What is an objective on a resume?
An objective on a resume (sometimes called a career objective or objective statement) is a resume introduction that addresses a specific job opening, acting as a career mission statement by introducing you to employers.
Resume objectives are best for job seekers with little or no experience in a field, including:
- new high school or college graduates
- candidates changing careers
- people with little to no work experience
If you’re among these kinds of candidates, use a resume objective because you can focus on the skills and qualifications you can bring to a position.
Each sentence of a resume objective touches on specific information about your professional background and skill set. Together, these sentences explain why you’re the best candidate for a particular job opening:
Knowing how to write a good resume objective that lands you the job is a skill, and like any skill takes time to master. We’re here to teach you that skill.
After providing you with 40 resume objective examples for different industries, we’ll show you how to write an objective for your own resume.
40 resume objective examples
Looking for job-winning resume objective examples to take ideas from? Whether you need examples written by recent graduates or high-school/inexperienced objective samples, we provide 40 samples of resume objectives below, organized by job category:
- Administration & Office Support
- Beauty
- Food and Food Service
- Healthcare
- Infrastructure & Maintenance
- IT
- Life Situation
- Marketing
- Research-based and Professional Services
- Teaching and Childcare
- Retail & Sales
Administration & Office Support
If you’re seeking an office-based role, check out these resume objectives for inspiration as you make your resume.
Administrative Assistant Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Administrative Assistant Resume Objective (High School Student)
Admin-related resumes:
Beauty
To showcase your skills in the beauty industry, follow the example of this resume objective.
Beauty Industry Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Food & Food Service
Looking for work in the food and food service industry? Highlight your relevant skills like the candidates do in these resume objectives:
Bartender Resume Objective
Related resume sample:
Food Service Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Line Cook Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
McDonalds Resume Objective
Related resumes:
Waiter Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Healthcare
Providing medical care to patients requires tip-top care skills. Learn how to show hiring managers you have these skills by using these resume objectives for inspiration:
Medical Assistant Resume Objective
Related resume samples and objectives:
Nursing Resume Objective (Master’s Degree)
Entry-level Nursing Resume Objective
Related resumes and objectives:
Infrastructure & Maintenance
Attention to detail and technical abilities should be at the forefront of your resume in these industries. Learn how to showcase these skills by looking at these resume objective samples:
Construction Worker Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Housekeeper Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Janitor Resume Objective Example
Related resumes:
Security Guard Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Truck Driver Resume Objective
Related resumes:
Warehouse Worker Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Information Technology
If you work in IT, you already know software and hardware skills are essential. But you might not know how to write a compelling resume objective. Here’s how:
Data Entry Clerk Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Graphic Design Resume Objective
Related resume:
Software Developer Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Related resume samples:
Life Situation
If you’re starting out in your career, you need to highlight your ambition and transferable skills. Look at these resume objective examples for ideas:
High School Student Resume Objective
Related resume example:
Internship Resume Objective
Related resumes:
Marketing
Marketing is an ever changing industry, so show employers you’re adaptable and open to new ideas in your resume objective.
Fundraiser Resume Objective
Marketing Assistant Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Related resume samples:
Social Media Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Related resumes:
Research-based & Professional Services
If you’re working in a professional role that involves analysis, research, and written communication skills, highlight these abilities in your resume objective like this:
Accounting Resume Objective
Related resume examples:
Civil Engineer Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Lawyer Resume Objective
Related resumes:
Journalism Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Related resume samples:
Research Assistant Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Related resume examples:
Teaching & Childcare
Taking care of other people’s children and their development is a heavy responsibility. Show you’re capable of it with an effective resume objective.
