Resume Objective Statement for someone looking to switch careers
April 9, 2015 7:46 PM Subscribe
This question isn't for myself so much as it is for someone I know very well who is looking for a job that will hopefully be a radical departure from her previous career. For the sake of argument, let's refer to her previous job as a position within what I will call the "bartgage industry" from here on forward. The challenge for her will be to frame her resume in such a way that effectively illustrates her prior experience while also emphasizing her desire never to work in the field of bartgage ever again (so help her God).
Up until about a year ago, she had been working in the bartgage industry for 13 years with the same company before being laid off and has absolutely zero intention of ever working in that field again. She's updated her resume which reflects her previous experience in good enough detail to outline what she's been up to for over a decade without going overboard on the details. She's hit upon one snag, however; her resume looks very good... for someone who wants to continue working in bartgage. So she asked me if there was there something she could say in her Objective Statement right up at the very top after her name, address and phone number (but before her career history) that states in clear terms that while she has a lot of experience in bartgage, she has zero intention of continuing in that career path.
Truth be told, I'm not 100% certain how to answer her question. She knows what she sort of wants to do, but at the moment really doesn't know exactly she wants to do for the long term. She expressed interest in working in a music store, maybe, or a library or a bookstore (at least as a short term solution until she figures out what her long-term goal should be). She's not in the position to mention specifics at the moment, so pinning down what should be in her objective statement within the header of her resume is a bit of a challenge for both her and myself. The job market in our area is healthy, and there's no rush to find a job right this second, but I wanted to ask the MetaFilter community what they would do to help us find a good statement to make as her initial presentation to a potential future employer.
Up until about a year ago, she had been working in the bartgage industry for 13 years with the same company before being laid off and has absolutely zero intention of ever working in that field again. She's updated her resume which reflects her previous experience in good enough detail to outline what she's been up to for over a decade without going overboard on the details. She's hit upon one snag, however; her resume looks very good... for someone who wants to continue working in bartgage. So she asked me if there was there something she could say in her Objective Statement right up at the very top after her name, address and phone number (but before her career history) that states in clear terms that while she has a lot of experience in bartgage, she has zero intention of continuing in that career path.
Truth be told, I'm not 100% certain how to answer her question. She knows what she sort of wants to do, but at the moment really doesn't know exactly she wants to do for the long term. She expressed interest in working in a music store, maybe, or a library or a bookstore (at least as a short term solution until she figures out what her long-term goal should be). She's not in the position to mention specifics at the moment, so pinning down what should be in her objective statement within the header of her resume is a bit of a challenge for both her and myself. The job market in our area is healthy, and there's no rush to find a job right this second, but I wanted to ask the MetaFilter community what they would do to help us find a good statement to make as her initial presentation to a potential future employer.
Response by poster: I completely get what your saying, Hermione. That being said, the objective to constructing a decent objective statement is to avoid cornering her to a specific career without reconstructing her entire resume or coming up with creative cover letter solutions. What we're looking for a little something at the top of the resume document that states "Yes this is what I've been doing for many years now and therefore merits a place on my resume, but on the other hand I want nothing to do with this work again in the near or far future". It's something that's to the point that does not take several bullet points to explain.
In other words, nothing fancy. Just a one-sentence statement that gets the job done. We looked at possible alternatives like "Did it. Hated it. Fuck it." That seems to be a counter-productive solution on further reflection, however.
posted by surazal at 8:14 PM on April 9, 2015
In other words, nothing fancy. Just a one-sentence statement that gets the job done. We looked at possible alternatives like "Did it. Hated it. Fuck it." That seems to be a counter-productive solution on further reflection, however.
posted by surazal at 8:14 PM on April 9, 2015
I work in IT in higher ed., however much that helps or doesn't what I'm about to say. I've been on something like 15-20 search committees in my 15 years in this business, and cover letters are way, *way* more important than giving up space on a 1-2 page resume to an objective statement (relative to listing actual experience on the resume).
But for god's sake, if you [your friend, I realize] *must* do an objective statement, don't make it all about you: "*I* want to find new ways to challenge *myself* in a work environment that appreciates *my* unique skill sets." Couch it in terms of how you want to be an asset to the organization. To be clear: at every turn, the cover letter, resume, and interview should be playing up how you're going to help the organization and not what they're going to do for you.
Bonus tip: if the job posting specifically mentions "required" vs. "desired" skills, make sure the resume mentions *every* *single* *one* of the required skills. (Even if the reality is a matter of 'Well, I guess I'm going to start reading up on $topic', you put down something like "some experience with $topic," or "some training but no direct experience with $topic.") You have no idea how much of a leg up that can give you, at least from what I've seen. And that's in an environment that doesn't rely on automated resume scanners that look for all the required keywords.
Best of luck to your friend!
posted by kimota at 8:40 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
But for god's sake, if you [your friend, I realize] *must* do an objective statement, don't make it all about you: "*I* want to find new ways to challenge *myself* in a work environment that appreciates *my* unique skill sets." Couch it in terms of how you want to be an asset to the organization. To be clear: at every turn, the cover letter, resume, and interview should be playing up how you're going to help the organization and not what they're going to do for you.
Bonus tip: if the job posting specifically mentions "required" vs. "desired" skills, make sure the resume mentions *every* *single* *one* of the required skills. (Even if the reality is a matter of 'Well, I guess I'm going to start reading up on $topic', you put down something like "some experience with $topic," or "some training but no direct experience with $topic.") You have no idea how much of a leg up that can give you, at least from what I've seen. And that's in an environment that doesn't rely on automated resume scanners that look for all the required keywords.
