With only six seconds to grab a recruiter’s attention, conventional wisdom might tell you to cut right to the chase when you write your resume. A lot of people say a resume objective just wastes precious space. But if you craft it in a way that highlights your qualifications, skills, and fit for a role, an objective can actually enhance your resume by giving recruiters a sneak peek of your background that prompts them to keep reading.

In this post we’ll teach you how to leverage a resume objective to your advantage as well as share some examples to help you craft your own.

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What is a resume objective?

A resume objective is a brief introduction to your professional prowess. It’s placed at the top of your resume and previews your qualifications and fit for the role you’re applying to, spurring recruiters to read the rest of your resume.

When to Use a Resume Objective

Including a resume objective, sometimes called a professional summary, in your resume gives the prospective employer a snapshot of your background and talent. They’re the perfect place to specify what you bring to the table for the role you are applying for. As a general rule, you should use a resume objective when you are targeting a specific position or are early in your career with little work experience.

Adding a resume objective is also especially helpful if you are changing careers or industries. It can give context to your transition and how your transferable skills are the perfect fit for the company, despite being new to the industry.

How to Write a Resume Objective

When recruiters read your resume, they want to know three things about you:

• Are you qualified for this job?
• Have you made an impact on your company in your current or previous roles?
• How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

If you can give them a clear and concise preview of these three answers within the first few lines of your resume, they’ll start thinking about your potential as an employee at their company. This’ll also give them a positive first impression of you and make them read the rest of your resume to confirm that you’re their best-fit candidate.

Pro tips:

• Keep it short: Objectives should be 1-3 sentences max.
• Be specific: Get specific about the role you are applying for, your skills, and how those skills and what impact those skills will have on the organization.
• Tailor it: Your resume objective should be tailored to fit the role or company you are applying to.

To show you how to craft a compelling resume objective at any stage of your career, we’ve provided some resume objective examples that anyone from a recent graduate to a proven professional can use. We’ll also break down the structure of each resume objective to give you a more concrete understanding of writing a gripping resume objective.

Good Resume Objective Examples

1. The Recent Graduate

Recent double major in English and Economics from Pomona College who has completed four content marketing internships in the MarTech space. Used creative and analytical skills to craft compelling content and refine content marketing strategies. Seeking a position as a Junior Growth Marketer to help HubSpot scale freemium marketing efforts and boost free product signups.

Structure:

Are you qualified for this job?

“Recent double major in English and Economics from Pomona College who has completed four content marketing internships in the MarTech space.”

How have you made an impact during your current or previous roles?

“Used creative and analytical skills to craft compelling content and refine content marketing strategies.”

How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

“Seeking a position as a Junior Growth Marketer to help HubSpot scale freemium marketing efforts and boost free product signups.”

2. The Ambitious Entry-Level Worker

Ambitious associate marketing manager with two years of experience strategizing and executing lead generation campaigns. Spearhead Sigstr’s co-marketing program and drove a 25% increase in program leads last year. Seeking a position as Marketing Manager of the Lead Optimization team at HubSpot to optimize blog lead generation strategy.

Structure:

Are you qualified for this job?

“Ambitious associate marketing manager with two years of experience strategizing and executing lead generation campaigns.”

How have you made an impact during your current or previous roles?

“Spearhead Sigstr’s co-marketing program and drove a 25% increase in program leads last year.”

How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

“Seeking a position as Marketing Manager of the Lead Optimization team at HubSpot to optimize blog lead generation strategy.”

3. The Career Switcher

Experienced journalist considering a career switch to content marketing. Spent five years digging up and breaking stories about business and technology for The Boston Globe. Hoping to apply my grasp of journalism and storytelling as a Staff Writer to strengthen HubSpot’s thought leadership in the MarTech space.

Structure:

Are you qualified for this job?

“Experienced journalist set on making a career switch to content marketing.”

How have you made an impact during your current or previous roles?

“Spent five years digging up and breaking stories about business and technology for The Boston Globe.”

How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

“Hoping to apply my grasp of journalism and storytelling as a Staff Writer to strengthen HubSpot’s thought leadership in the MarTech space.”

