Writing your resume objective statement? It requires some skill and strategic thinking. Here are 25 Resumania® examples that should serve as cautionary tales about what not to do.
While many job seekers today opt to lead off their resume with a professional summary, some people still like to use a resume objective statement. If you are in the process of trying to craft a strong objective statement, remember that it needs to be compelling and targeted to the employer you’re contacting.
Here’s an example of a resume objective statement that provided prospective employers with useful information:
“Objective: To secure a rewarding entry-level help desk position where I can use my extensive knowledge of computer hardware and software in a university setting.”
Many job seekers, unfortunately, write objective statements that are unclear, self-focused, generic, silly or downright bizarre. Following are 25 ill-advised objective statements from real-life resumes — dubbed Resumania® by our founder — that our company has collected.
The self-focused resume objective statement
Your objective statement must succinctly clarify what you can do for the employer — not what you hope to gain from the organization if hired. These candidates goofed by focusing on their wants and needs:
1. “Objective: Looking forward to earning more than $120,000 a year at your company.”
2. “Objective: My position will have pleasant surroundings, a reasonable salary, low pressure, not require me to bring work home and good benefits.”
3. “Objective: I would like to work for a company that is very lax when it comes to tardiness.”
4. “Objective: Something that will pull me out of my intellectual-stimulation rut.”
The goofy resume objective statement
A hiring manager simply wants to know what you bring to the table. While there might be an opportunity in a job interview to show off your personality or sense of humor, your resume — particularly the opening of your resume — isn’t the place to do it.
5. “Objective: To find an employer out there who is looking to hire a non-idiot. I am a non-idiot.”
6. “Objective: A position as one of the people who secretly controls the world from behind the scenes.”
7. “Objective: My objective is to get married and have three kids. Oh, wait, you want my career objective.”
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The “OK, I’ll settle for your job” resume objective statement
You would not feel too excited if an employer contacted you after an interview and offered this statement: “Well, we’d much prefer virtually any other applicant for the role, but we can’t wait any longer so we suppose you’ll do for now.” In your objective statement, display some enthusiasm and knowledge of the company and role. Expressing a cavalier attitude — as these next candidates did — will get you nowhere.
8. “Objective: I want a regular eight-hour job until I find a goal for what my life should be.”
9. “Objective: Anything, please.”
10. “Objective: My dream job would be as a professional baseball player, but since I can’t do that, I’ll settle on being an accountant.”
The mistake-ridden resume objective statement
Nothing damages your chances like a careless typo, which calls into question your attention to detail. Avoid grammatical goofs and spelling blunders by establishing a step-by-step proofreading system. In addition to running your computer’s spell-check function, take some time to read your resume several times on screen and on paper. These job seekers chose to skip that important process:
11. “Objective: To get an opportunity to proof what I know.”
12. “Objective: I’m looking for my big brake.”
13. “Objective: I would like to secure a challenging position and accell in the accounting industry.”
14. “Objective: I have hi expectations for myself and hope one day to achieve millionaire status.”
The extremely confusing resume objective statement
Proofread not just for typos, but also for clarity. It’s wise to ask trusted friends or family members for feedback and editing suggestions. If something doesn’t make sense to them, it’s probably not going to make sense to an employer.
15. “Objective: To wear many hats.”
16. “Objective: To find a career that will allocate dexterity from preceding experiences to perform a job to superiority. In addendum to facile and ardent task force will alleviate the work environment of unethical work habits.”
17. “Objective: My goal is to turn my work environment into a work environment.”
18. “Objective: To circumvent corporate America and reach free thinkers who don’t take themselves too seriously, but take monetary gain and peace of mind paramount a non-conformance with credit ability.”
The completely untargeted resume objective statement
Do your homework and carefully review the job description. Then, tailor your statement to the specific position you are seeking. These job hunters were as vague and unfocused as you can get:
19. “Objective: Every job available!”
20. “Objective: To be a life coach, closet design organizer, radio host and manager of a boutique hotel on a tropical island.”
21. “Objective: Secure a position in a large firm as receptionist, PBX operator, manager, owner or accounts receivable clerk.”
22. “Objective: To secure a job or career.”
The bridge-burning resume objective statement
While this should go without saying, badmouthing a current or former boss anywhere in your resume is guaranteed to raise questions about your ability to take direction or get along in the workplace. Using your application materials to get personal is a bad plan. If you were fired from a role and feel the need to add some (diplomatically worded) context, do so in a cover letter.
23. “Objective: A new job. I am looking for work because the jerk manager I have now is giving me lots of trouble.”
24. “Objective: Looking for any employer that doesn’t stink like mine.”
25. “Objective: I don’t like my work or my boss. I need to find a new boss. Maybe you could be the one!”
