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At GMG, we regularly review and assess resumes from six-figure executives.

I’m often bewildered by the number of “homemade” resumes that display fundamental problems. I can easily pick out the executives that don’t have enough foresight to put the least bit of effort into their resume. These resumes lead in with an “objective statement” and go downhill from there.

Here are some examples of objective statements that I have seen this week.

• Career Objective – To continue pursuing a challenging and rewarding career in sales management.
• Career Objective – To leverage 20 plus years of retail management in a growth-oriented environment.
• Career Objective – To lead a process, goal orientated sales effort for a company.
• Career Objective – To obtain a challenging position with a market leader.
• Career Objective – A Senior Management position suited to my leadership.

How in the world do these people think that they will get an executive level job against anyone else?

It seems to me that executives in a six-figure career transition, should at least have the ability to know that they are selling their services. If they had done the least bit of due-diligence and researched resume writing on internet, they would know to drop the objective statement in favour of a meaningful profile.

Your resume should not be self-serving. Rather than making it “all about you,” focus on what you can do for the people you will be targeting. If you want to go one-step further, then you need a “power statement” that expresses your value and distinguishes you from your competitors.

Here is the fundamental difference between an objective statement and a power statement:

• An typical objective says, “Can you please give me a job?”
• A strong power statement says, “I understand your organization’s needs. Here is what I have to offer that will address them. I can help you do better. You would be remiss not to have a discussion with me.”

The top third of page one is the most important part of your resume. To compel potential employers to continue reading, you need to start with a “power statement” to showcase yourself.

Focus on telling the employer in quick, dynamic way,

1. The role that you can take on in the company
2. What you offer in terms of genuine value
3. What you can do to take the organization to new levels of success
4. Why they should be calling you in for a discussion

 For more resume strategies, read Secrets of a Powerful Executive Resume.

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