Creating a Clear and Precise Resume Objective This Year

Updated June 18, 20223.3k

A resume objective is a great way to create a direction for your resume. What do you need to know about writing a resume objective?

Resume Objective

If you want to have a resume that really puts you ahead of other job seekers, then a strong resume objective is one of the most important things to feature. A resume objective statement tells a potential employer your professional goals, showcases your key achievements, and talks about relevant experience that you might have. Here’s what you need to know about how a resume objective can help you get a specific position and reduce your job search time.

What Is a Resume Objective?

A resume objective is a few short sentences at the top of your resume that summarize your goals and abilities. It sets the tone for your resume by showing your relevant skills and professional experience, all in a single paragraph.

Four Things to Include in Your Resume Objective

How can you create your own resume objective? A recruiter is typically looking for four things in a resume objective:

Your job title or current specialty
Your broad objective
How much experience you have
Best skills and achievements (tied in with keywords)

Essentially, you’re showing off your skill set, what position you’re looking for, your best skills, and the most important elements of your professional resume. Here are a few resume objective examples:

Human resources manager looking for a team-based environment. Used to handling over 100 requests per week in the healthcare and legal industries. Strong skills in team player software, especially Trello.
Full-time sales manager, recent graduate from UC Berkeley. Prominent leadership skills and certified knowledge of social media marketing and SEO. Looking for a position that encourages customer satisfaction and managing sales associate workers.
Hard-working executive assistant and college graduate with strong communication skills. Desiring to use organizational skills and data entry to help project managers and other executive positions do more in their work time.
Graphic design expert with expertise in Maya and Blender. Three international student awards, four high school awards. Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Looking for a full-time character creation job.

These resume objectives indicate who you are, highlight whatever work experience you do have, and showcase your career goals.

The Difference Between a Resume Objective and a Resume Summary

Generally, a resume objective is used for people who don’t have as much work experience, while a resume summary is typically used for people who have a fair amount of professional experience. Although they cover much of the same ground (your top skills and background), a resume objective is more appropriate for entry-level jobs, or jobs not heavily dependent on experience. Resume writing is all about tailoring your resume to the job you want, and your summary objective needs to highlight whatever skills are most important in your industry.

Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Resume Objective

How can you write a resume objective that actively helps you create the best resume for your needs? Consider a few of these tips:

Look at resume examples in your industry.
Feature skills and qualifications that are popular in your field.
Include skills and accomplishments that match what the job description requires.
Include a company name if you’ve previously worked or interned for a well-known company.
Look over your skill set and single out one or two skills you excel at.
Keep the resume objective as snappy as possible.

Whether you’re writing a resume objective to become a marketing manager or a real estate agent, resume examples can help. Check out our examples for ways you can format your resume and create a job application that really shines from top to bottom.

FAQ: Resume Objectives

What do I need to avoid in my resume objective?

Concision is the most important thing for a general resume, especially an objective. That means you should avoid being wordy at all costs. You should also only list your most important achievements; save other accomplishments for the rest of your resume. Lastly, remember that your resume objective should be showcasing why you’re the perfect person for the job. Even in an entry-level position, your objective should stay focused on this intention.

What’s the difference between a cover letter and a resume objective?

A cover letter and a resume objective are completely different things. A cover letter is a document that you submit with your job application in which you give the hiring manager a complete case for why you’re the right candidate for the job. A resume objective is a paragraph that goes at the top of your resume and lists the skills and achievements you’ve gone through. Both are important, but they’re used in different ways.

Who can best utilize a resume objective?

A resume objective is typically best for students, people going through a career change, or anyone who has a significant employment gap, as an objective lets you address your career goal, giving employers a better idea of your intentions. It may also be helpful if you’ve only had part-time jobs, and this is your first full-time job. If you have many years of experience in the right field, then you’ll typically use a resume summary instead.

Link copied!

About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.