What is your Career Objective?

An effective resume must have a strong Career Objective as the first headed section of your document. When crafting a Career Objective, I like to think of it as “building a bridge” from you to the position you are applying for in a way that demonstrates a logical and personal connection. While the statement needs to be general and not specific to any one position, it needs to be tailored to ensure that the reader quickly understands, without too much detail, “why” you are suitable for the position. This is also where to position any deficiencies in your experience or work history in a positive light.

It can be broken down into three steps:

§         Begin with a sentence that introduces you in the context of your experience, “I am a Hospitality Management professional with 15 years experience in restaurant operations...”

§         Explain where you are at now, “Since returning from a year of international travel,” or “After 6 years with my current employer as Food and Beverage Manager,” or “After taking a career break to attend to parenting duties,” or “Having worked in a variety of short term positions to broaden my experience and skills,”

§         Explain what you are looking for, but in the context of what you know they are looking for! This component needs to strike a balance between what you offer to the employer and what you would like them to offer you. For example, “I am looking to join an industry leading hotel chain in a position that enables me to impact the quality of guest experiences and key financial objectives. Ideally, my new employer will support my commitment to ongoing professional development and offer opportunities for performance based career advancement….” Or “I am seeking a Sous Chef position where I can apply my leadership and training abilities in a five star establishment that values innovation in food service…”

The statement should be powerful, direct and meaningful. It must REALLY reflect you, not some textbook response you have found on the internet! Search for your real motivations and find a way to connect them to what the employer is looking for – you will have an engaged recruiter immediately!

Tanya Clonan

Managing Consultant