Resume: Objective vs Career Summary

With so many individuals losing their jobs, more and more resumes are being updated. It is amazing to still see job applicants having an OBJECTIVE section on their resume. What is even more astounding is how many of the resumes include a boiler-plate objective...seeking a marketing position with a firm that will allow advancement.

If you find that your resume still has an objective, then please consider adding a CAREER SUMMARY. What is a Career Summary? Your Career Summary should come right after your name, address, email and phone number. It should be limited to a couple of sentences. The goal is to be able to summarize as clearly as possible all of your experience throughout your career. Below is an example:

CAREER SUMMARY

Decisive, pro-active managing executive with diverse P&L experience in entertainment, technology and leasing. Areas of expertise include General Management, Operations Management, and Sales/Marketing. Specialized experience includes Product Management/Planning, Pricing, Receivable Management, Operations and Budgeting. Energetic, creative leader with strategic and tactical thinking capability, strong intuition, problem solving and business analysis skills. Well positioned with extensive personal network of industry leaders, and proven record in consultative solutions selling and management. Additionally, possess strategic selling research methods and teaching experience at both the undergraduate and masters levels.