Many professional resume writers recommend including an objective statement on your resume. I agree… on one condition. It has to be so good that it spreads and compels the reader to call you for an interview. Most are not.

If you’re interviewing a potential resume writer (and you definitely should interview them before you hire them), ask them for a representative purpose statement from their portfolio. Do you find it convincing? What’s compelling to you may not be to someone else, but what’s NOT to you probably won’t excite anyone else.

If you were to ask me for help on your resume (and people have frequently), I would advise you to avoid a factual statement. Instead, I recommend that you use a summary statement.

What’s that?

It’s a compelling marketing tool that outlines your significant accomplishments and attention-grabbing skills. You can call it the cover letter at the beginning of your resume.

A summary statement should do what your cover letter is designed to do: compel an interview. Period. If someone reads your captivating, laser-focused cover letter, then moves on to your resume to see if this too-good-to-be-true person is for real, the first thing they should see is an equally strong opening. If you don’t, the anticlimax can be extreme.

Here’s the summary statement I used to use on my IT Manager resume (A LONG time ago):

“Results-oriented software developer and consulting project manager with six years of experience at a Big 5 firm. Seasoned OO developer, with particular expertise in Java and Extreme Programming (XP). Over seven years of experience developing software and project management in fast-paced, challenging environments. fast-paced consulting environments Demonstrated ability to quickly acquire technical knowledge and skills Innovative problem solver, able to see both business and technical aspects of a problem Proven leadership skills Highly effective negotiation and problem-solving skills Exceptional communication skills, both oral as well as written.

I sounded pretty good!

Before you reuse that, let me tell you a couple of things I’ve learned since then:

• A summary statement should contain actual and quantified achievements, if possible. Not mine.
• The paragraph should be relatively short, followed by a bulleted list of accomplishments in balanced columns. Mine also failed that test.
• A summary should highlight your absolutely compelling skills (about three) above the paragraph as a “headline” of sorts. No, I didn’t have that.

My content was pretty good, but my presentation left a lot to be desired.

If you have a compelling statement, compellingly presented, and supported by compelling details in the rest of your summary, I’d be surprised if you don’t get a phone call.

Copyright (c) by Roy Miller