How to Write a Resume – Objective Vs Summary Statements

 for instance) and demonstrate that you have the
It’s hard to write a resume. Most of us are notskills or education (if not the job background) for the
“born salespeople.” Just mentioning the wordposition.
“sales” usually sends a shiver of fear up our 
spines. Add to this the fact that we are taught fromWhen you write your resume make sure that you
childhood that it’s not polite to brag aboutuse “action words” in your objective
ourselves it’s no wonder that when you’restatement. Just like they sound they convey that
asked to “sell yourself” on a resume youyou are a person willing to get to work and do your
freeze up like a deer in the headlights.best. It should state your skills, your desires and
 what you want to do FOR the employer.
So instead of panicking let’s take a resume apart 
piece by piece and explain how to write an effectiveThe WRONG Way To State An Objective:
resume. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the fear 
involved in “selling yourself” on paper.Looking for a position with a dynamic company that
 will recognize and use my talents. I am seeking a
RESUME BASICS (what every resume MUST have)company that promotes from within and will
 recognize and reward hard work and talent.
Your name, address and phone number (obviously). 
But also your email address.This statement is all about YOU. It gives the
 prospective employer no information about yourself
Email addresses are where most people tend to gothat makes you stand out from the crowd. When
wrong. I have a friend with an email address calledyou write your resume try to think from their
“1hottiger” (one hot tiger). While this mightposition. They want someone that’s gonna get in
be cute among friends, to a prospective employer itthere and work hard to make THEM money. How will
shows poor taste, and a lack of maturity (sinceyou do that?
she’s in her late 40’s). If you don’t 
have a professional sounding email, create a new oneThe RIGHT Way to State An Objective:
just for your job search. You can get free email 
addresses on Google, Yahoo or Hotmail.To apply my knowledge acquired through my
 Masters degree in Graphic Design and internship at
Example of a BAD email address:ABC Advertising Company to an entry level position
 in the art and marketing department of a major
ImAPartyGirl@email dot commagazine.
JennysMom@email dot com 
2Hot2Handle@email dot comThe Summary Statement
  
Example of a GOOD email address:A Summary statement is for people that have been
 working for a while. It “sums up” your skills
MaryMartin@email dot comand positions using strong “action words” and
M.Martin@email dot comstates your qualifications up-front. It’s a way for
Mary.A.Martin@email dot coma prospective employer to “glance” at your
 resume and determine if it’s worth reading
STYLEfurther. It should outline briefly your skills and
 hen you write a resume avoid using fancy fonts orbackground and anything you feel you did that was
colored ink. This just makes you look immature. Plus,“above and beyond” the nature of the job
statistics show that if someone has to struggle toyou held.
read something they won’t. Which means 
you’re resume is guaranteed to hit the trashBAD Summary
faster than most if you use a script font. 
 Department manager for 15 member department in
Try to make your resume look like a nice letterhead.large marketing firm. Managed schedules and oversaw
One thing I do when I write a resume is condensedaily department duties and workflow.
lines by putting my address all on one line and my 
phone number all the way to the right. Then IThe reason this is BAD is that it’s generic. Lots
separate it all with a nice line to look like professionalof people have jobs like that. What set you apart?
stationery.Let’s try again:
  
Leslie KGOOD Summary
                   (888) 555-0123 
123 My Street • Anytown, USAAccomplished department manager with 10 years
11223              Email: LeslieK@emailexperience. Created highly synergistic department of
dotcom15 creative marketing employees that generated
_____________________________over $5 million dollars in annual sales through applying
 teamwork and incentives/rewards.
(hint: If you’ve ever wondered how people put 
in those dots and long dashes, it’s a simple code.This is just a sample but you should have 3 to 5
Just hold the ALT key and type a specific number onstrong sentences like this. When you write a resume
the number pad (number pad, NOT numbers aboveshow the results your efforts made whenever
the letters)possible, whether it was saving the company
 money and/or time, or bringing in sales.
ALT + 0149 for a dot (•) 
ALT + 0150 makes a dash (-)Please keep in mind that this article is for the person
ALT + 0151 makes a long dash (—)just entering the job market or in entry-level or
 lower-level management. If you’ve been in the
When To Use An Objective Over A Summaryworkforce for a while and are on the rise in your
 field then you definitely will want to consider hiring a
The Objective Statementprofessional resume writing service. If you visit our
 website, you will find recommendations to several
An objective statement is for people who are eitherexcellent professional resume writers who will work
just starting out or changing careers. Your resumeone-on-one with you designing and customizing your
should state your desired job and field (engineeringresume to showcase your skills and objectives.