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Some people use the term "nonsense" but I prefer to use the phrase "uncommonly sensed" because it's more reflective of creative types.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Resume Advice Part 2: Using a Headline to Get Ahead

The current trend is to have a “headline” on your resume rather than an objective.  What’s the difference between these two things?  An objective is self focused and tells where you want to go and what you want to do.  A headline briefly states your capabilities and accomplishments. 
An objective looks like this: “To become part of a world class sales team and build strong customer relationships that result in financial growth for the organization.”
A headline looks like this: “Team oriented business development professional with excellent sales record and strong customer relationship skills.”
Going along with the current trend, my advice is not to include an objective.  It sounds cold, but most HR professionals are overworked and don’t really care what you want to accomplish.  They only care if you have a realistic chance of being successful in the job they’re trying to fill at this moment.  So help them see that you have what it takes to do this job.  
The goal is for you to make it easy for the HR person to find the information that is relevant to the job posting so that they understand that you are qualified and deserve a phone interview.  A good headline can help you to do this.  Match your headline to the job posting to emphasize the aspects of your career or skills that are listed in the job qualifications. 

More resume advice to come next week.

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