Preparing Resume Career Objectives - Does It Make the Right Impression?

Applying for a new job is entering a competition. That competition is between you and every other person who is applying for the same position. The better and more popular the job, the greater the competition; the greater the competition, the tougher it gets to become selected. It can be a harsh and demoralizing world for the job seeker, so he or she has to do everything possible, at every stage, to increase the chances of selection.

The first impression the potential employer will have of the applicant usually comes from the resume (or curriculum vitae in some parts of the world). The resume is, therefore, at the sharp end of job success; the resume represents you before you have the chance to represent yourself personally. If there are many applicants, if your resume lets you down, that is the end of the road on that particular job journey. You need a resume that gets you noticed, and makes an instant impression as the personnel manager, or team, goes through tens or hundreds of applications for a vacant post.

When preparing a resume, it is important to set yourself apart from the crowd. One of the ways to get noticed as a serious applicant is to have well thought out career objectives in the resume. However, to be effective, career objectives included in a resume have to be very precise, and that may not be in the interests of the applicant if their inclusion rules out job possibilities in the organisation which may have been suitable. Before including resume objectives, you do need to consider if they really will help you get the job you really need.

One of the positive attractions of resume objectives is that they show you have thought about where you want your career to go. This may be especially important for new graduates, who have not had a job before, or those who are changing career. If, on the other hand, you are applying for a new job as part of an already existing career progression, then it may make more of an impact to put emphasis on your already existing skills and experience, which could be of more interest to the potential employer.

Assuming that you decide a career objective is essential to your resume, what should that objective include? The answer to that is: very little. The objective should be very precise, a simple statement of where your career goal lies. It is likely to be a particular job position, which is why objectives in a resume can be too restrictive. If the employer has several positions in the organisation or company which may suit your background, education, experience and skills, you could miss out on those options.

To help you decide whether or not to include resume objectives, find out as much as possible about the employers organization, and the opportunities that might be available. If there really is one possible route to success for you with that employer, then maybe the inclusion of a succinct career objective will be worthwhile. If you cannot find out such detail about potential opportunities with that employer, then it may be beneficial to omit the objectives, and concentrate on a powerful presentation of your skills, achievements, and training.

Always remember, that the first paragraph or two will have to make an impact to stop your resume being discarded at the first sift. You have to decide which is the best way to do that for each job application, as every one may need a slightly different approach.

By Roy Thomsitt

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Sample Resume Objective

When creating a resume, one of the most important aspects is the resume objective. Employers get hundreds of resumes whenever they place an add for a job and unless you put down your employment objective in your resume, the document that you worked so hard to produce may end up by the wayside.
There are many different sample resume objective forms that you can use,. The resume objective is simply what you wish to accomplish by sending the company your resume. In most cases, the objective is to get a certain job. This should be clearly stated on your resume.
A sample resume objective for someone who wishes to become a paralegal, for example, can include a heading stating Employment Objective and under this heading should be the type of paralegal position which you are seeking. If you are seeking to be a commercial real estate paralegal, for example, this should be stated at this point.
Another sample resume objective would be for someone who is seeking a position as receptionist. Again, the Employment Objective would be listed as receptionist.
Suppose, however, that the person who seeks to be a receptionist is also going to school for a paralegal degree. He or she may be qualified now to be a receptionist, but upon completion of their studies, will want to seek employment as a paralegal. If this person is applying for a job at a law office, in addition to the sample resume objective there should also be a career objective stated. This could read something like this:
Although I am seeking the position of receptionist, I am currently enrolled in xxx college and expect to complete my paralegal studies in xxx. My career objective is to become a paralegal.
This will let the prospective employer know that in addition to getting a receptionist, he or she may also be able to get a qualified paralegal who will have knowledge of the law firm and can remain in the employ of the law firm for years to come. This may make the candidate a bit more desirable as it costs employers thousands of dollars to train new employees.
A good sample resume objective can be found within many different software programs that assist someone in creating a resume. The wording is all there, you just need to fill in the proper information. It is essential, however, that you put down an objective in your resume. It not only denotes professionalism, but lessens the confusion on the behalf of the employer.
Employment objectives and career objectives are two different headings on most resumes. An employment objective refers to the job for which one is immediately applying., A person just out of law school may apply for a job as an associate in a law firm. This is an employment objective. A career objective for the same person, however, would probably be partner in the law firm.
Many people are hesitant about putting down career objectives on their resumes. It makes them feel foolish as if they are shooting for the stars. Nothing can be further from the truth. Most employees want to hire people with some sort of ambition. It is not foolish to say that you want to be partner of a law firm when you are an attorney, it is more foolish to say that you are content with staying an associate and never moving up the ladder.
It is important, therefore, to put employment objectives as well as career objectives, where appropriate, on your resume. If you are going to school to become a nurse and have applied for a job as a secretary, it is not necessary to put your nursing career objective on your resume as this may cost you the job. A career objective should only be included on a resume if it adds to the employment opportunity which you are seeking.
To find a good sample resume objective, take a look at some of the resume building tools online or in some resume building software. All of the information that you need to find a good sample resume objective can be right at your fingertips. Remember to be honest in what you are hoping to achieve. You do not have to get too wordy, either. A good sample resume objective can be as simple as saying that you want to be a receptionist.

