One of the most divisive things I’ve seen when it comes to advice on a resume is whether or not to have an objective section.
I used to be on the side that said Yes. In fact, until about a year ago, I included it on my resume, which means that I was hired into my current job with the objective section intact.
But, I’ve since changed my mind.
I think having an Objective is nice but I don’t think it’s necessary. I bet if you interviewed 100 HR representatives and hiring managers, none would tell you that they decided on a hire because of a great Objective section.
It also boils down to real estate. One of the more common pieces of advice I’ve heard is to keep your resume short. One page or two pages seem to cover most recommendations as far as that goes. That space can get consumed pretty quickly. If you’re including an Objective that is, say, five lines of text, that means that there are five lines you’re having to keep out somewhere else.
Could you omit a key duty that someone might be looking for? Could you shorten an accomplishment so much that it gets overlooked? Could you knock off a certification from the list that might make you stand out? To me, the tradeoffs of an Objective section simply are not worth it once you have developed enough skills and had enough accomplishments.
What do you think? If you’re currently keeping your resume up to date, do you have an Objectives section?
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