In this segment of "writing a resume is both simple and difficult;" I want to talk about another "stumbling" point - the resume objective. If you've read any of my previous articles, then you will remember that I do not believe resume objectives are necessary; to the contrary, an objective statement can hurt you.

You don't need it and I do not believe it is particularly effective. But no guru I am (to sort of paraphrase Yoda)!

But because many gurus' continue to recommend objectives and writing services routinely begin the resume with an objective statement, most people can be forgiven for thinking it's a standard requirement. In fact, there are whole websites (and popular at that) dedicated to writing objectives.

That said, I think most objective statements, written as they are, are fillers. That's all they do; they fill the top of the resume.

Because both the reader and you know what the your objective is - to get hired. So, why waste valuable space on something so redundant?

But if you are going to insist on using a resume objective, let me make a couple of suggestions.

Here's a typical resume objective:

"An administrative assistant position requiring strong organization and planning skills to provide exceptional support to a vice president in the financial industry."

So, what does this objective tell the hiring manager and how does it add value to the resume? For me - it's nothing to both questions.

If I'm looking for an administrative assistant, then this objective statement is pointless. If I'm not, then this resume is pointless.

Here's another, more in depth resume objective, as recommended by an expert:

"I intend to use my professional expertise in this field along with my knowledge, towards expanding the customer base of the organization, apart from ensuring optimum customer satisfaction for the existing customers. I seek to offer my salesmanship skills, along with my extensive experience in the field, towards the performance of my duties and consequently towards the growth of the Organization."

On surface, this is probably better than the first. It's better because the objective statement was written to mirror the job duties as listed in the job posting. But again, how does it add value to the resume. If you want to tailor your resume to the job posting, then tailor your resume to the job posting. And if you do that, then once again the objective statement becomes a filler and nothing more - however well written it might be.

But, also notice that this objective statement uses 7 "I's" and "my's." I guessing most recruiters and hiring managers could care less about you and your "I's." More to the point, all those personal pronoun adds a vain touch to the narrative.

So, your question to me might be, "okay hotshot - what do you suggest!?"

I think there are a couple of ways you can do this - first, you can mirror the company's mission statement, as suggested by Phil Baker, resume/cover letter guru extraordinaire. A mission statement focused objective statement adds a different dimension to your cause - because frankly, not many do.

"While there are probably HR employees that do not have their company's mission statement memorized, many will find something familiar about your resume when you have mirrored their mission statement. A familiarity that "feels right." - Phil Baker"

For example:

"Mission statement: To combine aggressive strategic marketing with quality products and services at competitive prices to provide the best insurance value for consumers..."

The objective statement could be:

"Objective: To apply superior selling skills to market quality products and services that provide the best insurance value for consumers..."

The other way is to use the objective statement to add value to your resume. How do you do that? You could do this by using a simple, direct statement stating what you intend to do:

"To increase shareholder value by developing and delivering high quality products."

Compare Kevin Donlin's simple, yet direct statement to the previous first, two example - which one of the three adds value? Those two were all about "me" and "I," whereas this direct statement is about what I can do for you without using the "I."

Writing an effective resume isn't just about following a format or cut/pasting into a template - it's not that easy. Yes, the overall concept is simple. But within that concept, you must tell a story and you must guide the reader to a conclusion. And that makes it a little more difficult.

That means you must spend the time and effort to do it well - but achieving the results you want is obviously worth it.

Write your best and most effective resume with free advice, guidelines, and examples at http://www.LandingOnYourFeet.com. While you're at it, sign up for the newsletter with free EBooks and resources to help you. Loaded with great articles to help you find a job, this is where to go for commonsense, straight shooting info.