I was coaching recently a brilliant woman. She had 2 Masters degrees from Ivy League schools. During her work experience, she had done everything from financial consolidation, P&L analysis and designing / controlling budgets of up to 50 million euros. She calculated and managed the sales forecast and did a lot of product analysis and functional modeling of data/business processes, acting as a link between the business and the IT.
She also lead teams. Her track record was impressive.
But, what was missing on her CV? Her objective statement.
I couldn’t tell what role and type of organisation she was targeting today? Should I contact her to be a financial controller in a bank? A financial analyst in a management consultancy? A product manager? A CFO? Or a business analyst? She was capable of doing all those jobs but which one did she really want to pursue today ?
Tip #1
At the top of your CV, just below your coordinates, there should be this:
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE
Here is a little recipe to fill out this part of your CV:
- What kind of company and culture are you targeting? Multinational, Start Up, Small Family Enterprise, Non-Governmental Organisation? Public Sector.
- What specific job title are you seeking? Make sure this is aligned to the job for which you are applying for. Change this each time you send out your CV.
- Show a few top qualities (soft skill competencies) about yourself which are relevant to the role.
- Express something which is concrete relating to the values or product of the organisation you are applying for. You want to show them that you know who you are applying for. It’s not any company, it’s this one. And why.
Example of Objective
I am seeking a role as product manager in the fin-tech sector. I want to contribute and help grow a startup or PME to achieve their success.
I can bring my sense of responsibility, my dedication to contribute to the goals of the team and my financial analysis capacity to see what is critical in order to make a high quality competitive product. I want to be part of an online payment company that drives to be a leader, has a culture of accountability, continuous innovation and who is constantly seeking new ways to improve the customer experience (hint: this stuff you can usually find on their website, under company mission/values/culture).
Basically, this statement of objective tells us in a nutshell this: Who are you? What are you seeking? And can I offer to you want you want?
If you get this part right, then I will read the rest.
Erica Elias is a certified business and career coach (www.interviewnow.be) and has interviewed more than 6,000 people, with www.mindworks.be. She is also an author and her books can be found on these links: https://www.diekeure.be/nl-be/professional/1434/recruitment-a-z and https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Global-Economy-Multinational-Corporation/dp/147833536X