Resume Objective Statement for someone looking to switch careers

The thing is that objective statements are a major thing of the past. Including one may work her further into a corner, not get her out of the one she's in currently. Instead she could focus on making a https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140908135506-4217978-the-t-cover-letter-the-only-type-worth-sending in her cover letters that shows how her experience in Industry A will translate to Industry B. She could also identify potential https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140908135506-4217978-the-t-cover-letter-the-only-type-worth-sending in the industry she'd prefer to work in, and then speak to how she'd help her target companies address that issue successfully. Both tactics have helped me bridge the gap between industries that seem disconnected but in fact share quite a bit.

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)

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.