Resume Objective Examples

A frequent request from visitors to Top-Sales-Jobs.com is for us to provide resume objective examples on our site. Candidates firmly believe that a resume is not complete without a good objective.

We're going to burst that bubble! Resume objectives can actually derail your job search...and we don't want to be responsible for that. So, rather than giving you 10 resume objective examples, we're going to suggest another way to let prospective employers know what you're looking for.

A Resume Summary Statement

The best resumes start out with a strong Summary Statement. This is a short narrative of your key skills, woven through a snapshot of your experience. Something like this:

Sales management executive with a strong track record in the medical device industry, selling into the C-suite. Consultative, relationship driven approach has led to multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts, and recognition as the top performing sales professional in the U.S. for the Cardiovascular Division. Results oriented problem solver with a reputation for getting the job done.

Follow this statement up with some bullet points the highlight key strengths.

For example:

• Outstanding communication skills
• Skillful negotiator
• Team player
• P & L management
• Etc.

If you're looking closely, you'll notice a couple of things.

Why a Summary Statement Works

First, the Summary Statement does not reference a title. Including your title can knock you out of the running. If you're a VP, and I'm looking for a Director, I will bypass your resume. Likewise, if I'm looking for a VP, and you're a Manager, I'm going to assume that you're too light. In this Summary Section, leave them guessing.

Secondly, you have not locked yourself into a particular role - beyond indicating that you're a strong sales person. Suppose the open position does not have people management responsibility. If your resume objective includes a desire to manage people, you'll be eliminated from consideration.

We could provide you with resume objective examples, but you'll get more interviews our way.

For more examples of Summary Statements, see Resume Objectives