By: Jaelyn Morales

A resume by definition is a formal document that provides an overview of your professional qualifications, including your relevant work experience, skills, education, and notable accomplishments. It is a document that you will use to show your future job employers all of your past job and career information in the best and most professional way possible in order for them to see you as a good fit for the job. A resume should first have your personal information like your name, contact information, and work history so that the employers you are being interviewed by know how to contact you in the future and have a background on you. When these employers look at your resume they are looking for key information such as education level, skills, and certifications. A lot of people, when making their resume tend to add as much information as they can, and this is a great way to get their attention, but you also need to make sure that you are putting reliable and relevant information that your job at that time will want and need. 

To help you better understand what employers are looking for in a resume, I interviewed an employer named Frank from Pridestaff in San Antonio, where they work to help citizens find the right job for them. I asked, What’s the most important thing you look for in a resume? ” He responded with, “Definitely the format, making sure each job is detailed and clear.” I also asked for advice for students who are starting their resumes. “ The most important advice is to look at wording.” he said. He gave an example of ways to word your resume in a better and more informational way. He said when stating that you worked at a fast food restaurant, instead of saying “making food or giving people their food”, you could instead say “I assembled food or prepared food.” It may not look like a big difference, but once you read your overall resume you will see the difference. 

Another thing you can add to your resume is a summary statement, which you might think is similar to an objective statement, but there are a lot of differences between the two including pros and cons. An objective statement tells the reader what you hope to get, while the summary statement tells them who you are and what you can do for the company. In other words, instead of stating what you hope to gain, you can instead display all your accomplishments, applicable skills, past experience, and other certifications that exhibit your value as an applicant. An example of an objective statement would be, “Seeking a position in counseling at Pleasanton High School.” A summary statement might be: “Accomplished and determined counselor with 5+ years of experience. Versatile background includes counseling students from grades 7th-12th at Jourdanton High School and Devine High School. Calm and lively attitude creates an atmosphere that encourages student innovation, motivation, and learning.” As you can see the summary statement has more information than the objective statement, but doesn’t go on forever, it has just enough to show your employer what you will bring to the table. 

There’s no right or wrong answer to the question, “Should resumes still include objective statements?” It’s really up to the employer and his preference, but remember a summary statement is your first impression to your could be new employer, so if you do decide to write one make sure to use details and express to them as many skills and experiences as possible to let them know you are the right person for the position.