Babysitter Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Elementary Teacher Resume Objective
Related resume example and objectives:
High School Teacher Resume Objective
Related resumes and objectives:
Tutor Resume Objective
Related resume samples:
Retail & Sales
Salespersonship involves a bunch of skills that you need to highlight in your resume objective if you’re going to convince the hiring manager to call you for in an interview. Here’s how to showcase these vital skills:
Customer Service Resume Objective (High School)
Related resume examples and objectives:
Retail Manager Resume Objective (Sales Experience)
Retail Resume Objective (High School)
Retail-related resume samples:
- retail sales associate resume
- grocery store cashier resume
- retail manager resume
- store manager resume
Sales Resume Objective (College Graduate)
Sales Resume Objective (No Degree)
Related resumes:
How to write a career objective (with examples)
To write a good resume objective, first think about how your personal background (experience, skills, education, and interests) makes you the best fit for the role. Why should the specific company hire you for that job opening? What makes you better than other applicants?
The objective for your resume shouldn’t simply be about why you want the job either. Instead, your objective should align your skills, knowledge, and experience with the company’s goals.
A good resume objective:
- showcases your skills
- highlights your relevant experience
- states your applicable education or training
So avoid writing a resume objective that:
- states you want the job
- talks about your personal career goals
- is a “To” statement
Here’s how to write a general resume objective if you’re a:
- recent graduate (with little or no experience)
- completely inexperienced job seeker or high-school student
1. If you’re a recent college graduate (little or no relevant experience)
Writing a recent graduate resume or college student resume? Your resume objective should include the following three sentences to emphasize the professional skills you developed as a student:
-
-
- First sentence: Your degree plus years of relevant experience (if any)
- Second sentence: How you’re hard-working, reliable, and focused on achieving the company’s goals
- Third sentence: Your best provable traits, and the role in which you want to apply those traits
-
Sample resume objective (only internship experience)
Here’s an example resume objective written by a recent college grad:
Recent college graduate with a BA in English Literature and six months of international internship experience. Dedicated worker aiming to help achieve [Company Name]’s objectives and take on more responsibility as quickly as possible. Seeking to leverage acquired academic knowledge and work experience to effectively fill your open office clerk position.
The student who wrote this particular resume objective has internship experience. Because any type of relevant working experience is valuable to employers, it should always be highlighted in the first sentence of a resume objective.
If you have no work experience or are writing a resume for an internship, add academic accomplishments to your objective. Here are a few details you can mention in your resume objective to make your application stand out:
2. If you’re in high school or have no relevant experience
If you don’t have work experience or a college degree, highlight your work ethic and personality in your resume objective. Such details can help show a company why you’d be a good employee if hired.
Write an objective for your resume by splitting it into these three sentences:
-
-
- First sentence: Self introduction where you mention your strongest (provable) traits
- Second sentence: How dependable you are, and that you have the company’s goals in mind
- Third sentence: Which role you want to fill, and the skills you can apply to that role
-
Resume objective sample (no experience)
Here’s an example of a career objective for a high-school student resume:
Hard-working student (3.5/4.0 GPA) with proven leadership and organizational skills, and strong attention to detail. Dedicated team player who can be relied upon to help [Company Name] achieve its goals. Seeking to apply my abilities to fill the internship role listed on your website.
This student says that have leadership and organizational skills, and then includes a high GPA.
Just remember that these claims must be proven later. If you developed a particular skill and mention it in your resume objective, explain it fully in the rest of your resume.
For example, if you mention developing your leadership skills as lacrosse captain, list this experience later in your resume’s experience section, along with details of how you used your leadership skills like:
- how many people were on your team
- how often you held matches or training
- what kind of budget you managed as captain
Here’s a short list of school activities and linked character traits to come up with some ideas for your own resume objective:
| School Activity | Associated Character Traits |
|---|---|
| Student Government: | Leadership, Management, Organization |
| Sports: | Team Player, Disciplined, Strategic |
| Theater Arts: | Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, Interpersonal Skills |
| Various Clubs: | Engaged, Active, Friendly, Enthusiastic |
| Academics: | Analytical, Hard Working, Fast Learner |
