://www.waynebogueresumes.com
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What is a resume objective?

The objective is the top text line of your resume (below your name and contact information) that describes what you will do for a prospective employer. Typically, in business, this involves increasing profits or saving the company money. Employers love both.

Many objectives, however, do not accomplish this. Instead, they merely state what you, the job-seeker, want.  And that makes them weak and unappealing.

Here’s an example of a weak objective:

“To find a position as a manager of a boutique store that specializes in women’s fashions.”

Let’s be honest. Who cares what you want? The employer or HR person assigned to screen resumes isn’t there to meet your needs or give you satisfaction. They’re sitting before a stack or screen of resumes hoping to find someone who will do what’s needed for the business.

The weak objective says nothing about what the applicant can do for the company.

Let me show you a technique I use to create powerful objective statements at http://www.waynebogueresumes.com.

I call it the features, advantage, and benefits approach to objective writing.

First, list the features: that is, list out the position you’re looking for and the skills you have. For example: Manager, organizational skills, sales skills, personnel management, etc.

Second, take the features and create the advantages these skills bring. For example: The advantage (pretend you’re speaking to the employer) I bring is experience. You won’t have to spend your valuable time in extensive training. I’m ready to get to work on day one. You get someone who already understands the business at every level.  

Sounds good, right? It is. But we’re not done. You haven’t yet told the employer what you will do for him or her. We have one more step to making your objective powerful: The benefits.

Third, now drill down to the benefits by finishing the “What that means for you . . . “ statement. Take sales experience: What that means for you is increased sales from my first day on. Management experience: What that means for you are fewer personnel issues, a smoother running sales team. Retail expertise: What that means for you is fewer losses by theft—that adds more to your bottom line.  

If you want to hone your benefits even more, simply take a benefit and finish the “What that means for you . . .” statement again until you have clear, focused benefits to include.

Now, here’s the same objective, but stronger:

“To achieve a position as a Manager in a Women’s Fashion store using proven sales and leadership skills to maximize profits, reduce loss by theft, and create a smooth sales team.”

This isn’t perfect, but you get the idea. The objective states clearly who you are and what you will do for the company: increase income, prevent losses, and reduce personnel issues that distract from making sales. What employer wouldn’t want that?

You can use this approach on your career objective. Have fun with it. Give ample attention to each step. You may be surprised at how clear and benefits-oriented your objective statement can be.

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D. Wayne Bogue is a professional resume writer based in Charleston, SC.  You can reach Wayne at wayne@dwbresumes.com. Or visit us at http://www.waynebogueresumes.com for more details.

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