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Recruiter Roundtable:
Should you have an 'Objective' on your Resume?
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The following question was
put before a panel of job recruiting experts throughout the
United States.
How
important is having an "objective" or "summary" section at
the opening of a candidate's resume?
Your 15-Second 'Elevator Pitch'
If you want to convert your 15
seconds of fame into an in-person interview at the company
of your choice, include a summary statement at the opening
of your resume. |
 |
A
well-written summary statement tells me how your experience
and skill set will help my company solve a particular
challenge, become more profitable or efficient, or break
into or further penetrate target markets. In other words, it
will make me want to read the rest of your resume and
consider you for the opportunity. The best summary
statements I've seen are no more than three to five
sentences long and show me that you clearly understand the
role you're applying for.
-- Cheryl Ferguson,
recruiter, The Recruiter's Studio
A Better Use of That Space?
While a summary could clarify your goal or objective, I
don't think it is a necessary part of one's resume.
Recruiters review candidates' information every day, and
look for certain skills and experiences found in the body of
a resume. Save the extra space for accomplishments, goals
achieved, awards, and unique skills relevant to the job.
-- Bob Hancock, senior manager of global talent acquisition,
Electronic Arts
Review Real Situations
Including an objective targeted to a specific position can
be helpful since it quickly tells an employer why the job
candidate is interested in the opportunity and is the right
fit for it. The key is to provide information that will
pique the hiring manager's interest without adding
superfluous details or items listed later in the resume.
Only include an objective if the resume is targeted to a
particular opportunity. Omit this section when creating a
general resume.
-- DeLynn Senna, executive director of North American
permanent placement services, Robert Half International
Most Useful Cases
For me, it's most important in two cases:
1. Executive or experienced candidates. If you have "been in
business" for awhile and have taken on a variety of
challenges, and even if you have depth in one discipline,
it's still helpful to know your elevator pitch. An
experienced executive will be able to make a pithy statement
about top-level skills.
2. Career changers. If you are trying to reposition yourself
from one discipline to another (and I know people who have
done this successfully), you should explicitly state the
skill sets that are directly transferable. A candidate I
know went from market research/analytics to organizational
development and this [objective statement] was crucial for
the hiring teams to connect the dots.
-- Ross Pasquale, Search Consultant, Monday Ventures
Build Momentum
If the candidate fully understands the job they are applying
for, a succinct objective or summary could be helpful.
However, many candidates do a poor job at making their
statement match the position of interest. Instead, there is
a tendency to lean towards making a broad statement in their
objective such as, "To obtain a position in the Financial
Services industry." A statement such as this loses the
momentum the "objective" or "summary" could have had.
-- Robyn Timmerman, recruiter, Wells Fargo Wealth Management
Group
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