Career Blunders: Refusing to Use Job Titles

On the Free Resume Critique page of our web site, we ask four questions to obtain information that is helpful to us in addressing each candidate's specific concerns and questions, as well as the overall effectiveness of their resume. One of these questions asks what 3 types of jobs you are most interested in, and is essentially asking what your career objectives are.

We've had some candidates respond with something like "Job titles aren't important," or "I don't get hung up on job titles." Essentially, they feel that using specific titles or job types will pigeonhole them into one area, and prevent consideration for similar jobs with different titles but the same qualification requirements.

While this rationale is very logical, the reality is that not stating a clear objective is a red flag for employers and recruiters. They interpret such an omission as having a lack of focus, both personally and professionally. Therefore, resumes that are targeted, or focused, towards one or more related areas are much more effective in getting interviews. This statement is based on our 12+ years of experience, surveys of HR and recruiting professionals, and the consensus of our professional resume writing colleagues. We ask for candidate's job search objectives in the free resume critique so we can evaluate how well their resume supports these objectives, or proves their ability to perform in their area(s) of interest.

There are ways to present your job objectives without pigeonholing yourself into one or two areas and precluding consideration for similar jobs. However, that does not mean you should use a vaguely-worded, me-focused Objective at the top of your resume. What it does mean is that you should list the title of the job for which you are applying at the top of your resume, and then follow that with a profile (or summary) that highlights what you have to offer potential employers. The profile should also briefly summarize the skills and experience that qualify you for the job. A well-written, visually appealing, and focused resume that uses a profile rather than an objective will be much more successful in getting interviews for you.