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A job campaign consists of many tasks: writing a resume, fi nding potential employers, reviewing job openings, creating application lett ers, networking, interviewing, receiving rejections, negotiating job off ers, and making many decisions. Where do you start? ...with a goal, an objective. It may be helpful to ask, ”What do I want to do? Where do I want ”
What is a career objective?
Your career objective is a personal statement defi ning the
specifi cs you wish to att ain via professional work.It’s
personal: Others may share similar goals, but your objective
should state your goals in terms that you are comfortable
with.
It’s a commitment: Stating a goal identifi es who you
are and what you want to achieve.It’s action-oriented:
You taking control of your life and communicating to an employer
what you can do in action terms.
It’s directional: Focus on your future to identify steps
to take and information to seek. Your focus can be short-
or long-range. The more completely you examine your future,
the bett er you will evaluate potential work situations.
It’s specifi c: Clearly identifying facts about a work
situation. Broad terms like “successful” or “challenging”
may mean something to you, but convey no facts to an employer.
You may choose not to include your objective on your resume
and instead only include it in your cover lett er. Regardless,
a clear and focused objective helps you target your job search
and communicate more eff ectively with potential employers.
What do I include in a career objective?
Deciding what to include in a career objective can be diffi
cult. In the following pages are ten elements you can include
in your objective. Remember, whichever elements you choose
is a personal decision.
1. Career Field
Career ?elds are general areas of work which include many
di?erent job titles that require similar kinds of work activities.
You may be considering several di?erent job titles within
a career ?eld. Identifying the career ?eld category allows
you to specify a broad area you are interested in without
limiting yourself to specific titles. While you may be interested
in more than one career ?eld, for purposes of the career objective,
it is better to limit yourself to one.
Examples:
“To work in the health ?eld as an administrator in a
service delivery unit.”
“To do research within the ?eld of law.”
2. Position Title
Position title, occupational title, or job title is the name
of a specific position one holds. While some organizations
may have their own reference names, most position titles are
generic and generalizable to many organizations.
Listing a position title on your career objective is appropriate
if you know you will be applying for a specific position either
in many di?erent organizations or one targeted organization.
Examples:
"To obtain a position of accountant with a public accounting
?rm and eventually become a partner.”
“To act as a community organizer where I can use my
human relations, administrative, and research skills.”
3. Organizational Category
Organizational category refers to sett ings in which you might
like to work. In the broadest sense, organizations are categorized
as either service-producing or goods-producing. More specifically, organizations are categorized by industry groups. One
or more of these groups may appeal to you.
Identifying a category or industry group helps you identify
specific employers within that group. In your objective, you
narrow your focus and demonstrate interest in a specific setting
without naming individual employers.
Examples:
“To work within the telecommunications industry as a
technical advisor.”
“To secure a position as an editor for a mid-size publishing
?rm.”
4. Functional Area
Functional area refers to the structure of an organization.
Most organizations are di?erentiated into various departments,
each responsible for completion of specific tasks or functions.
The larger the organization, the more di?erentiated it usually
is, that is, the more specific the functions. Smaller organizations
may have the same department handling several functions.
Identifying a functional area in a career objective speci?es
which part of the organization would be of interest to you
without narrowing yourself to a specific industry group or
organizational category.
Examples:
“To work in the government relations function within
a Fortune 500 organization.”
“To obtain a management trainee position within the
quality control unit of a production department.”
Career Objective Guide
5. Skills
Skills are special talents, functions (General Skills) or
tasks (Specific Skills) that you have learned to do well. They
are behaviors you exhibit and are most likely developed through
academic, work, and leisure experiences. Some of these same
skills might be used in one occupation or transferred to several
di?erent occupations (i.e., transferable skills).
Skills involve knowledge and physical behaviors allowing you
to not be limited to a specific career ?eld or organizational
category. Most jobs require a combination of skills. Identifying
your combination lets the employer know where you might ?t
into the organization.
5a. General skills
General skills are broad areas which encompass related specific
skills. Identifying general skills in an objective identi?es
the combination of skill areas you prefer to use in your work.
Examples:
“To use my scienti?c and human relations skills as a
Nursing Supervisor.
“To work for a government agency using my management
and communication skills.”
General Skill areas you may want to use include:
administrative communications mathematical
artistic creative mechanical
athletic human relations scienti?c
clerical management technical
5b. Specific Skills
Specific skills are specific actions or behaviors used to
perform tasks. Identifying specific skills in your career
objective allows you to highlight your strengths or specializations
within a general skill area.
Examples:
“To use my artistic skills especially doing layout,
graphic design, and lettering for an advertising ?rm.”
“To work for a rehabilitation agency and use my group
and individual counseling skills.” View the included
list to ?nd skills that are commonly used in career objectives.
You may also want to consider your own specific skills in
order to identify skills you wish to use in your objective.
Career Objective Guide
6. Other Factors
There are other factors you can place in your career objective.
These include any limits, conditions, or personal criteria
which would a?ect your work situation and are important to
identify.
By identifying other factors, you can further focus your goals
and communicate them to employers. However, you may wish to
limit the extent you focus on these types of factors in your
career objective. Being too narrowly focused may cause you
to overlook potentially satisfying employment options.
Examples:
“To work outdoors in a supervisory capacity for the
United States Forest Service.”
“To obtain a secondary teaching position in the southeast
United States.”
“To work in law enforcement and pursue additional spe
cialized training in forensics.” Other factors regarding
your own limits, conditions, or personal criteria for employment
might include:
6a. Populations
Populations are the people you work with as you do your work.
They could be your peer group at work( i.e., your colleagues).
However, in a career objective, population usually refers
to the clients or customers of your services or products.
Examples:
“To work with elderly individuals in the ?eld of recreational
therapy.”
“To design programs for children with disabilities.”
6b. Goals
Short-term goals are those goals you wish to achieve immediately.
Identifying short-term goals helps you focus where to begin
your professional career. Also, they help you identify next
steps in your job search.
Examples:
“To obtain an entry level position of Weather Observer.”
Long-term goals are those goals you wish to achieve in 5 to
10 years. Having long-term goals can be bene?cial to you in
two main ways:
1. 1. Many organizations have sta? ng plans regarding where
they want their employees to be in the organization in the
future. By having your plan, you and the employer can evaluate
if there is a match with respect to where you may start, advance,
and ?nish in a given time period.
2. 2. Our society is constantly changing and likewise, jobs
change. No doubt, as you’re working, opportunities and
problems will occur. Long-term goals give you a yardstick
to evaluate the situation and make decisions.
Example:
“To begin employment in a beverage management position
which provides opportunities for advancement to a top, policy-making
position in the organization.”
How do I choose among the elements?
As you review the information included in the Career Objective
Guide, think about which elements you wish to include in your
own career objective. Keep in mind, elements that may be useful
in other job search activities such as interviewing or negotiating
o?ers.
For your written career objective, choose at least one element
but no more than three or your objective may be too lengthy.
You may want to have di?erent career objectives for di?erent
work situations or environments that you are considering.
How good is my career objective?
Check the box to the left if your career objective is:
? Personal
? A Commitment
? Action-Oriented
? Directional
??Specific Use the included Career Objective Guide Worksheet
to brainstorm possible elements of your career objective.
If you have di?culty writing your objective, drop-in to the
Career Center and ask a career advisor for help getting your
future career goals on paper.
What skills are used commonly in career objectives?
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