It really sucks to send out dozens of resumes and cover letters only to get no response.
Nowadays, getting your resume to stand out in a flooded marketplace can take a little…creativity.
Here is a surefire creative way to make sure your resume rises through the stacks and get’s noticed:
Ditch the lame career objective and highlight your purpose.
You may have seen in resume templates the standard “career objective” section. You know, that one line sentence that states what you’re seeking out of a career? This sentence usually follows your name and contact information at the top of your resume, and is usually super boring. Something along the lines of “recent college graduate seeking an entry-level marketing or advertising position”. Can you say snooze fest?
While this may be your actual objective it isn’t very appealing from hiring manager standpoint.
Why? Because this tells very little about who YOU ARE and what YOU DESIRE out of a career.
When organizations are hiring someone they are investing in that person AND in their future with the organization. A good investment is someone who is driven and committed to their own passions and growth in their career.
You want your resume to show you are a good investment. And one simple way to do this is to ditch the standard career objective, and instead highlight your purpose by using a personal purpose statement.
A purpose statement is basically a one-liner “elevator speech” of what kind of change you are passionate to make with your career, who you want to serve, and what kind of change you hope that service makes to them.
For example if you are a marketing professional with a treehugger heart your purpose statement may sound like… “I desire to empower environmentally conscious brands by creating innovative and community focused marketing so they can spread their message and increase their positive impact on the planet”.
BOOM! Way far from boring and darlin’, you just got noticed.
Purpose statements like this tell your potential employer who you are and what you stand for from DAY ONE. And it is one firecracker of a conversation starter as it opens the doors for you to talk about what you are passionate about in your career, and passion is attractive to employers.
It shows you are committed to your career path, your growth, and creating the change YOU believe in. Now, your purpose statement doesn’t have to involve saving the planet to be captivating. It just has to be change that is important to YOU.
Maybe the change you want to create involves art, education, finance, construction, communication, health and wellness, etc. It doesn’t matter what the discipline, when you serve others in any way (directly or indirectly)- you ARE creating change.
Want to create your very own personal purpose statement? CLICK HERE for free access to my Personal Purpose Statement worksheet.
Gain clarity and confidence as you get clear on who you want to serve, how you want to serve them, and why. Then it will guide you to craft a unique and captivating purpose statement that is authentically aligned with who you are, and what you want out of your career.
Once you have created a purpose statement that feels good use it at the top of your resume (under your name and contact info) in place of your objective. Highlight it by playing with the typeface- use a different but legible font or font color, italicize or bold it, or place a text box around it to draw attention towards it.
Your purpose statement is also a great one-liner to use when career networking. Next time someone asks you “What do you do?” or “What kind of career are you seeking?” share you purpose statement with confidence and see what kind of response you get. I can guarantee that if you own your statement with confidence you will make a lasting impression.
So what kind of change you are passionate to make with your career? Who do you want to serve? And what kind of change do you hope that service makes to them? Use your answers to these questions to fuel the creation of your personal purpose statement. If you want more help then CLICK HERE to get my template for more supported brainstorming.