4. The Middle Manager Who Wants to Make it to the Top

Savvy marketing manager with five years of experience crafting social media videos, developing social video strategy, and optimizing social media advertising strategy. Lead Sprout Social’s social analytics team and doubled video views and cut CPM costs by 40% this year. Looking to join HubSpot as Director of Buzz to develop an overarching social media strategy that boosts views, engagement, and cuts costs.

Structure:

Are you qualified for this job?

“Savvy marketing manager with seven years of experience crafting social media videos, developing social video strategy, and optimizing social media advertising strategy.”

How have you made an impact during your current or previous roles?

“Lead Sprout Social’s social analytics team and doubled video views and cut CPM costs by 40% this year.

How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

“Looking to join HubSpot as Director of Buzz to develop an overarching social media strategy that boosts views, engagement, and cuts costs.”

5. The Proven Professional

Seasoned business operations and analytics veteran with an MBA and ten years of experience leading high-performing sales operations, marketing analytics, and business intelligence teams at Salesforce, Adobe, and Domo. Seeking to utilize my proven analytical, technical, and professional expertise to leverage data and drive crucial business decisions at HubSpot as Vice President of Business Intelligence.

Structure:

Are you qualified for this job?/How have you made an impact during your current or previous roles?

“Seasoned business operations and analytics veteran with an MBA and ten years of experience leading high-performing sales operations, marketing analytics, and business intelligence teams at Salesforce, Adobe, and Domo.”

How will you make an impact on our company in this specific role?

“Seeking to utilize my proven analytical, technical, and professional expertise to leverage data and drive crucial business decisions at HubSpot as Vice President of Business Intelligence.

General Resume Objective Examples

We’ve rounded up some of the best resume examples available to give you a bit of inspiration to get started writing your own. If you like more resume help, check out the best resume templates and grab the attention of recruiters.

Beginner Resume Objectives

1. Resume Lab

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In this sample objective from Resume Lab, the writer chooses to play up her academic achievements to account for a lack in work experience.

What we like:

The writer makes specific reference to awards she’s won and skills related to the role she is seeking. She then makes the connection to how those skills will transfer to the new role.

2. Live Career

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This mechanic objective is short and to the point, while still giving recruiters a bit of insight to their personality and skills (“Quick learner who thrives on challenges”).

What we like:

Since the author is relatively new to the field, they opted to shoot for an entry-level position, setting clear expectations for the recruiter.

3. Naukri

A certified Digital Marketer with a 6-month internship experience with XYZ agency. Excellent understanding of online marketing and an ability to help businesses boost their organic traffic as well as generate high quality leads through SEM Marketing. Looking for a relevant role.

This entry-level career objective from career advice blog Naukri uses past agency intership experience to demonstrate they can handle the new challenges of a full time role.

What we like:

Despite having a short work history (internship experience only), this applicant emphasizes their transferrable digital marketing skills. They also play up the contributions she made to the agency while interning.

4. Resume Builder

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While this is a profile and not a resume objective, it does a good job of hilighting this recent grad’s skills. You can take this format and adjust it to create a persuasive resume objective.

What we like:

While the applicant is new to the workforce, we like that the first sentence highlights that they already has some entry-level IT experience. The profile then goes on to list their transferrable skills.

5. Resume Example

A 4.0 GPA digital marketing graduate looking for an entry-level marketing position at a top agency like Speedex Marketing. Hardworking and motivated to gain experience in social media and content marketing. Currently managing my personal Instagram with 10k+ followers and increased Terny Jewelry’s Facebook page followers by 20% after working with them for three months.

This objective taken from a Resume Example template shows how to showcase work you’ve done on personal projects to make the case for why you should be hired.

What we like:

This recent grad does an excellent job of highlighting their marketing talents running their own brand, complete with data to back it up.

6. Hloom

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While this entry-level professional summary from Hloom isn’t an objective, it provides a good base to tailor it to the specific role you are applying for.

What we like:

This summary is really good at showing how their skills and actions in previous roles impacted the company. You can adopt this technique when writing your objective, getting specific about the results you delivered in previous roles and how you plan to deliver in the next.

