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Your resume has all of 3 seconds to make an impression. That’s just about enough time to read that very first sentence on your resume, usually referred to as the objective statement or summary statement. Yet these statements are often so poorly written as to cause an otherwise good resume to land in the “no” pile. There are 3 common mistakes I often see with the objective or summary statement: 

Mistake #1:  Using Self-serving language.  Take a look at this objective statement taken from a Marketing Manager resume:

Objective: A position with a growing company where I will be recognized for utilizing my branding, social networking, and lead generation skills.

Many job seekers mistakenly assume that an objective statement should explain what they are looking for in a position. This is simply WRONG and is considered quite amateurish, but is still being done frequently enough to warrant attention. This sentence tells me not about your “talents”, but rather that you’ve got a chip on your shoulder about being recognized for your talents before you’ve proved yourself. This statement is all about you, when here I am I’m looking for someone to solve my problems, not their own. Please don’t waste your 3-seconds on a self-serving sentence - instead, use this as an opportunity to showcase what your “talents” really are.   Which brings me to Mistake #2:

Mistake #2 Using buzzwords with no accomplishment attached to their use.    Go back and take note of the part of the example objective above that says ”branding, social networking, and lead generation talents". The way these terms are used, the candidate has simply listed buzzwords, or keywords.   It doesn’t show me the candidate has any real knowledge of these areas except that she knows how to spell them.  It’s OK to have a separate section of your resume listing keywords - just don’t have that be the first thing an employer sees because it won’t get you through the 3-second test.  Later in this article, I'll show you a rewritten statement that effectively deals with Mistakes #1 and #2, but first let's look at Mistake #3:

Mistake #3: Using a generic job description that isn’t unique to you.   Take a look at this statement from a VP of Sales resume:

Accomplished sales leader with 15 years of experience in building and leading sales teams to drive business through proven sales processes and aggressive sales initiatives that deliver revenue growth, market share and customer satisfaction. Excel in developing strategic sales plans that improve operational processes and procedures to streamline lead generation, sales cycles, customer acquisition and retention.

This statement is so generic that any VP of Sales could make the exact same claims. But worse, much of what this says is what I pay a VP of Sales to do – grow revenue and market share and improve sales processes without pissing off customers - this is their job description. The rest is, once again, really a list of buzz-words as far as I’m concerned.  In no way has this candidate given me any indication of her unique attributes or that she can solve my problems.   In fact, she’s given no indication that she even knows what my problems are.

Redefining the objective of the Objective Statement

The objective of your objective statement should be to showcase your knowledge of current industry or company problems, directly connecting your unique experience to be the solution that I as a potential employer need. That first statement on your resume should scream to me “I understand what you’re going through and I’ve solved this before!”   With this in mind, here’s a reworking of the Marketing Manager summary:

Results-driven marketing manager who consistently delivers cost-effective programs that directly increase high-quality sales leads. In my last position my new social networking initiative drove 400% new high-quality leads in the first quarter it was introduced, reducing customer acquisition cost by 32%.   

This is a marketing manager I want to talk to. Rather than tell me she knows “social networking”, she shows me that she clearly understands how to use social networking to directly impact my bottom line with a great example of her success. She also shows that she understands that in this environment, cost is important - not just creativity or merely knowing how to use these new tools. 

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Author Natalee Roan is the CEO of Vjournal.  As a chief-level executive and board advisor for a number of companies, she has hired staff for all levels of a company, from administrative assistants to COOs and CFOs, and every level and department in between. 

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