Beginning your résumé with an objective that starts with “A position that offers personal growth and career advancement…” must seem like a really good idea to an awful lot of people. Otherwise, I wouldn’t see so many résumés that start exactly that way.
Well, it’s not.
So let’s look at the reasons for this behavior and then take it apart.
The prevailing thinking is that it exhibits an admirable quality: ambition. “I think employers want to know that I’m thinking ahead,” said Martin Gannon, whose otherwise good résumé prompted this article. “I want employers to see that I have high goals.”
Sounds good on the surface. However, the way I see it, there are four fallacies here.
1. First, it’s a given. With rare exception, everybody wants to grow and progress. That’s just human nature. But saying that you’re looking for advancement is rather bold when you’re really there to talk about your interest in the current job.
2. `Second (and to me, the most egregious), it is selfish and self-centered, despite the fact that it’s the truth. In other words, you’re telling the interviewer that you want this job for reasons that are important to you, not to them. And make no mistake: an employer is going to hire you for what you bring to the table, not what you take from it.
To be fair, your motives do count, and a good employer does want to know that, ultimately, you and they are a good fit on three levels: their needs and your ability to fill those needs, your ability to work well within their culture, and lastly, the issue at hand – that your needs, too, get considered. But clearly, until the employer can see what’s in it for them, they won’t think about the rest of this. That’s also human nature.
3. Third, it’s not specific. What does that nebulous phrase mean? What is advancement to you? One bump up? Two? Becoming the CEO? Buying the company? If you can’t quantify something, or at least be specific when you discuss it, it doesn’t mean very much. And if you do, you’re back to telling them what’s in this for you.
4. And fourth, it’s not aligned with the employer’s thinking about the present. Sure, there are good employers who, when interviewing you, are trying to see you in a future light (I always tried to hire my replacement so I could move up confidently), but – especially in an economy that’s been shaken to its very core – there is less hiring for the next steps than in recent memory. The widespread urgency of now is what currently drives hiring.
So with what do we replace this pet phrase?
Use language that expresses the benefits the employer will enjoy when hiring you. For starters, instead of an objective, write a summary that introduces you in vivid language, like “Bilingual executive assistant with 10 years’ experience supporting C-level officers. Proven ability to manage multiple executive calendars with an emphasis on travel, meeting planning, interdepartmental projects, and official correspondence. Well-honed skills in communication, organization, and office technology.”
See? Without specifically writing “Here’s what I can do for you,” you’re saying it loud and clear. Follow this summary with a list of strengths or areas of expertise – speaking Spanish (and experience doing business with Latin America, perhaps), meeting planning, event planning, scheduling, expense reports, liaising with outside vendors, and so on.
My goal for writing a résumé – whether for myself when I was looking for jobs or for the thousands of clients for whom I do it now – has always been that the reader should want to call you in for an interview after reading just your summary and expertise sections. This should tell them how attractive you are – what’s in it for them – as we’ve agreed. The rest of the resume should simply confirm that.
In fact, that’s exactly what happened to me on one particular occasion when the SVP, after some small talk, asked me a question that was clearly answered by the first bullet point in my most recent job. I politely answered the question. Sure enough, her next question was distinctly answered by my second bullet point. Well now, once is an incident; twice is a pattern, so I surprised her by asking her, “Did you read my résumé?” The gig was up and she smiled, chuckled and admitted, “No, your summary and expertise sections were so strong, I decided I needed to meet you and get to the details later.
That was twenty-six years ago and – to me – it was all the proof I needed of the efficacy of the “what’s-in-it-for-them?” concept. So, when putting together the beginning of your résumé – which we agree is the most important section with the highest impact – put yourself in the reader’s shoes and get out of yours.