Here is a recent “Objective” on a resume submitted for my review:
“To support the growth and profitability of an organization that provides challenge, encourages advancement, and rewards achievement with the opportunity to utilize my experience, skills, and proven abilities.”
Sounds great – would you like to hire this person? But what do you know about this person? Is he/she a candidate for flipping hamburgers or for a CEO position? Does he have skills in supervising, organizing, planning, selling, marketing, etc? Is she proficient in any computer skills? We don’t know. This “Objective” tells us absolutely nothing about the person. It was a total waste of time on the applicant’s part.
Knowing that most resumes get 30-40 seconds look, you’d better tell the recipient something about yourself that would make them want to see you as a candidate. IMMEDIATELY! Begin your resume with a Skills Summary, Profile, or Expertise. Here’s an example:
Skills Summary:
“Over 14 solid years in technology planning and management. Experienced in strategic systems, organizing and overseeing projects. Knowledgeable in R&D, product development, and financial management. Team player in maintaining company policies and procedures. Expertise with IT businesses, especially those with complex technical, logistical and implementation challenges.”
Don’t waste your time with generic lead-ins that get you sent to the bottom of the pile. Use your 30 seconds to convey your “unique value.”
From Chapter 6 – 48 Days to the Work You Love
Dan Miller's Blog 
November 24, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Objectives always seem sort of phony to me.
In fact, this entire job/career/resume/cover letter process is a joke. It’s a business/industry by itself. many people make money from this industry.
I say lets simplify the process. Can the resumes, cover letters, and other BS required for the “finding a job” process, and have ONE form that everyone uses. A standard.
November 25, 2009 at 5:56 am
[…] way is to hit them up front with a great skills summary. As Dan Miller recently wrote in a blog post, the old “objectives” statement is meaningless. Hit them with a solid summary of your […]
December 5, 2009 at 3:52 am
Thank you! This is one (of many) aspects of a resume that needs to be retired. Seriously, who speaks like that? You have to pull out the dictionary to figure out that your statement actually says nothing.
March 12, 2010 at 5:58 am
Most jobseekers depend upon expert resume writers which is a sensible thing to do. Such professionally prepared resumes stand a better chance of catching a recruiter’s attention.
But it is no more enough to catch attention
A resume must succeed in amazing any recruiter by being interactive .
In a resume, a recruiter should be able to find additional information about a candidate by
viewing analytical graphs rather than reading
clicking on knowledge , skill related keywords
clicking on Candidate Name, Birth date, City location
You will find this at CustomizeResume
I will appreciate suggestions for further improvements.
hemen parekh
September 11, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Great information. Lucky me I found your website by accident (stumbleupon).
I have saved it for later!