Executive Summary vs. Objective on Resume

Welcome More readers!

Unless you are a recent college graduate, you should refrain from using an objective on your resume. The problem with most resume objectives is that they are often written to convey what you want to get out of the job rather than what you will contribute.

Here's an example of a decent objective:

Executive Director of a not-for-profit where I can contribute to the organization’s mission of smart growth, environmental sustainability, and/or resourceful residential architecture.

Now, check out an Executive Summary for the same goal (click image to view full size):

Isn't that so much more powerful? A well-written executive summary can convey your personal brand (unique value proposition) and will cause the balance of your resume to be more closely considered. It's also a place where you can pepper your resume with the keyword phrases that will help it to be retrieved from a database.

Comments

[Petula]

Very helpful. Thanks. I was reading More magazine and saw this link.