7. Live Career

Looking to secure an entry-level Web UI Developer position with (company name) that will allow for the use of excellent user experience, technical and communication skills.

This short and sweet template from Live Career can easily be modified to craft yoru own objective. Just get more specific about what you bring to the table for the company you are applying to.

What we like:

A good resume objective doesn’t have to be wordy. If you can communicate your talents and intentions in one to two sentences, do it.

8. Resume Genius

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This objective from Resume Genius is a great teamplate for those pursuing a marketing role. you’ll just need to tailor it to your specific talents.

What we like:

Like previous examples, this objective is specific about the appliant’s experience and qualifications. It also focuses on outomes, which is a great way to demonstrate your qualifications for a role.

9. Springboard

As the daughter of small business owners, I’m really excited about the prospect of using my full-stack Python experience to further the Stripe mission of making payments accessible for companies of all sizes across the globe. I’ve built several projects in Django to scratch my own itch and I’d love to use that skill-set to start my software engineering career at Stripe.

This entry-level objective from Springboard demonstrates the effectiveness of adding a personal touch when relevant to the company you are applying to.

What we like:

This resume objective is so effective because it doesn’t just show off the applicant’s skills, but also her “why”. She’s passionate about helping small businesses succeed because her parents were small business owners — establishing a personal connection to Stripe’s mission.

10. Career Cloud

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While this objective from Career Cloud is only one sentence, it quickly sums up the applicant’s background and the role they are applying for.

What we like:

This is a good-one sentence template for how to format a brief resume objective for new grads. If possible, take it a step further and describe how your skills will benefit the company.

11. Resume.com

Recent major in Marketing and Advertising from Blue University where I completed two internships at Global United Agency. Able to use critical thinking and communication skills to attract customers and implement new strategies. Seeking employment as a marketing associate to help Aerial Agency’s overall marketing efforts.

This entry-level marketng resume objective from Resume.com provides a good foundation for those looking to play up their internship experience.

What we like:

This objectibe is specific, showcasing not one, but two internships with relevant experience while also not making the whole paragraph about themselves. It brings everything back to the company with the last sentence “to help Aerial Agency’s overall marketing efforts.”

Professional Resume Objectives

12. Beam Jobs

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This objective is clear and to the point, quickly outlining their experience and what skills they intend to apply to the new position.

What we like:

This objective is succint and shows that you can craft one that is both concise and effective.

13. Zippia

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This objective manages to list the applicant’s skills and how they’ll be applied in just one sentence.

What we like:

Like the brief resume objective example above, this one gets the job done in one sentence while stating specifically what they intend to complish in the role (increasing traffic and driving engagement).

14. Resume.io

Motivated human resources professional with a drive for serving as a dedicated support specialist and energetic team member. Adept in assisting with the recruitment of employees, as well as the management of existing employees. Experienced in managing employee and community outreach programs, and dedicated to working towards the mission of a company.

The customizable career objective above is written for a human resources professional, but can be adapted to suit your industry. Simply swap out the role and your skills to craft your own.

What we like:

While this example clearly calls out the applicant’s recruiting skills and experience creating programming, it also ties the focus back to the company mission. If using this as a template, you can easily replace the company’s mission statement and tie it back to your own skills.

15. Resume Companion

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This resume objective has a heavy focus on the applicant’s professional experience and how their skills will apply to the new role they are applying for.

What we like:

While we wouldn’t normally suggest adding degree information in your objective unless you’re a recent grad, in this case it works to emphasize the candidate is fluent in multiple languages.

16. Beam Jobs

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This resume objective does a great job of highlighting specifically what the applicant brings to the role in a concise way.

What we like:

While this is for a teaching role, you can apply the same level of specificity to your objective, emphasizing why you want the role and who benefits. In this case it’s cultivating student’s passion for a particular subject, but it can be applied to any industry you’re excited about making an impact in.

Sales Resume Objectives

17. Zety

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While the wording of this resume objective is a bit clunky, it can still serve as a template for your own with a few adjustments to tailor it to your industry.

