Create a "Perfect Match" Resume

The reason I started this post was because I see so many resumes that have an "objective" section. What most people put in that section is not very compelling. So I asked myself, should anyone ever have an "objective" section?

The short answer NO. I've never seen any value in putting what your objective is.

Reality check: NOBODY CARES what YOUR objective is! Most companies only care what THEIR objective is when they look at your resume. Translation: when they read your resume they want to see what you are going to do for them. So how do you acheive that?

Only include information on your resume if it adds value! The only way to know if it adds value is to know what their looking for. I've gone over this in former posts. Basically, just do some research online, over the phone, etc.

One simple way to add value at the beginning of your resume is to replace your "objective" section with what I call the position specific section. Here's what it looks like.

Technical Support Specialist

• Customer service focus - 4 years experience 90% positive reviews from end user
• Network Administration - 5 years experience handling up to 30 servers at a time
• Sales background - 2 years experience building client base by 20% for local IT company

Now let's look at the job description:

Company X is looking for a Technical Support Specialist. Qualified candidates must have performed network administration with multiple client servers. The successful candidate will also have knowledge of hardware and the ability to troubleshoot hardware and network problems. Most importantly the successful candidate will be able to complete the required tasks with a customer service focus. Some "soft" sales background is a plus with the idea that as you service the end client you will be able to bring in more business through referrals.

Wow! Do you think this guy will get the job? Put aside the fact that this guy seems to be a perfect fit. The question is why does he appear to be a perfect fit. It's becuase instead of letting the employer sift through the overload of information on his/her resume, this person simply looked at what the employer posted in the job description. First the resume has the job title next it has the bullet points that outline the person's experience that matches with the job description.. It's that simple: if you leave it up to someone else to determine if your a match it won't happen more often than not. Take the reigns and show them that you are a perfect match.