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Eddie Francis
Eddie Francis
Brand Strategist | Speaker | Award-Winning Broadcaster | Leadership Enthusiast
Published Feb 26, 2015
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Make your objective statement on your resume count. As I read through resumes on a daily basis, it seems that writing an effective objective statement is a secondary thought to many job seekers. As you may have heard (or read), a study by The Ladders revealed that recruiters and hiring managers spend an average scan time of 6.2 seconds per resume review.
Where some recruiters and hiring managers may not care about an objective statement (some even say it's not necessary), that isn't true for all of us. I actually read them because it's a good way for me to "meet" a candidate who is new to the workforce. Therefore, think of your objective statement as a hand shake.
Consider the following objective statements taken from resumes I have reviewed:
- "To obtain a position that will enable me to use my strong organizational skills, educational background, and ability to work well with people."
- "To build a professional career by working with motivated and dedicated people in a very competitive and structured organizational environment."
- "Seeking a marketing or entry-level position where my education and experience will be fully utilized with the ability to grow with the company."
None of these really tell me much. Each of the statements above tells me that people want to work (we all do), they want to use their skills (we all do), they want to work with good people (we all do), and they want to work in places that encourage personal growth (most of us do). Only one points out in which field the job seeker wants to work.
On the other hand, let's look at the following examples:
- "Experienced and accomplished sales associate with a background in microbiology and biochemistry eager to put my interpersonal skills and drive to make sales into action as a sales representative."
- "Highly motivated college graduate seeking a professional sales position utilizing strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills."
- "Radio intern, graduating senior and student leader interested in news or entertainment broadcasting opportunities in television or radio. Articulate, energetic, humorous, resilient and open to relocation."
These make me feel as if I have met the candidates. They tell me what they want, who they are, what they can do, and the candidates give qualities they believe make them attractive to employers. I have to admit, however, that Igot sneaky and wrote what my objective statement would look like if I could go back to my senior year of college for the third bullet.
With those examples in mind, here are some resume rules of the road to remember:
1. Brand yourself.Tell us about your abilities, accomplishments and/or experience. Obviously, success in the classroom is an automatic boost in your personal branding. You can also define and boost your brand by telling usabout your contributions in student organizations, part-time jobs, volunteering or work study. Activities outside of the classroom providegreat personal branding opportunities because theytell us how you develop important organizational skills such as communication, organization, leadership, problem solving and team work. Andtell us what you want! By doing so, you getbetter opportunities to find employers which are a fit for you.
2. Be succinct. Avoid using articles (a, an, the) and symbols. This makes your information easier to read. Also, focus on the most relevant information to try to adhere to the "one page" rule (although going over a pagemay not be a deal breaker). Don't be too succinct, however. Avoid using too many abbreviations.
3. PLEASE use an acceptable email address. The best address to use is one that contains your name, giving us one more way to remember who you are. Addresses with objectionable contentwillmove your resume closer to the delete folder. This is about professionalism. Also, check the inbox for the email that you list on your resume.
4. Don't be too fancy.I know there are a lot of interesting looking resume templates out there but try to keep your format and design simple. I even saw one template that had the contact information at the bottom. Please avoid fonts that can be a challenge to read quickly such as scripts and other stylized fonts. Being too creative causes the equivalent of what some advertisers call "vampire creativity" which is being so creative that you suck the life out of the message.
5. Have someone proofread your resume.Hey, even we professionals make mistakes! In fact, my resume went to another level when I asked a couple of recruitment colleagues and my wife to look over it for me. I took the best parts of their feedback to create a resume that has caught more attention than ever. Remember, your resume is often your introduction to the employment communityso let someone help you make a great first impression.
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7 Comments
chiamaka chigbu
#MachineLearningPractitioner#ArtificialIntelligenceEthusaist#BiomedicalEngineering#Researcher
1y
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Thank you Sir. I have learnt a lot from this article
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Stephanie Still
Brand Marketing at De Soi / Founder of Steady Sunday
3y
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Thank you for this!
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James C. Simmons, Jr. MLA CSM FAC P/PM (doctoral candidate)
USAF Veteran, Supervisor of Recruiting, City of New Orleans, CEO/Founder, Divinity Christian Counseling and Wellness Center, ΑΦΑ 🤙🏾
8y
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Great info. Particularly for someone like myself newly entering the civilian workforce.
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Meichelle Gibson
Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Author, Award Show Production, and Music Producer
9y
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Love this Eddie Francis! Great insights!
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