EFFECTIVE RESUME DEBATE

Are you for job objectives or against them?

Most job seekers -- and even career experts -- have strong opinions.

Those in favor say objectives are the simplest, quickest way to target a specific position. Those against charge that objectives waste valuable space and limit you to just one position when you might be qualified for others.

Whether you are pro- or anti-objective, here are tips for writing a resume that will grab recruiters' attention from the get-go.

Putting Your Goal on Paper

Job objectives work best for two types of job seekers:

• Those who know exactly what job they want, and

• Those whose career goal isn't obvious on their resumes.

If you include an objective, place it directly under your name and contact information. An objective typically begins with "to." For example, "Objective: To obtain a position ... "

Your objective should be simple, specific and brief -- no more than two or three lines. It should highlight what you have to offer the company, such as a specific skill or experience. A recruiter is more interested in what you can give the company than what you hope to get from it.

Here's an example of an effective job objective:

Objective: To obtain an entry-level account management position in financial services utilizing my strong analytical and interpersonal skills.

Review your objective each time you send a resume and make sure it fits the job you're applying for. Just as you should have several versions of your resume, you should also have several versions of your job objective.

Summarizing Your Skills

Not 100 percent sure what job you want? Then you may find a summary statement more effective than an objective.

While an objective focuses on the job, a summary statement focuses on the job seeker.

A summary statement is a one- to two-sentence overview that captures the essence of your skills and experience. It highlights what makes you a qualified candidate as well as what makes you different (and better) than other applicants.

Tailor your summary statement to highlight the experience that is most relevant to the job.

Here's an example of a strong summary statement.

Summary: Public relations professional with five years of experience managing PR campaigns across multiple media, working with national and local press and coordinating large-scale events.

Highlighting Your Achievements

Sometimes a job objective is too targeted. And sometimes a summary statement is too short to highlight all your accomplishments.

If that's the case, you have another option: A summary of qualifications.

A summary of qualifications is similar to a summary statement, but differs in two key ways:

1. It's formatted as a list of items rather than a single statement, and

2. It highlights specific accomplishments rather than general achievements.

It's most useful for job seekers who have a long work history or who are applying for senior positions. It's an effective way to highlight the most important, relevant parts of a long, detailed resume.

This section goes by many names, like "Key Accomplishments" and "Career Highlights." It's placed just where a job objective or summary statement is, under your contact information.

A summary of qualifications is a list of your most significant career accomplishments. For maximum effectiveness, the list should include no more than five items and be results-oriented.

The summary of qualifications is usually a list of short phrases. You can use a bulleted list, with each qualification on its own line. Or, to conserve space, you can arrange them in paragraph format, with a period after each one.

Here's an example of an effective summary of qualifications.

Summary of Qualifications

• Skilled pharmaceutical sales manager/executive with nine years sales experience and advanced degree in biology.

• Consistently surpassed annual revenue goals by 35 percent-plus.

• Named 2001 "Salesperson on the Year." Managed regional sales staff of 175.

Job objectives, summary statements, summaries of qualifications -- all are useful resume options. Your best choice will depend on your experience and the type of job you're interested in.

By Erin Hovanec