From the course: Writing a Resume

Use your objective to focus the reader

From the course: Writing a Resume

Use your objective to focus the reader

- In your objective, should you decide to use one you can distinguish yourself from the pack by catching the attention of the reader. If you recall, the whole point of the objective is to focus the reader on you as a candidate, which means showcasing your skills and how you can help your future employer solve a problem. In order for you to help them solve a problem, you need to first figure out what that problem is. So I'm going to pull a random job posting and use that as the basis for building the objective so that you can see how this works. Here's a job description from a manufacturing company in California. It's an actual job description that was posted. Nothing has been changed except the removal of any identifying information. I'd like you to pause the video here and read the job description in it's entirety. The description labeled manager, human resources can be found in the exercise files. Now that you've read it, what did you notice? Were you struck by the number of places where they made it very clear exactly what it was they needed? So when I look at this, I see seven places where they were explicit in their requirements. So let's talk about this a little. If you were applying for this job, you know exactly what they need, which means your objective needs to let the reader know you are the answer to their problem. But wait, did we figure out what that problem was? Did you catch it? Right there in the beginning, they state that the candidate must be able to align with the shared services and functions of OD Training, talent acquisition, benefits, compensation and payroll. They also mentioned the company is in significant growth mode and undergoing a number of change management initiatives. When I read this, I get the distinct feeling and of course this is just an inference, but I think this company is struggling to grow. They're struggling to manage their current employees and they need significant amounts of help with creating a culture within the organization that is cohesive. This means they need a decisive problem-solver, who is great with managing people, has worked in an environment where they have previously undergone this kind of expansion and has the flexibility to roll with the uncertainty that comes with rapid expansion. They need someone who can multitask with the best of them. But above that the candidate needs to show that they have the multiple skills needed of a generalist, but also specific and probably extensive experience in the areas they mentioned. So you need to address this in your objective. Your objective could say, as an HR professional fluent in Spanish, I am seeking a management role that aligns my extensive experience in change management, in a manufacturing environment with my knowledge of operations and my Six Sigma training. Of course you would actually need to possess these skills. So are you getting the hang of this? It's kind of like working a puzzle based on the clues they give you in the job description. Try it now with a job you want to apply to.

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