What we like:

This resume objective places an emphasis on outcomes, which is great for any industry, but especially in sales. If you have a proven record of driving sales or similar impact, be sure to include it.

18. Resumeway

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If you’re stuck gettng started, use this template from Resumeway to make writing an objective a little easier. Be sure to have the data points you’d like to include ready beforehand.

What we like:

As we’ve mentioned previously, anytime you can provide data to back up your claims, do so.

19. Resume Genius

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Coming in longer than most on this list, this objective is all about skills and the positive outcomes they spearheaded.

Management Resume Objectives

This objective focuses on what the candidate can do for the company, rather than just being a list of accomplishments.

20. The Ladders

Seeking a data analytics supervisor position where I can apply my 7+ years of data science and business analytics skills and experience. I’m eager to improve business intelligence for Company XYZ in a leadership role.

This objective from the Ladders demonstrates how you can leverage your individual contributor experinece to make the case for a management position. The applicant isn’t shy to display enthusiam for the potential new role.

What we like:

This objective is quick to point out years of relevant experience at the start to build the foundation for why they are the right fit for the role. Then they drive the point home by disclosing what they intend to do once hired.

21. Interview Kickstart

With years of proven excellence, I’m looking for the challenging position of a director to be an active initiator of organizational success at MNO Inc. Prolonged experience in full-cycle project management, 6years of experience at multiple clients handling business operation management is ideal for the post in a mutually benefitting work culture to achieve company missions.

This is another quick-start template you can use to save time writing your objective. Simply swap out the default information for your own.

What we like:

This template is easily customizeable while providing a solid format to help you create a resume objective that clearly defines your potential impact if hired.

22. Top Resume

Editor with extensive writing and management experience looking to fill the position ofSenior Editorwith [company name], utilizing my time-management skills to ensure all projects meet deadlines and supervisory experience to effectively manage a team of writers and editors.

This template from Top Resume is perfect for editors or those applying for a similar role.

What we like:

This objective plays to the applicant’s strengths as well as honing in on qualities needed for the position (time management, meeting tight deadlines).

23. Resume Lab

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As we’ve previously discussed, getting specific about what you’ve accomplished and how you intend to help the company achieve its goals is key, especially when applying for a management position. This example shows the effectveness of providing data to back up your skills and accomplishments.

What we like:

We love the focus on tangible data and stats in this resume objective example. Use them whenever possible to make your case.

24. Tough Nickel

A highly recognized hotel management professional offering over ten years of enhancing organizations’ bottom lines through a customer-centric approach and excellent leadership and interpersonal skills. Seeking a challenging position as(specific role)in order to help grow(company)’s reputation as it continues to expand.

This template from Tough Nickel…will get your objective written in no time. It’s adaptable to any industry.

What we like:

This template emphasizes how you accomplished a particular goal, its impact, and what you intend to apply those skills in your next role.

Marketing Resume Objectives

25. Resume Companion

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If you’re early in your marketing career, with a few years of experience, you can use this resume objective for a bit of inspiration. If you have enough work experience to fill the page, you may want to omit the degree info in your draft.

What we like:

We like how this objective highlights two different sectors within the marketing umbrella — event and digital marketing. If you have similar dual, but relavent talents that would be beneficial in your new role, highlight them.

26. Naukri

A resourceful individual with a proven track record in implementing successful marketing strategies, boosting organic traffic, and improving search rankings seeks a position of Marketing Associate at ABC company to maximize brand awareness and revenue through integrated marketing communications.

This objective from career advice blog Naukri provides a good starting point for those applying for marketing associate or assistant roles.

What we like:

While this obective is vague enough to be tailored to your needs, the format with specifics about your skills and how you would apply them provide a good outline for how you should structure your own.

IT & Developer Resume Objectives

27. Interview Guys

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This brief but effective objective quickly highlights the applican’t most relevant skils and the impact they could potentially have in their new role.

What we like:

It’s easy to make a resume objective one-sided and all about yourself, but this one demonstrates that you can demonstrate your value to potential employers in a clear and concise way.

