Most job seekers -- and even career experts -- have strong opinions.
Let your resume show that you are specific about your aspirations, goals and skills.
If you include an objective, place it directly under your name and contact information. An objective typically begins with "to." For example, "Objective: To obtain a position ... "
Your objective should be simple, specific and brief -- no more than two or three lines. It should highlight what you have to offer the company, such as a specific skill or experience. A recruiter is more interested in what you can give the company than what you hope to get from it.
Here's an example of an effective job objective:
Objective: To obtain an entry-level account management position in financial services utilizing my strong analytical and interpersonal skills.
Review your objective each time you send a resume and make sure it fits the job you're applying for. Just as you should have several versions of your resume, you should also have several versions of your job objective.
Summarizing Your SkillsNot 100 percent sure what job you want? Then you may find a summary statement more effective than an objective.
While an objective focuses on the job, a summary statement focuses on the job seeker.
A summary statement is a one- to two-sentence overview that captures the essence of your skills and experience. It highlights what makes you a qualified candidate as well as what makes you different (and better) than other applicants.
Tailor your summary statement to highlight the experience that is most relevant to the job.
Here's an example of a strong summary statement.
Summary: Public relations professional with five years of experience managing PR campaigns across multiple media, working with national and local press and coordinating large-scale events.
Highlighting Your AchievementsSometimes a job objective is too targeted. And sometimes a summary statement is too short to highlight all your accomplishments.
If that's the case, you have another option: A summary of qualifications.
A summary of qualifications is similar to a summary statement, but differs in two key ways:
It's most useful for job seekers who have a long work history or who are applying for senior positions. It's an effective way to highlight the most important, relevant parts of a long, detailed resume.
This section goes by many names, like "Key Accomplishments" and "Career Highlights." It's placed just where a job objective or summary statement is, under your contact information.
A summary of qualifications is a list of your most significant career accomplishments. For maximum effectiveness, the list should include no more than five items and be results-oriented.
The summary of qualifications is usually a list of short phrases. You can use a bulleted list, with each qualification on its own line. Or, to conserve space, you can arrange them in paragraph format, with a period after each one.
Here's an example of an effective summary of qualifications.
Job objectives, summary statements, summaries of qualifications -- all are useful resume options. Your best choice will depend on your experience and the type of job you're interested in.
Dont use difficult to understand words. Be simple in language. For maximum impact, keep your resume as short as you can. Include all your achievements in only one to two pages, so don't waste space on meaningless words. Plus, an employer doesn't want to spend time trying to understand vague phrases.
Jobs in the green enregy sector will explode in the future. With oil prices going out of control, jobs in Wind energy, Marine energy, Bioenergy, Solar energy, Green Building energy, Carbon energy and other alternative energy sectors will see a big intake of jobs.
With a boom in travel in developing nations like India, we will see a huge growth in Aviation opportunities. Pilots and maintainance crews will be in good demand for the next few years.
The economy may be in a grim state, but these professionals continue to bank on healthy, stable paychecks every month. Here's a look at five careers with the earnings potential to sail through any economic downturn, and the degree paths to get you there.
Nurse anesthetists are among the highest-paid medical professionals without an M.D. A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) administers pain alleviation medication and monitors patients' vital signs during surgical procedures. CRNA earn a median salary of $135,681, as well as bonuses of up to 50 percent of this base salary. This would add up to approximately Rs 5 Lakhs per month.
How to become one!with an MSN in Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) Nurse anesthetists qualify for certification with a two-year specialized master's degree in Nurse Anesthesia, or CRNA. The prerequisites for this degree program include a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree as well as one to two years of experience in critical care nursing.
CEO compensation has reached such stratospheric levels that top executives like Merrill Lynch's Stanley O'Neal
How to be one! There's no straight ticket to a chief executive seat, but an MBA degree helps. Two-thirds of top CEOs have either an MBA or a JD degree. The two-year MBA, widely available as an online degree, offers unparalleled networking opportunities and the training in leadership skills to get ahead in the workplace.
In uncertain financial times, companies are willing to pay top dollar for risk management. This is, in a nutshell, the actuary's job description; actuaries use their statistics, mathematics, and finance knowledge to assess risk and to create business policies that mitigate financial risks. In the USA, Sixty percent of actuaries ply their trade in the insurance industry, with the remainder working for financial service interests such as credit and corporate security. Actuaries earned a median salary of $95,420 in 2007 which runs to around 3.75 lakhs a year!
How to get there? A Bachelor of Science in Statistics Actuaries qualify for their jobs with a bachelor's degree in a quantitative field such as mathematics, finance, or statistics. A four-year Bachelor of Science in Statistics offers excellent preparation in areas such as probability, sampling, standard deviation, as well as mathematical courses such as calculus.
Financial AnalystFinancial analysts also play an increasingly important role in a tight economy, ensuring that businesses make the most of their investment dollar. Also known as securities or investment analysts, financial analysts analyze financial metrics and make recommendations to investment banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and securities firms. The national median salary of $81,700 in 2007 belies the true income of financial advisors, which includes performance-related bonuses.
How to be one? A Bachelor of Science in Finance.Financial analysts enter the workforce with a four-year bachelor degree in finance or a related field such as accounting, business, economics, or statistics.
Network systems analysts rank number one in the Department of Labor's list of the thirty fastest-growing occupations, with 53.4 percent job growth expected through 2016. Systems analysts keep a company's data network performing at optimal efficiency, making sure employees have reliable access to file-sharing applications, reporting, email and voice communications, etc. Network systems analysts brought home a median salary of $70,760 in 2007. This job may have regional.
Getting There with an BS in Management Information Systems (MIS) A four-year bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems grooms graduates for higher-level supervisory roles, with courses in both business management and network systems.
No matter how tough the economy becomes, certain careers will always come out on top. The essential players in the working world-top executives, healthcare and IT professionals, and financial gurus-can count on a steady paycheck through thick and thin. With the right degree to buoy your career, you can sail through a turbulent economy.