It’s the first thing on a resume after your contact information. Your resume objective may determine a hiring manager’s interest in the rest of your resume.

I have seen otherwise perfectly qualified candidates get turned away because, according to their resume objective, they “want to do something else.”

When applying for a specific position with a company, make sure your resume objective matches up with the position you are applying for.

When you are putting together a more general resume, either for posting online or for distribution at a career fair, keep the resume objective more general.

Examples of specific resume objectives:

• A position as a Senior Java Software Engineer developing n-tier applications.
• Entry level Electrical Engineer position at XYZ Company.
• SQL Database Developer in the Financial Services Industry.

Examples of more general objectives:

• A position that will utilize my years of experience in application development.
• A position in the Electrical Engineering field.
• A position in Database Development or Administration.

By customizing your objective, the hiring manager (or decision maker) sees instantly that you are a potential fit for the position and that you care enough about first impressions to go that extra step.

As always, you can count on EresumeX as your free job portal.

~Dawn Krovicka