28. Resume Companion

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This is another resume objective example that demonstrates the power getting specific about your contributions and using numbers where appropriate to add context.

What we like:

In just a few sentences, this objective clearly conveys that this IT candidate has ample experience working on projects with large budgets. A recruiter would see this as a plus, if they are hiring for a large account as this person has already shown they are capable.

29. Evolution Coaching

Energetic, technical-minded professional seeking aposition as a (Software Engineer) at (Company Name) where knowledge of software development life cycles, a high technical aptitude, and unyielding commitment to work can effectively be utilized to contribute to the successful and profitable operation of the company.

This plug and play template from Evolution Coaching makes it easy for you to pop in your own accomplisments and contributions.

What we like:

Like other templates on this list, this one highlights the importance of including how your skills and attributes will benefit the company you are applying to. Always align yourself with the company’s goals.

30. Resume Giants

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This objective quickly hones in on the software and skills needed for the role, making it easy for recruiters to skim and want to know more details about your experience.

What we like:

This objective likely used keywords from the job description, a good strategy for signaling to recruiters that you have the skills they’re looking for.

Career Change Resume Objectives

31. Resume.io

Leading Fintech marketing professional, seeking to make a move up to Marketing Director after eight years of award-winning campaigns. MBA-educated social marketeer, who will deliver triple-digit audience growth and double-digit sales increases.

This objective from Resume.io conveys confidence. While everyone may not be able to pull this one off, if you can back up your claims, go for it.

What we like:

This objective is bold and gets very specific about the value the applicant can provide to the company. The employer can read it and know exactly the value can provide once hired.

32. University of Pennsylvania

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This objective makes the case for an inustry change by playing up the applicant’s transferrable skills.

What we like:

This objective is to the point and doesn’t try to disguise the industry swap with vague jargon. Instead it clearly states what the writer’s experience is and how they’ll apply it to their new pfrofession.

33. Career Contessa

Results-driven technology sales representative, seeking to use pipeline building and negotiation skills to increase revenue at XYZ healthcare company. Drove $2 million in sales revenue during FY20 and eager to increase the bottomline at XYZ company.

This career objective from Career Contessa is a great template to use if you’re applying for a similar role, but in a completely different field. In this case, it’s a sales position, but could be applied to any industry.

What we like:

Since the roles are similar, the writer was keen to play up their relevant experience and data-backed accomplishments. From there she succinctly expressed how she intends to increase revenue for the new company.

34. Federal Resume Guide

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Teachers have a bunch of transferrable skills they may not even know they have. From time managment and public speaking to dealing with the public, to conveying ideas and concepts clearly, they have so much to offer when those skills are applied to other industries.

What we like:

This objective was able to connect the applicant’s 15-year experience teaching history to why they’re a great candidate to be a museum curator. They can easily draw on their existing knowlege and people skills to be succcesful in the role.

35. Sweet CV

Successful engineer aiming to change professions and move into business management. Seeking a chance to use project management and leadership skills in a fresh context and use my eye for detail to drive growth in a technology start-up.

This objective from Sweet CV showcases an engineer making the case for a business managment position at a start-up, highlighting their most relevant skills.

What we like:

Again, it’s important to play up any related skills or background that will give you an advantage when switching to a new career. Since the applicant already has engineering experience and is seeking to work for a technology startup, their backround is a bonus.

36. Jobscan

Passionate sales representative with over 5 years of experience working with customers and selling software. Looking to leverage my proven skills in seeing our customers’ pain points and providing solutions to whatever I write as an aspiring Content Manager.

This example from Jobscan shows how you could structure an objective if you are trying to move positions within the same company. Working in customer service gives the applicant useful insight into their audience’s needs.

What we like:

This resume objective plays to the applicant’s strength (insider customer knowledge) to demonstrate why she’s the perfect candidate to write for them. This could greatly improve the company’s content since they will have a better understanding of their audience and how to solve for them.

Write a Resume Objective That Gets Noticed

Now that you know how and when to write a resume objective and checked out a few examples, it’s time to craft your own. Use the tested strategies above to make sure your resume stands out among the crowd.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in December 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.