The CV objective is regarded as the most important part of the CV. Get your career objective statement right with the help of our samples and guide.
You've sent in your CV.
Now it sits in a pile of 250 of them.
To make matters worse, the hiring manager scans each one for about 6 seconds as they narrow it down between passes and fails.
Your chances look bleak, huh?
Not at all, actually, if you read this article and apply it to write the best CV opening statement in the deck.
In this guide, we’ll show you:
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A CV objective (or objective statement) is a brief paragraph stating your professional goals and skills. A good CV objective should be tailored to the company you are applying for. In short, the objective statement is your best chance to show the recruiter that your career goals are aligned with the position you are applying for.
If you want to know what to put on a CV, this CV statement is a must.
Choose the CV objective when:
It goes at the very top of the page when it’s a multiple-column CV, or just under your contact details on a single-column CV.
But—
Don’t confuse professional objectives with CV summaries! They are both types of CV profiles.
A CV summary is a brief intro paragraph providing an overview of your qualifications and position-related skills. Use it when applying for a position in which you have experience.
Expert Hint: Employment objectives are sometimes referred to as career objectives, career goals, or objective summary statements. If you’re really gung-ho about marketing yourself, you might call it a power proposition, mission statement, or value proposition.
“So, uh, here’s a list of my work history. What should I do now?”
See—
A CV without an objective feels directionless and undecided.
That’s not the first impression you want to make as an applicant.
When done correctly, a professional statement at the top of your CV shows you know what you’re looking for.
On top of that, it helps both computers (ATS) and HR people scan and sort your CV properly, as they understand immediately the position you’re applying for.
Remember that initial 6-second scan? You’ll graduate to the next step (a more dedicated read) only when they find specific CV keywords in your objective.
Some people say to leave off the objective, because it’s usually way too generic, unlike most summaries. And, if it becomes too specific, it could work against the applicant by not considering them for jobs they could be qualified for.
Find the right balance. This is the point of a targeted CV, and a CV tailored to one particular job is much stronger than something generic.
So, never discard the CV objective!
We’ll show you now how to write an objective which convinces the employer you’ve got what it takes.
Expert Hint: Write an objective tailored specifically to this one job. Tailoring a CV is an absolute must these days, and there is no place more important to practise this than here in the CV introduction.
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A great objective for a CV should state all of these:
But, that’s not all. A truly effective objective skimps on the fluff, goes heavy on the numbers, and is super-specific.
Here are two CV objective samples:
See the differences on these CV objective statement examples?
The bad one is just one cliché after another, generic to a fault, and all about you.
The hiring manager would yawn and move on to the next candidate if they read this.
Now, how about that good one!
That one shows focus and is tailored right to the company (Big Blue). You state specifically which role you’re aiming for (jr. net admin).
Also, the hiring manager can easily see how your university coursework (computer sci), with numbers (two years), and your skills (virt. tech & net protocols) perfectly fit the role.
Finally, you kept it about them rather than telling them what you want out of the deal. No general CV objective here! Bravo!
Expert Hint: You may use subheadings to introduce other CV sections (and we recommend it!), but skip it here—it’s self-explanatory.
Let’s break writing a CV objective statement for a specific job down into just a few easy steps:
When you’re writing your CV, you should always have the job ad in question open. This way, you’ll keep it tailored as you go along.
The same is true when making an objective for CVs.
The job ad is full of CV keywords the employer searches for to decide who gets the interview. They’re giving wording hints there, but still many people ignore this and send a generic CV (and wonder why they’re not getting replies).
So—
Never ignore keywords from the job ad.
Just look at this sample job description for a copy editor:
Copy Editor
Role Requirements:
This is an ideal guide on how to write your own objective on a CV for this position.
We highlighted: a) equivalent editorial experience, b) editing, writing, grammar, and proofreading skills, and c) tactful, persuasive communication skills.
You will include all these as your transferable skills and relevant experience later.
This part forms the beginning of our statement.