Source: http://paralegaltoday.org/sample-resume-objective

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Should You Use a Career Objective on Your Resume?

It’s one of those sticky questions that divides career counselors. If you got 100 of them in a room, 50 would likely say yes, you should list a career objective on your resume; the other half would probably say no.
Those arguing against objectives say they are too limiting and usually poorly constructed. Those in favor say that employers want to be able to determine in just a few seconds what you want to do for the organization, and what you’re good at. An objective can help meet that employer need. To some employers, the lack of an objective translates into a jobseeker who doesn’t know what he or she wants. On the other hand, numerous employers say they rarely see a well-written objective.
There’s no doubt that many resume career objectives are poorly put together. To avoid limiting themselves, too many jobseekers write objectives that are woefully vague, thus defeating the purpose of presenting an objective.
Jobseekers also tend to ignore the employer’s need to know what the candidate can contribute, instead considering the objective as an invitation to list everything the jobseeker wants, needs or desires from the sought-after job. A typical self-serving objective is one along these lines:
Career objective: To obtain a meaningful and challenging position that enables me to learn the accounting field and allows for advancement.
Before we address the issue of vague and self-serving career objectives, let’s look at the pros and cons of using them at all.
The argument against limiting oneself is not without merit. After all, if your career objective doesn’t match what the hiring manager has to offer, he or she is not likely to give serious consideration to other niches within the company that you might fit into.
In this high-tech age, however, fear of limiting oneself need not be an excuse to leave a career objective off your resume. With your computer’s word-processing program, there’s no reason you can’t have several versions of your resume with several different objectives. In fact, you might have two or three versions of your resume in which the only difference is your objective. You could even come up with a specific, tailor-made objective on your resume for each job you apply for. With technology, resumes and objectives need not be “one size fits all.” Of course, if you go to a career fair, where it’s impossible to tailor your objective as you move from booth to booth, or if you’re handing out resumes in a networking situation, it may make more sense to leave your objective off.
In some situations, limiting oneself actually is a compelling reason in favor of using an objective. In one recent letter to the career doctor, Dr. Randall Hansen, the job-seeker said he used his objective to state his desire not to relocate out of the city in which he was living. Although this limiting factor spoke more to the job-seeker’s needs than the employer’s, it could save a lot of time. Employers would not waste time interviewing him only to discover that he would not relocate. The job-seeker also had the option of mentioning his desire not to relocate in his cover letter instead of his resume objective.
One survey indicates that about 40 percent of employers want to see an objective on jobseekers’ resumes. That 40 percent figure should give the “objecti-phobe” pause; it’s a pretty convincing argument in favor of using an objective. If 40 percent of employers would be annoyed not to see an objective on your resume, using one may be the safest choice. As someone who doesn’t care much for objectives, I’m not annoyed when jobseekers include them (unless they are dreadfully and self-servingly written), and I suspect like-minded employers would feel the same way.
On the other hand, those still uncomfortable with committing themselves to an objective on their resume can use their cover letters to help them tailor their resumes to the specific jobs they’re applying for. The cover letter can help bring the resume into sharper focus by elaborating on what the jobseeker wants to do and what he or she can specifically contribute to a particular job.
Increasingly, jobseekers are supplementing — or replacing — their objectives with a section called “Summary,” “Skills Summary,” “Qualifications,” “Profile,” or the like. Spotlighting skills can be quite appealing to employers, and the keywords used in such sections can be an important element of a resume that’s electronically scanned.
Bottom line? Whether or not to list an objective on your resume is a highly personal decision, but a decision in favor of the objective is worth considering because many employers like to see them. Further:

• If you do use an objective, make it very specific, not vague and meaningless. Here’s one I really like that one of my students wrote: “To manage people, interface with customers, and work with highly technical software or hardware applications.” I like it because it’s specific but not limiting. This objective could apply to many different jobs, yet the skills described are quite specific.
• Objectives should reflect the employer’s perspective, not the jobseeker’s, and should tell what the jobseeker can contribute. An objective should demonstrate the value the candidate will add to the organization.
• Objectives should be as concise as possible.
• Objectives may help sharpen the focus of your resume, especially if your experience is very diverse, or you are switching into a career not supported by the experience listed on your resume.
• If you choose not to list an objective on your resume, you may choose to discuss your objective in your cover letter.
• Whether or not you choose to include an objective, you may wish to present a skills or qualifications section on your resume

