Consultant Objective Statement

I reviewed a resume that had an objective statement that illustrates several mistakes. The job seeker was an experienced consultant. I can't tell you the exact experience level because their resume didn't have employment dates (a major problem). I would guess the person had close to 10 years of experience.

Below is the objective statement:

<University Name> MBA seeks Contract Possitions anywhere in the US or Internationally will travel anywhere as long as per diem is provided. Will consider permanent/direct hire possitions in the <Metro Area> area only.

The first problem is the spelling of “Possitions.” This doesn't bother me much. The job seeker is from a non-english speaking country and spent a portion of their career in that country. Additionally, the job seeker is a technical consultant, making communications skills less important than in other roles.

Another problem is way the candidate states the value they offer. The job seeker makes their MBA the only feature important enough to highlight in their objective. For a recent graduate, this would be ok, but this candidate has significant experience. They should emphasize their experience, skills or accomplishments instead of their education.

The biggest problem with the objective is that it doesn't say what the job seeker wants to do. There is a goal regarding geography – they won't relocate permanently, but they will travel anywhere for a contract position. This doesn't narrow the possibilities that much. The objective doesn't say what type of job the person wants. From their resume, I can make an educated guess based on their experience, but you don't want to make a hiring manager have to work to figure out what you want.

Finally, your objective statement should not specify your compensation or benefits requirements. The statement that per diem is required doesn't help the impression. Although this is a very reasonable expectation, stating it this prominently in the resume objective gives me the impression that this person is going to be very demanding and difficult to manage.