Should you write career objectives in a CV?

Should you put a career objective on your CV?

Whether they are a project manager, administrative assistant or social media marketing manager, people are often asking us for career objective samples and advice about a well written career objective. 

We are often asked “should I include career objectives in my CV” or for our international clients “should I include a resume objective” and you may be surprised to learn that the short answer is "no", the general consensus is to avoid putting your career objectives. 

You might think the perfect career objective will maximize brand awareness, land your dream job or help you achieve your career goals, but unless you are looking for a career change, career objectives just aren’t required.

Read on and all will be explained. 

Why shouldn't you put your career objective on your cv?

Let me give it a little bit of explanation. The reason you shouldn’t have a career objective statement is because you're starting your CV off with the wrong psychology.

If you were to write a fairly long (or even not so long) objective, where you are talking about what you're looking to get out of your next job, it makes your opening gambit too much about what you want and not enough about what you can offer.

It doesn’t matter if you are looking for a financial analyst role or a management position, even a well written CV or resume objective won’t make any difference to how successful you are. 

The best career objective is no career objective.

Think of it this way, if your CV or resume objective statement is something along the lines of "looking for a position where I can gain career advancement where I can use my skills and experience" - all this kind of stuff, it’s kind of a little bit obvious, because of course you want a job where you can use your skills and experience.

No one would be looking for a job where they weren't using their skills and experiences. Odd really, isn't it? 

They are seen as superfluous filler content in the same way as behavioural skills such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, organizational skills or analytical skills.

These are ok for an entry level position, but unnecessary for more senior people. A hiring manager just isn’t interested in this stuff – they prefer to read about hard or technical skills.

The same can be said for CV and resume objectives.

Avoid soft skills and career goals and focus your CV on how you meet the job description with your professional knowledge / professional experience, such as leadership skills, project management skills, accurate financial decision making or inventory management. You can certainly exclude skills such as being a dedicated team player.

Having a dedicated key skills section with a list of skills written in passive voice is a good idea e.g., digital marketing, business development, financial management, customer management, team leadership, data analysis, budget management or project management.

Once again, leave out soft skills such as highly motivated or being a self starter.

Career objectives is the wrong psychology

As mentioned above, you're starting your CV off, right at the start, with the psychology of "this is what I want to get out of it". The reality of the situation is when a recruiter, or indeed an employer, is assessing your application, what they care about at that moment is what you can offer them, not what they can offer you.

Now, of course throughout the recruitment process, there will be some give and take and there will be amble opportunity for you to discuss what you want, but at the point where you're applying for the role and sending your CV, all that person who is reading your CV cares about is what you can offer them.

So, in short, the objective starts the CV off with the wrong psychology and this is why we avoid objectives on CVs.

As we’ve repeatedly said, even a good career objective is barking up the wrong tree.

Where would you use a career objective?

So, at risk of contradicting ourselves, is there any situation where job seekers should use CV or resume objective statements? Where would you write a career objective? 

One scenario where you can use a CV or resume objective is when you are changing careers. In this scenario, you might not have all the relevant skills and professional experience so including a mission statement can help the reader understand the context of your application.

A good career objective here might explain where you have gained for example – research skills, computer science skills or project management skills in another environment.

Your job title might not have been relevant but some of your transferable skills might, and these can be referenced in an objective statement, so you look more relevant to the job ad. 

So, we’ve agreed that your CV isn’t the right place to put a career objective, unless you are a career changer, but there are some places where a career objective will serve you well. One of those places is in a cover letter or personal statement.

As well as highlighting how you think you meet the job description, you can also explain why you are interested in the role. A good way to do this is to write down how you feel the role fits in with your short and medium term career objectives.

Career objective FAQs

How do you write a career objective if you've no employment experience?

Having limited work experience might lure you into feeling rather contrived when writing a career objective; let’s face it, at this stage of your career, most people just need a job so they can afford to live.

But, obviously writing something as basic as “I am applying for this job because I need some money” isn’t going to cut it. This is where you describe where you want to be short and medium term and how you feel the role you are applying for provides this opportunity. If your education is geared towards your 

What is a career objective for a resume?

A career objective is a sentence or paragraph that describes what a job seeker is looking to achieve from their next role. A resume is the same as a CV but using the North American vernacular. Whether you are in the UK, USA or anywhere else in the world, objectives are not usually needed or wanted.

What are career objectives in your CV?

A career objective is a sentence or paragraph that describes what a job seeker is looking to achieve from their next role. Unlike a cover letter where one can tie career goals to the job, a career objective on a CV is rather superfluous and unnecessary. 

What are some career objective examples in your CV?

An example of a weak career objective might be something like “I am looking for a job where I can use my skills and experience”. Frankly, that’s just daft, as of course anyone would want a job where they are using their skills and experiences. It means absolutely nothing! 

How to write career objectives in your CV

A better example would be “I am currently a Finance Manager looking for progression to a Senior Finance Manager role with more people management responsibilities. However, if the role is a Senior Finance Manager role with leadership duties, the very fact that one is applying for it means that is the kind of role they are seeking.

You might also be interested in the below, depending on your level of seniority and industry. Discover how our professional CV writers can help.

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