If you want
to ensure your résumé is read through to the end, you need to grab the
employer’s interest with the first few lines of your résumé.
And the
thing that most employers are looking for in the résumé is your motivation for
that specific position. Not your skills, not your work history, not your
personal details; they want to first read about your motivation for that one
particular job.
Employers
and recruiters spend just eight seconds to decide whether your résumé gets
further consideration or goes in the reject pile. In eight seconds, the
employer can barely read halfway down the first page.
If the
first few lines are boring, if you’re not talking about your motivation for that
specific position in those first few sentences, then you may have missed the
boat.
This is
where the Career Summary or Career Objective section can be so effective. Use a
Career Summary if your recent employment history demonstrates your skills and
motivation relevant to the position you are applying for. If, however, you are
changing career direction or applying for your first job, a career objective is
more effective.
Please be
aware that a Career Objective should not be about what you want to get out of
the position; it needs to be about what you want to bring to the position,
what you want to do for the employer. An example of an effective Career
Objective is shown in an application for a leadership position in an
organisation providing youth services:
Chief Executive Officer
where my passion for helping young people coupled with my business background
and ability to build and lead happy teams will help Star Futures remain
financially secure and continue to provide much needed support for Wangaratta’s
youth.
The formula
for this kind of statement starts with the official title of the position. This
is followed by the word ‘where’ and then a brief description of the motivation
and skills that the applicant would bring to the position. Note that the
statement ends by detailing the benefits that the organisation would get from
giving this applicant the job.
A student
applying for a part-time job might write a Career Objective like this:
Part-tim e
casual waitress where my commitment to both customer service and to the team
effort together with my skills and experience in handling food and beverages
will help bring friendly and efficient service and customer satisfaction.
Notice how the applicant indicates her
motivation through mentioning her ‘commitment’ and through stating that she
would bring ‘friendly and efficient service and customer satisfaction’.
Here is
part of the résumé written by a mother in her 50s who is applying for a
position coordinating the administration of an organisation dedicated to
reducing childhood accidents. She considers that her current role as a mother
and her active voluntary involvement in a children’s soccer club demonstrate
that she has the skills and the motivation required for the position and so she
has chosen to write a Career Summary.
Thirty years’ experience
working with children as a teacher, parent and enthusiastic committee member
and coach of a children’s soccer club.
Currently Secretary / Treasurer responsible for a turnover of $12,500. Involved in sponsorship and fundraising as
well as organising rosters, venues, umpires, coaches etc.
The words
‘enthusiastic committee member’, the fact that it is all voluntary work and
that she has been elected Secretary/Treasurer all demonstrate her motivation.
Neither a
Career Objective nor a Career Summary is essential; what is essential is to
clearly demonstrate your motivation for the specific job you are applying for
in the first few lines and the Career Summary or Career Objective section
provides a great way to do it.
Rupert
French is an Australian job search coach. He is the author of How to Get a Good Job After 50. Rupert French, www.jobwinnersguides.com.
1 comment:
Thank you very much for this information. This needs to be shared with all who are looking for a job with stability because it's a lion's den out there!
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