Best of luck to your friend!
posted by kimota at 8:40 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
without reconstructing her entire resume or coming up with creative cover letter solutions
Sorry, but a reconstructed resume and a creative cover letter is what's going to get her another job, not an objective statement that's going to (a) be skimmed over and (b) paint her, rightly or wrongly, as someone who's out of touch. Maybe it would be worth investing in a resume writer/career coach if she doesn't want to tackle it herself, or doesn't know how.
(Currently on four search committees and have seen every variety of shitty resume)
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:49 PM on April 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sorry, but a reconstructed resume and a creative cover letter is what's going to get her another job, not an objective statement that's going to (a) be skimmed over and (b) paint her, rightly or wrongly, as someone who's out of touch. Maybe it would be worth investing in a resume writer/career coach if she doesn't want to tackle it herself, or doesn't know how.
(Currently on four search committees and have seen every variety of shitty resume)
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:49 PM on April 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The article "The Only Time It's OK to Use an Objective Statement on Your Resume" seems to believe that one and only time is the situation your friend finds herself in. It even has a suggestion for how to word it:
...be as specific as possible about your goal and plainly state how you intend to bring your skills and strengths to a position—something like this: “Objective: To leverage my 10+ years of client-facing experience, public speaking skills, and expertise in the tech industry in a public relations role at a growing educational technology startup.” Like a summary statement, it shows off your skills, but it also explains exactly how you plan to transition them in a new role.posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:32 PM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Former HR Manager here.
With 13 years of experience as previous job, I'm now looking for opportunities that will tap into my insert skills
Then send the resume to companies outside of the bartgage industry.
What your friend wants prospective employers to see is that she has personal competences and functional skills that she can use in other sectors.
Also seconding the statement above mine
posted by Kwadeng at 12:22 AM on April 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
With 13 years of experience as previous job, I'm now looking for opportunities that will tap into my insert skills
Then send the resume to companies outside of the bartgage industry.
What your friend wants prospective employers to see is that she has personal competences and functional skills that she can use in other sectors.
Also seconding the statement above mine
posted by Kwadeng at 12:22 AM on April 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm firmly on the "objective statements are a waste of space" team. We know the objective, to get a job. I prefer to use that space more as an executive summary, your personal elevator pitch, if you will. Your objective doesn't give anybody a reason to to keep reading. A well crafted personal elevator pitch does. So the pitch needs to emphasize the skills she brings to table, regardless of industry. If she has spent 13 years managing IT, or customer service, or whatever, you can craft the summary statement to highlight the skills enough to intrigue the reader, without blatantly saying I have no experience in your industry. Granted, some, maybe most employers, will pass on her anyway, because hiring managers in the US tend to have the creative thinking skills of a sloth. However, eventually somebody that can think on their own will see the potential in her and want to talk further.
posted by COD at 5:08 AM on April 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by COD at 5:08 AM on April 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I'm in 100% agreement that 95% of the time the objective statement is completely and absolutely unnecessary for most resumes (I had one on my own resume for a couple of years before I dumped it on account that it seemed to only serve the purpose of taking up valuable header space). In this case, however, the Objective would serve the purpose, if only temporarily, to send a clear message to anyone looking at it that "I know I've been doing this forever, but I don't want to do this ever again" without being too blunt or oblique about it. Once she has her new experience to list in the main body of the resume, then she can take the objective statement off again. Equilibrium will once again have been established. :^)
Thanks everyone for your input!
posted by surazal at 7:09 AM on April 10, 2015
Thanks everyone for your input!
posted by surazal at 7:09 AM on April 10, 2015
I think you guys are underestimating how obvious it is to a potential employer in a completely new industry that you friend isn't applying to do the same job in the same field. That's why the objective statement is a detriment to her job search, not a boon.
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2015
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2015
I absolutely detest objective statements on resumes but would reluctantly admit that in this particular instance one like Kwadeng suggests is not a bad idea. Maybe.
(Just don't put "Objective:" in front of it. If it's more of a general abstract / summary / written-elevator-pitch it probably won't trigger the kneejerk hate that anything that's explicitly called out as an "objective statement" does to a lot of readers.)
Though I wouldn't bother to put it on the version of the resume that gets sent out behind a cover letter, since the cover letter is your opportunity to say the same thing and having it on the resume as well is pretty duplicative. Given that, it may not really matter because for someone looking to switch jobs mid-career, their best prospects are probably going to be the situations where they know someone and are submitting a cover letter + resume together, not just shotgunning out standalone resumes.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:59 AM on April 10, 2015
(Just don't put "Objective:" in front of it. If it's more of a general abstract / summary / written-elevator-pitch it probably won't trigger the kneejerk hate that anything that's explicitly called out as an "objective statement" does to a lot of readers.)
Though I wouldn't bother to put it on the version of the resume that gets sent out behind a cover letter, since the cover letter is your opportunity to say the same thing and having it on the resume as well is pretty duplicative. Given that, it may not really matter because for someone looking to switch jobs mid-career, their best prospects are probably going to be the situations where they know someone and are submitting a cover letter + resume together, not just shotgunning out standalone resumes.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:59 AM on April 10, 2015
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posted by Hermione Granger at 7:54 PM on April 9, 2015 [5 favorites]