Does Your Resume Need an Objective Statement?
Hi friend,
Objective statement, summary statement— whatever you want to call the short paragraph at the top of resumes, it’s one of the most frustrating parts of writing your resume. Some sources say you need it, others say it’s outdated, there are lengthy articles explaining the difference between objective and summary statements, and you’re probably scraping your brain to find anything interesting to say for either. The kind of statements I write with job seekers encompass both types of statements, so I will use the phrases interchangeably below. Let’s demystify things:
Firstly, though I am a huge proponent of cover letters, it’s likely that your resume will be reviewed before your cover letter, and at some points of the process hiring team members will review your resume alone. This means that an objective statement is crucial if your resume raises questions. Even if you talk about your resume gap or your career transition or why you are seeking an individual contributor position after being in leadership for ten years in your cover letter, you need to assuage concerns on the resume too.
Secondly, a meaningful summary statement is an opportunity to nudge the reader to interpret your resume a certain way. This is especially helpful if your past experience includes multiple areas of expertise, and you want to highlight one or two. Brains do not like to do a lot of work, so if you give the reader an interpretation and the rest of your resume fits, they will likely accept it. We’ll talk about that more in a future blog.
So where do resume objective statements go wrong?
Too long: Most people only need a single sentence.
Too generic: Everybody writes that they are “an experienced and responsible team player with good organization and communication skills”.
Too redundant: If you have 10 years of B2B direct sales experience in furniture, and you’re applying for another B2B direct sales position in furniture, it is highly unlikely that you have anything to add in a summary statement.
Not every resume needs a summary statement, but with so many people changing career paths, it is likely that you will need one at some point. The key is to keep it short, specific and contextual, and exercise good judgement on whether or not it should be included in the first place. Make sure to cover who you are, what you’re looking for, and the answer to any obvious questions, like a COVID gap. Good news though— if you’ve already written your cover letter, all you have to do is condense your first paragraph into one sentence, and you’re done!
Happy Thursday,
Karissa
