Madeline Mann (Selfie Millennial) explains when to include an objective statement on a resume. She recommends generally omitting objectives as wasted space, but advocates using a brief objective to preempt quick recruiter rejection — the "two-second trash" — by explaining resume irregularities (career shifts, international relocation, return from time off). The video gives concrete examples and closes with a channel-CTA.
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Hey everyone, this is Selfie Millennial. I'm Madeline Mann. You know, I normally object to objective statements being on a resume, but there are some key situations where if you use an objective statement, it can seriously prevent you from being.
Rejected. In this video, I will give you examples of when you definitely should and definitely should not put an objective statement on your resume. Objective statements are generally at the top of a resume and they state why you're applying. Such as recent grad looking to obtain a role as a financial analyst at an innovative and impactful company. I'll tell you, an objective statement like this is generally a waste of space. I mean, they already know your recent grad. They know that you're applying for the financial analyst position. Every company feels that they're impactful or innovative in some way. So you can delete all of this, but in some cases you are going to want to avoid the 2 second trash, which is a term I use to explain the those two seconds. A recruiter looks at your resume, sees something, doesn't add up, and just immediately disqualifies you. Like if they're hiring for a VP role and a person's most recent experience says that they're a coordinator. Two second trash. If they're looking for local candidates and the person's address is in another country. 2 second trash. If Wonder Bread needs taste tester and you're gluten free. Two second trash. I know we all hate it, but objective statement can be the antidote. It it can quickly debunk whatever reason they're going to reject you in the 2 second track. So here's what you do. Use an objective statement to explain irregularities in your resume. Such as you're changing industries, you're shifting your career, you're coming back from taking time off from working. It's great to acknowledge this right off the bat so that they don't toss out your resume thinking that you're misguided and applying to the wrong places. Example could be product leader who's moving from the entertainment industry to the fintech industry to build products she believes in. The reason she might put this as her objective statement is so that when a recruiter is looking at a resume, they notice everything. All her experiences in the entertainment industry they assume you know she's misguided, toss her resume out. But no, at the top she says that she's extremely intentional about moving into the fintech industry. And so then they give it another look and it avoids the two sides. Second trash. Another example is if your most recent experience was in a different country. Maybe the recruiter will assume, oh, there's going to be visa issues or there's going to be relocation issues, and so you want to address that right up top so that they can get rid of those worries and focus on how qualified you are. Such as green card holder headed back to Los Angeles to obtain a position as a data scientist. Nice save. So, to review, do not add an objective statement as a formality. It's generally a waste of space. But do add it if it can play a vital role in addressing, right up front, anything that could possibly disqualify you. Your objective, should you choose to accept it, is to subscribe to this channel and give it a thumbs up. Thanks so much. See you next time.
