Day-after-day, employers receive 100s of resumes from qualified candidates. Regrettably, unless you are able to make your resume unique enough, you will end up being just a resume in the pile. When it comes to resume writing, you should have a clear goal and showcases it in the right place, with the right words, so that you can catch the attention of the employers and recruiters.
While you can use a resume objective, they most of the time sound outdated and selfish. Rather, lots of job seekers now use a Qualifications Summary in their resume, which allows them to open with a statement that says “here I am, and here is what I have to offer.” While yur career history and education will go over everything in details, a brief statement about what you can do for the company will definitely have a bigger impact.
When writing this statement, you should keep a few things in mind. First, you should use pro-active language; keep your distance from big fancy words. Instead, go straight to the point. In addition, make certain that you are appealing to the employer and that you show them clearly what you can do for them. They could care less about what you want in a job; they just want to know what you can bring to their company, so make sure this is clear. Another important thing when writing your resume objective or qualifications summary is to avoid vague statements such as “looking for a position where I can utilize my skills, experience and be a team player”. This statement is unclear, self-focused and doesn’t tell anything to the employer about what you have to offer.
Here are a few good examples:
“Sales executive with employee management skills, computer abilities and a MBA”.
Administrative assistant with five years of experience in word processing, client communications, clerical work, and great phone skills.
These two qualifications summaries are very focused and direct, speaking clearly to the employer about what these candidates can do. Since most HR mangers simply glance at resumes, you should make sure you deliver a powerful message so that your resume stands out.
When it comes to resume writing, there are several elements that need to be considered, but the statement that you make at the beginning is probably the most important as if it’s what makes the first impression and if it’s not catchy enough, employers won’t read further.
