Do You Need to Include a Career Objective in Your Resume?

Do you still need to include a career objective in your resume? This is perhaps one of the most common questions that are still asked by many applicants today with different answers coming from different career advisers and analysts. For those who say no, their reason is that it tends to be badly constructed and that it can also be too off-putting. On the other hand, those who say yes reason out that it is beneficial for recruiters as it gives them a preview of your abilities and your goals for the company.

When to add a career objective

If you want to include an objective then it has to be as concise as possible. It can’t be denied though that a lot of career objectives have been poorly written because the goals are unclear making this section of the resume useless rather than valuable. And instead of conveying what they can contribute to the company, they resort to using this section to tell what they want from the employer.

An objective can help you target the right job opportunities particularly if you have diverse skills and work experiences. You can include an objective that is applicable to many different jobs while still describing the specific skills. This can also work well if you are planning to change careers which cannot be supplemented by the credentials that you included in your resume.

When to leave your objective off

There’s no rule stating that you need to have a single resume to submit to different employers. Having several versions is actually ideal especially when you’re eyeing for different types of jobs or those that are not in the same industry. This means that you can have several resumes with objectives that are tailor-made for every position that you want to apply for. This however might not be advantageous when you’re giving out your CV in a networking situation or you’re attending a career fair. Unless you are aware of the positions offered and the nature of work, it would be best to omit the objective in these circumstances.

So what should I do if I’m not comfortable in adding an objective?

If you prefer not to use an objective then there are other ways to fit your resume for the specific jobs that you want to apply for. You can put your concentration on your cover letter by particularizing on what you want to do and what you can bring to the company. You can also choose to complement or substitute your objective with other sections in your resume like Qualifications, Skills Summary or Credentials. Highlighting your skills and abilities can make you more interesting to recruitment managers and the use of the correct words in these sections can put you into the right job market.

The bottom line

Adding a career objective in your resume will still be up to you and if you do add this section in your CV, remember to make it very detailed and not limiting. An objective should convey what you can contribute to the organization and must reflect not your perception but more on the employer’s. And regardless if you decide to include an objective, presenting your qualifications and skills can make your resume more valuable.