“A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.” – Andre Gide

If you want results in your job search get specific.  I know, I know.  You believe if you cast a wide net you think you will be more likely to land an interview and a new position.  This thinking is wrong and takes you down many paths that lead to nowhere.

The more focused you are the more people will be able to help you.  They can either send you potential opportunities or send you to people with similar backgrounds that can help you network.  If you spread yourself too thin; trying to be a jack-of-all-trades that places you in a position where people feel they can’t help you because you have no concrete target.

Have a concrete target.  It does a couple of things.  First, it gives you focus in your job search.  You know what you want and can articulate it to others.  Secondly, it saves you time and trouble.  Knowing what you are after will save you the headache of chasing opportunities that don’t fit.  You can save time by not responding to job postings that fall outside your scope.

Take a look at the following two examples of objective statements taken directly off of candidates’ resumes.  What do they say?  What do they tell you?

Example #1

To obtain a growth oriented leadership position where I can bring my 12 years of experience managing projects and offering solutions to companies for a reputable company that has a good product.

Example #2

To obtain a challenging position within an organization that will allow me to utilize my management and customer service skills and provide an opportunity for advancement.

After reading those statements do you have a clear idea of what those candidates do?  What industry are they in?  What position are they after?  It would be helpful if they let the reader know.  Why are they using precious real estate on their resume for wasted words that do not get to the heart of things?

If you are going to have an objective statement on your resume make it count.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m from the school that advises not to use an objective statement at all.  I’ll explain why in a future post.

If you feel compelled to use an objective statement use something like this: To apply for the Java Developer position #2013-51674.  At the very least, that objective lets the reader know your background and what you are after.  It also references a specific position.

Imagine taking your objective statement off your resume and instead using it as your elevator speech.  Does that thought scare you?  Does it bring to a clear, sharp focus the purpose of using either the objective statement or the elevator pitch?  I hope so.  In a million years you would never dream of telling someone “I hope to find a challenging position with an organization that will allow me to utilize my management and customer service skills and provide an opportunity for advancement.”  It says nothing and wastes everyone’s time.

If given the opportunity you need to be prepared with something like:

“I design and build web sites for small businesses that don’t have the ability to hire their own staff full-time to do it.”  Or

“I’m a CPA focusing on working for companies in the oil and gas industry.”  Or

“I’m an executive assistant with 10 years of experience supporting senior staff: directors/VP’s/CIO’s in the telecom industry.”

Use those kinds of initial statements and then build on them so you can fill 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds of time explaining what you do and what you are after.  If you are unable to do that, your search will last much longer than it should.

Happy hunting!