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/resumes-articles/should-you-use-a-career-objective-on-your-resume-3954201.html

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Career as Computer Programmer

Given the spread and importance of the IT trade worldwide and the kind of IT related spending across the government and private sectors in India, there is a great demand for good computer programmers in the country. And the gap between the demand for and resource of able professionals is significant. Given the current marketplace trends, the demand is probable to increase further.
Scope of study of computer programming
Earlier computers were used almost exclusively by scientists, and the first high-level language, Fortran (Formula translation), was developed in the 1950s for scientific and engineering applications. COBOL, the first language intended for commercial applications, is still widely used. BASIC was developed as a teaching tool for undergraduates (1966); it subsequently became the primary language of the personal computer revolution. Dennis Ritchie of Bell Laboratories produced a language that he called C; along came its extensions, called C++, developed by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Laboratories. It has, per- haps, become the most widely used general purpose language among professional programmers because of its ability to deal with the rigors of object oriented programming. Java is an object oriented language similar to C++ but simplified to eliminate features that are prone to programming errors.
Java was developed specifically as a network oriented language, for writing programmes that can be securely downloaded through the Internet and immediately run without fear of computer viruses. World Wide Web pages can be used using small Java programmes called applets to contain a full range of multimedia functions.
As technology evolves and newer, more experienced tools emerge, programmers will need to update their skills in organize to remain competitive. Now programming language is done with either Microsoft .Net Technologies which involves VC++, Asp.net, C#, VB.net or Java / J2EE technologies involving core Java, JSPs, Servlets and frameworks like struts, hibernates, iBatis, etc. Various tools for rapid application development are also available where a user can develop /automate a process from scratch or customise existing features of the system. Some of those tools are ERP solutions from SAP, Oracle, IFS, IBM.
With lots of languages and rapid application development tools in the industry, programmers are confused about which one they should choose to start with. With latest trends like web based and full graphics user interface based application requirements, the industry has come up with rapid application development tools like Visual Studios, Eclipse and ERP based solution from Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, IFS etc. Using these tools the application development and testing timeframe has been drastically reduced and they also help in fast delivery of applications.

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A Hot Career With Your Information Technology Masters Degree

Whether you are working in a Silicon Valley hotshot in California, or a thriving web startup, knowing your career options with an Information Technology Masters degree, will give you much leverage when it comes to professional accomplishment and marketability. If not, then you can just sip a nice cold iced tea and wait until a young hotshot who has one, replaces you.
Seriously, employers are always on the lookout for talent and are always observing the behavior of their current staff. In these competitive times, only the best of the best are selected. If they smell that someone is already comfortable with his job and has lost the appetite for career growth, those are the ones that are often given the pink slip come recession time. The ones who are retained or newly hired will be the ones who are the hungriest. Steve Jobs once said in a commencement exercise to, “Be always hungry”.
Careers to be Hungry For
An Information Technology Masters paves the way to show the world that yes, you are hungry. You are one of those go getters who know what they want and how they can get it. You see your degree in terms of the career advancement that you could have with them.

To be certain, a lot of doors open for you and these include the following careers in IT:
1. IT Security Professional – As an IT security professional, you would be in charge of ensuring that the information infrastructure of the company you are working for is secure. This is no easy task and quite often, the most talented and the most dedicated are selected for this. This is not just about working for a small company which has its own network. IT security is in fact, a whole industry that has made people like John McAfee and Peter Norton practically household names because of their IT systems protection software in the form of the McAfee and Norton Antivirus Suites. The salary range for an IT security professional ranges from $75,000 to $130,000 US Dollars.
2. IT Manager – You may consider the job of an IT Manager as part of what people describe as middle management. Specific industries that belong in this category in different fields are Software Publishers, Computer Systems Design and Related Services, Management of Companies and Enterprises, Depository Credit Intermediation and Insurance Carriers. The salary of an IT manager ranges from $88,000 to a high of $140,000 US Dollars.
3. IT Project Manager – The IT Project Manager takes on a more hands-on-approach. Although most are often hired on a project to project basis, some are kept regularly on staff for future promotion and career advancement. This is a no holds barred position that tackles real IT problems on a level that is seen as the most critical in any company. They include both technical and financial skills since the IT Project Manager is also the one who proposes the budget. A Degree in Information Technology Masters would ensure that you convince upper management that you are the right person for the job.
These are but a few of the possibilities that your Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems might do for you.

Source: articlesbase.com

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