Who you are now: This is your current position title or status. Add a positive and true adjective (or two). For our example, we’ll be:
Award-winning high school English teacher…
Who you want to be: This is the specific position you’re applying for (remember, we’re keeping it tailored). In our objective example, you want to be hired as:
...the new copy editor...
Never forget that the key to an effective CV objective is how you’ll benefit the company should you be hired. Not what you want.
So, regarding our sample CV objective, you will write this:
…Seeking to use proven editing, writing, communication, and team-leading skills to…
Now, combine everything and make one super-compelling CV objective:
Award-winning high school English teacher of 5 years focusing on creative writing and editing of over 75 students per semester. Seeking to use proven editing, writing, communication, and team-leading skills to stimulate and support the growth of the Astoria Magazine team as the new copy editor.
How about that?
We hit all your targets:
Now that’s an objective statement to be proud of!
Expert Hint: Your CV objective is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to include more skills, experience, or numbers, don’t make it longer. Instead, sprinkle them around in the relevant areas of your CV and cover letter.
Here are a few CV career objective examples for different positions:
Customer support specialist with 4+ years experience at computer repair shop. Obtained highest scores in build knowledge (100%) and quality (97.9%). Seeking to facilitate growth at the Nerd Patrol as the new IT technician.
Friendly and helpful university graduate with 4 semester studying hospitality seeking to leverage customer service and safety skills to become a junior flight attendant with Lufthansa Airlines.
Dependable preschool teacher with 3+ years experience in early learning and developmental growth of over 150 students per year. Seeking to use proven leadership and management skills to join and grow with the Big Box team as the new assistant store manager.
Personable teller with 2 years experience at small, local bank. Obtained highest client satisfaction grade (98.2%) in 2018. Seeking to aid growth of the Benson Homes real estate management crew as the new property consultant.
Expert Hint: Choose the “right” skills for your objective and on the rest of your CV. The job ad could say they need someone proficient with Microsoft Excel, but add that to your career objective ONLY if it’s the most impressive thing you can put there.
Your objective statement is the first thing they’ll see and read, because it’s the first thing on the page.
But, that doesn’t mean it is the first thing you write.
One great CV hack is to save writing the objective for a CV for the very end.
As the topmost item and the first thing they’ll read, you need to get it right.
First, knock out the entire CV.
Then, you’ll have all the achievements and selling points on hand to write a professional career objective.
A bit of bold and italics works great when you want to highlight the best parts. (If used sparingly!)
A great place to do that?
Your CV objective, of course!
Remember that your CV will be glanced at initially for around 6 seconds.
Graphic aid such as this helps the hiring manager by making it more readable—a huge advantage over those 249 other CVs!
A good CV objective is, well, objective.
Remove subjective statements. Do say how dependable, results-driven, and detail-oriented you are.
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just like, uh, your opinion, man.
Make your case with with numbers and by giving actual results.
It shows rather than tells.
Career objectives on a CV work great for entry-level positions.
However, if that’s what you’re seeking, don’t mention it, because why ask for the lowest position?
Instead, skip that “entry-level” prefix and go with the root phrase.
Who knows—
You may have just given yourself a promotion before you even sign the contract!
Expert Hint: “Are cover letters important?” Our recent study shows that to over 80% of recruiters cover letter are an important factor when making hiring decisions.
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Got questions or comments on how to write a CV objective? Not sure how to get this CV advice to work for your career objective scenario? Scroll down a bit further and get at us in the comments. We’d love to hear from you, and thanks for reading!
At ResumeLab, excellence lies at the heart of our values, underpinning our promise to provide outstanding career resources. Our team of career experts meticulously assesses each article in line with our editorial guidelines, guaranteeing our content's high quality and dependability. We consistently engage in original research, illuminating the nuances of the job market and earning acclaim from various influential news outlets. Our commitment to delivering professional career advice draws millions of readers to our blog annually.
Christian is a career expert who’s written over 200 in-depth articles since 2017. His advice will guide you through all stages of recruitment processes, job search, as well as CV and cover letter writing. All of his articles are meticulously researched, and that’s what makes thousands of readers visit them each month.
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