The first few lines of your resume count.  Just like an advertisement, the resume needs to hook the interest of the reader.  Resumes are scanned and one has about 30 seconds to make a positive impression or you risk ending up in the OUT pile.

It has long been thought that an objective statement is a necessary component of a resume.  The objective statement is a brief, clear statement that outlines the type of employment one is seeking.  It includes a position title, perhaps the name of the company to which one is applying or, at the very least, the type of industry.  A well-written objective statement gives the prospective employer the sense that one has purpose and direction.  A poorly written objective wastes space. 

A profile or summary statement has a different focus.  Instead of the objective statement "This is what I want" perspective, the profile says, "This is what I have to offer you."  A profile/summary statement would detail three to five key strengths, experiences and interests that one has to offer the employer.  It answers the questions, "What can this candidate do for me?"  This brief, well-written statement can be called:  Profile, Summary, Strengths, Skills, or Highlights.  If one chooses the profile statement, the cover letter accompanying one'e resume must specify the position of interest, including job title and/or job number.

   A comparison:

Job Objective: Desire technical editing position with supervisory responsibilities in an engineering firm.

Profile: Highly skilled technical writer with three years publishing experience.  Knowledgeable in current web design technology.  Experienced communicator and team player.

Developing a Profile Statement
To develop a profile statement consider the specific position of consideration and then consider the skills, knowledge and abilities that you would bring to the employer.  Identify three to five key strengths and either present them in concise sentences or bullet them in a list.  The profile sentence above may become a bulleted list like this:

• Highly skilled technical writer
• Three years publishing experience
• Proficient with Dreamweaver web design software and FrontPage
• Experienced communicator and team player

The Short-Term/Long-Term Format
Immediate Objective: Entry-level Accounting Trainee with an Industrial Firm.
Long-Term Objective: Progression to Comptroller function, with responsibilities for a number of accounting systems and policy responsibility for fiscal affairs of a corporation.

The Functional Format
Functional Work Objective: Position that includes responsibilities for systems analysis and creating data systems for maintenance of records, evaluation of programs, and projection of future sales trends.

The Skills Format
Skills Objective: Position that requires knowledge of decision-making models, and application of models to marketing and production planning.

Functional/Industrial Format
Functional/Industrial Objective: General Sales Representative with company that produces soap, toiletry, or food products.

Skills/Industrial Format
Skills/Industrial Objective: Position that requires knowledge of COBOL, RPG II, and BASIC, and that requires sales/customer services abilities in the software industry.

When functional or skills types of objectives are used, the work experience section or the education section of the resume should reflect the abilities and wishes set forth in the objective statement.

Career objective statements should avoid terms such as: opportunity for advancement; a challenging position dealing with people; a progressive company; position that requires creativity; a company that recognizes...; a chance to....

While these terms may sound nice to the job applicant, they have little meaning to the person who will make a decision for an interview invitation, and in fact may indicate that the candidate has no idea about objectives. The candidate who applies vagueness will get a vague response in return.