THE NEED FOR OBJECTIVE STATEMENT IN A RESUME: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO WRITE ONE

THE NEED FOR OBJECTIVE STATEMENT IN A CV: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO WRITE ONE

A CV objective statement is your chance of making a first impression with the hiring managers. There are three purposes of an objective statement in a resume:

• It outlines what your professional objectives are.
• Whether you’re experienced enough in your professional field or embarking on an exciting new career.
• Why you’re the perfect choice out of several others for the job position you’re targeting.

If you want your resume to stand out amongst several others, a well-written resume objective is key.

LOCATION OF A CV OBJECTIVE STATEMENT AND WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE

An objective statement in a CV comes at the top of your resume directly below you contact section. Resume objective statement typically states your goals for employment in one to three sentences. For a well-written CV objective to stand out it’s of essence that it should be;

1. Be specific about the hard and soft skills and experiences you have that relate to the job posting you applying for.
2. Ensure that your career goals you’re stating aligns with that of the company you’re applying to.

Each sentence of the objective statement in the CV should be concise and direct to the point. An effective career objective statement is made to suit the job position you’re applying to and can include the following:

• What Career/Position You’re Targeting

For instance: To apply solid Accounting skills to an entry-level cost accountant position with an organization that values hard work.

• What Skills and Experience You Bring to that Career you are applying to

For instance:  Seeking to refine the analytical, support and training skills acquired in five years as an accounting manager.

• Achievements  that are Relevant to the Current Job You’re Pursuing

For instance: In two years as a store manager at company XYZ, I cut costs by 20 percent and boosted inventory accuracy by over 40 percent.

EXAMPLES OF PROFESIONAL CV OBJECTIVE STATEMENTS

It’s always not possible to deploy every single piece of the above advice into a resume objective statement. Try to keep the most applicable recommendations in mind and carefully review your resume to make sure that your resume objective is as effectively written as possible. The following are examples of excellent resume objective statements:

Examples of CV objective statement for prospective workers in a career change

EXAMPLE 1: "Accomplished freelance writer set on changing career to content marketing. Spent five years writing quality freelance articles for various organizations and media outlets in Nigeria. I hope to apply a strong grasp of informative and exciting copywriting to strengthen the appeal of marketing blog."

EXAMPLE 2: An experienced office manager making a career shift to human resources. Five solid years of experience supporting a diverse office team of over 20 professionals while providing professional communication. Seeking to apply this combination of administrative and interpersonal skills to help company XYZ meet company-wide human resource objectives."

Examples of CV objective statement for prospective workers returning to the Workforce after a Long Absence

EXAMPLE 1: "An Experienced administrative assistant with a proven 10-year record of providing excellent communications, filing, report-writing and customer service. Returning to work after a three-year career pause. Looking to apply and enhance skills in helping ABC Company’s head office enjoy the best possible standards of efficiency and customer relations."

EXAMPLE 2: "A proven marketing and design professional with five years’ track record in print and online work. Returning to the workplace after a 1 year maternity leave. Hope to apply my creative skills in building innovative and effective graphic design and layout to help company ABC enhance its potentials by acquiring new clients and opportunities."

Examples of CV objective statement for prospective workers entering the Workforce

EXAMPLE 1: "Recent double honours in English and Communications from the University of Nigeria who has completed two internships in public relations. Very creative in writing, planning and design skills to craft effective marketing materials for clients in multiple sectors. Seeking to apply these creative skills to assist with the planning and execution of marketing deliverables for ABC Ltd."

EXAMPLE 2: "Self-motivated individual with a year working experience in sales and knowledgeable about business principles and objectives. Proven interpersonal and sales skills in the course of cold-calling for real estate leads on behalf of ABC Ltd., with an 18 percent conversion rate. Seeking an entry-level position with the company XYZ marketing team."

Example of CV objective statement for prospective workers with Gaps in Their Work History

"Creative marketing manager with a specialty in social media who doubled organic traffic during a two-year tenure at ABC Ltd. Took a year away from work to care for an elderly relative of mine, while undertaking professional training to keep skills current and up to date. Seeking to apply my creative skills to managing a growth-oriented content marketing strategy for cvclue.com."

Example of CV objective statement for prospective workers who were once Job-Hoppers

"Accomplished and in-demand marketing professional with a 8-year work experience in planning and delivering quality content for a number of companies. Have supervised successful campaigns to the consistent acclaim of clients in the communications and energy sectors in Nigeria. Currently seeking a long-term position with potential for stability, growth and consistency as a marketing specialist with ABC Ltd."

THE KEY WRITING TIPS FOR A GREAT CV OBJECTIVE STATEMENT

Considering the competitive nature of the Nigeria labour market, the approach you decide take in writing your CV and resume objective makes all the difference in making it stand out amongst several other resumes on the desk of a hiring manager. You have to be creative in writing so as to strike the right balance between informative and wordy. In doing this, focus on your core career objectives while making it clear what value you can add to the company and your colleagues, and you have to do it all in the space of about 50-60 words. In achieving this, the following have to be strictly adhered to:

Short and Direct

Brevity and focus are important keys to writing an objective statement that stands out. A resume typically has about six to ten seconds to catch a hiring manager’s eye, as they’re traditional going through multiple resumes in limited time. The career statement should be short, direct, strong and avoid too much words.

Personalize it for the job

A generalized career statement or objective statement simply shows a candidate that is not ready to put in effort to distinguish him/herself from the crowd. A resume objective should be tailored specifically for the job role you are pursuing, and highlight the skills and experiences that are strongly aligned with the job description in question.

Write to show not tell

In writing a stand out resume objective statement, don’t just say you’re the ideal candidate. Show it with concrete examples. If you can, quantify your achievements when you mention them. Your relevant experience managing an office or a store, for example, should include quantifiable achievements like the decrease of waste or an increase in profits.

Set the Stage

In writing your CV/Resume for that job opening, your resume objective statement can be thought of as the "hook" for the rest of your resume, it can make a hiring manager get interested by staying on your resume for a longer time or otherwise. The hard and soft skills, experiences and qualities you outline here should be a reasonable representative of the resume’s fuller contents. This consistency means that when the recruiter is tempted to read your resume in more detail, it further engages their interest which is the goal of every job seeker.

Start with Your Strengths

When writing your objective statement, aside your quantifiable accomplishments, start with the personal skills you have that you’re most proud of and that contribute directly to the job position you’re seeking.

Describe How You’ll Add Value

While the focus of a resume objective statement tends to be on your career goals, that doesn’t mean you can’t also address the question of what you bring to the company and how you’ll help them to do things better if you are eventually hired to fill the job opening.

Make it Error-Free

Nothing robs a resume objective statement of more credibility than careless typo grammatical errors. To many, mistakes in this sense also include a failure to write in complete sentences. Ensure that you write in complete sentences and proof read what you’ve written to enhance your opportunities.