Remove The “Objective” From Resumes

So, are cover letters and “objectives” on resumes helpful or hurtful?  Most hiring managers, statistically, will bypass the cover letter! DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE this as the implications are far worse.. The stats really show that they don’t read it, but that they scan it. They also will thus spend more time reading the cover letter and, of course, the big “objective” opener of the resume. Both the cover letter and the “objective” are a bit of a myth. None ever aid you in getting a job and both can actually CAUSE you from getting the job. Think about this. As recruiters, we know that during the interview process “everything that the candidate said should be a reason to be hired”… We also train our recruiters to prep candidates that “anything that you say (or write) can AND WILL be used against you ” (in a court of, umm, hiring). The point is that unless EACH cover letter and EACH “objective” is being tailored to THAT PARTICULAR ONE job/opportunity, then it is almost guaranteed to do more harm then good. It would be the equivalent of a sales person using a stock sales pitch or selling pitch to every single prospect, regardless of the prospect’s individual desires/needs/wants/hot buttons. A cover letter is a classic example of giving away too much too soon. We know that the interview process is largely a SCREEN-OUT process, so why on earth give them more to screen you out.. You want to give your selling points in your resume and leave them wanting more!! Leave them assuming that you are great and wanting to hear from you about the rest! As someone who would read portions of cover letters, I will tell you that it almost always did more harm then good.. Again, same goes for the objective.. How can a generic objective end up being good for you.. and truly, why in the heck would a hiring manager give a toot about YOUR objective. .That is a reason for you to TAKE the job and NOT a reason for you TO BE HIRED! Again, if you MUST use an objective, then make darn sure that it is geared towards that job and make sure it is just a clever selling point.. SAME GOES for the cover letter, but that is very hard to do in a multi paragraph format.

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Thanks. Neil