What is the career objective for the resume?

I hear this question a lot from the fresh graduates, what is the resume objective in a resume, or what are career objectives on a resume? And is it necessary to include a career objective statement on a resume? Writing a perfect career objective statement has always been a mystery to some job seekers. 

So what is a career objective statement?

A good resume objective AKA career objective is your first line of the pitch to let the employers know about your skills, expertise, and career goals. A resume objective statement is the first thing that a recruiter sees in your resume. Resume objective statements describe your personality, your vision, and your goals. It sits on top of your resume and usually 2-3 sentences long. 

Some job seekers prefer writing a career summary over a career objective. What is a resume summary statement? And to learn how to write a great career summary statement. Visit our blog section for the answer!

Resume objective statements are like vision statements. It’s an opportunity to showcase your future plans and goals. A few job seekers also state their desired jobs in the career objective section. A well-written resume objective can help you stand apart from other candidates. 

The secret of writing a great career objective is to align it with the employer’s requirements and objectives. Do this and you’ll improve your chances of getting hired multifold. 

A little tip “99% job seekers go with a standard template of a career objective on their resumes.” Don’t make the same mistake.  

If you are a fresh graduate, chances are that you do not have enough things to talk about on your resume. This is a great opportunity to show your potential employers that you have clearly defined your professional goals and are committed to it. 

Another tip “Employers love such candidates.” 

Is it mandatory to have a career objective on your resume?

Not really, I advise my job seekers to write a resume summary or career summary for resumes. Writing a career objective is rather an old tradition. But if you are a fresher, and you wish to talk about your future professional goals, a career objective is a great choice to go with. A well-defined resume objective gives you an opportunity to show why you are the most suitable candidate for the position. 

I also advise my candidates to submit their resumes with a well-crafted cover letter. We have also listed a few sample cover letters for you, feel free to check them out. 

Should you include a resume objective on your resume?

As I have already mentioned above, a perfectly written resume objective statement can help you stand out from your competition. If you are a fresh graduate, if you are just starting your career or you are trying to switch your career to some other field. Writing a resume objective statement can be a great help. 

• If you are a fresher: If you are a first time job seeker Including a career objective on your resume can help you stand out from the crowd. Writing about your skills and your future goals in your resume objective statement can help the employer understand how your future plans align with the job opening. And why you are a better candidate than others for the job opening.
• If you are making a career switch: You are already employed and are looking for a different career or job profile. This can be very confusing to some recruiters, they would want to know why you applied to a different job role than your current. Including a career objective statement can help them understand that in a better way.

You need to be very careful in these kinds of situations, writing a career switch resume can be very tricky. You must talk to an expert resume writer before you start writing a career change resume. 

• Moving to a new location: most of the recruiters don’t consider candidates applying from a different location from the job location. They fail to understand the reason, unless specifically mentioned on the resume or cover letter. If you are shifting to a new city, you better include that in your resume or cover letter. You may include a line in the resume objective section mentioning that you are moving to a new city along with your professional goals.

How to write a great resume objective? Learn it from a recruiter.

By now, you know how important a resume objective statement is. Now I’m going to tell you how to write a great resume objective. And I’m also going to share some great resume objective statement examples. 

Length of the career objective statement: a career objective statement should not be unnecessarily lengthy. Stuffing irrelevant information in this section might ruin your chances.

Paragraphs: the resume objective statement or resume summary should have at least three paragraphs. The first paragraph should provide job opening specific information on your hard skills, expertise and experience. 

The second paragraph must talk about your soft skills and learnings.

And, the third paragraph should talk about your goals and vision. 

Resume objective statement Sample:

An electrical engineering professional Offering over 12 years of impeccable experience in project management (planning, budgeting, project execution), risk management, electrical asset, and inventory maintenance, asset life cycle and reliability analysis, documentation, vendor management, compliance management, and project coordination. Adept at Troubleshooting, solving complex maintenance problems, Testing, Pre-commissioning and Overhauling of Electrical Equipment and systems, scheduling maintenance operations, etc.   An excellent communicator with proven leadership skills, optimal resource management, and interpersonal skills.

Keyword is the KEY: What does a recruiter look for on a resume?, keywords! Yes, using relevant and job specific keywords can boost your chances of getting hired. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems love keywords, resumes with higher keyword density have more chances of getting picked up. use them wisely and you will have a lot of interview calls coming your way. 

Be Specific: I have seen job seekers include irrelevant information in the career objective statements section. As a recruiter I have just one question in my mind. Why should I hire you? You need to be as specific as you can while writing your career objective statement. You need to be specific about the skills, expertise, experience and your professional goals. I would never entertain a candidate who can not answer this one simple question. 

Focus on relevancy: Read the job description twice before your start writing your career objective statement and resume. Understand the requirement and the job description. Also try to find out as much as you can on the company background, and future plans. Align your goals and resume objective statement with the company’s mission and vision and you will have a great chance of getting hired. 

Show Value: You don’t get hired for what you want to do, you get hired for the value you bring to the table. What you can do for the company. Your resume objective statement must show that. 

You must focus on a specific skill, experience or qualification that can add tremendous value to the position you are applying for. 

For an example, you can talk about an additional qualification that has increased your efficiency and how it’s going to help the company and position. Or you can talk about your past experience that has helped your last employer reduce the delivery time by 25%. And how you intend to use your skills to help your potential employer. 

General Resume Objective Samples

We have listed out some general resume objective statements for you. modify them as per your requirements and use them to write a job-winning career objective for resume.

• Resume objective statement for sales: Seeking a Sales Head Position at (Company name) where I can utilise my 15+ years of business development, sales, branding, and marketing and leadership experience
• Career objective example for healthcare: Seeking a position as an assistant resident doctor for a leading healthcare services provider/hospital, utilizing my knowledge, research, and medical skills.
• Resume objective statement for Teacher: A preschool teacher looking for a teaching position at a school, where I can utilise my eight years of teaching, mentoring and academic skills.
• Resume objective statement for information technology fresher: Seeking a position of a front end developer at an IT company, where I can apply my programming skills, learnings and knowledge
• Career objective statement for Media sales: Looking for a position where I can utilise my connections, expertise and methods to improve client base, media endorsements and branding opportunities.
• Career objective statement for digital marketing resume: seeking a digital marketing position with an innovative digital marketing agency where I can use my SEO, digital marketing and content marketing skills. and utilise my experience and methods to increase site traffic and revenue.
• Sample resume objective for fresher with no experience: To obtain an entry level position that will enable me to use my strong academic background, public speaking skills and ability to work with diverse teams.