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Need an "Objective" section in our resumes?

holzwacw

Simple question....Is it important for architects to put an "objective" in their resume. Is it too extraneous and could be covered in a cover letter?

 
Feb 18, 07 12:47 pm
PsyArch

Personal Objective? In the cover letter.

Feb 18, 07 12:50 pm  · 
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holz.box

axe it and put that in the cover letter. it's too extraneous

Feb 18, 07 1:21 pm  · 
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Alan Loomis

Agreed.

Feb 18, 07 2:25 pm  · 
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I've always found "the objective" in the resume downright cheesy...and had a hard time keeping those people serious

Feb 18, 07 6:55 pm  · 
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holzwacw

thanks for the help guys, appreciate the time

Feb 18, 07 8:38 pm  · 
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nambypambics

Agreed, I've always hated the objective.

The only exception would be if you are applying to very corporate places. They may request the resume to have specific information and be in a specific format, including the traditional "objective."

Feb 18, 07 9:00 pm  · 
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evilplatypus

I disagree- I find the objective critical for younger applicants to have on their resume. It proves they can concisely define their what, why and where in a short statement. Thats demonstrAting clarity of thought, and understanding of job roles.

Feb 19, 07 9:29 am  · 
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I think it depends on what context you're giving out resumes in. My school had job fairs every year, and I always had an objective (and no cover letter) for those things, but axed the objective and put in a cover letter for any firm I'm contacting in a more one-on-one way.

Feb 19, 07 11:01 am  · 
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holzwacw

as a younger applicant (which i am) I find it harder to really have an objective except to learn the basics of design and the professional side of architecture.

Feb 19, 07 11:39 am  · 
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evilplatypus

Thats exactly what you put their while an intern. Maybe add to it briefly finish IDP req.

Cover letters get looked at once - then principles and managers pass the resume around - thats why the objective is eessentially your cover letter razor sharp short and focused.

Feb 19, 07 11:42 am  · 
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guppy

your resume pretty much gets looked at once too. it then gets looked at again as the interviewer reminds him/herself who you are.

Feb 19, 07 11:46 am  · 
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babs

as an employer, i can take "objectives" or not, depending on what's written. often, they're just so much self-serving BS and they come across as such. but, from time-to-time the candidate will craft a written objective that is both sincere and informative -- those are easy to spot and very helpful to me in deciding whether to go forward with the candidate or not. i like knowing what a candidate hopes to achieve over the next few years -- if that fits in with what we can offer, that's really useful information. if it doesn't fit in with what we can offer, it saves a lot of time, both for the candidate and for me.

my advice -- use an objective [u]only if you're willing to be honest -- don't just try to tell the hiring manager what you think (s)he wants to hear. but, if you're honest, you're also likely to have firms drop you from consideration fairly quickly if your objective doesn't sync with their needs.

Feb 19, 07 2:48 pm  · 
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StuntPilot

Go with a 'summary' to get around the stigma of bad 'objective' statements. That way you can highlight where you've been (recent grad, # of years of experience, completed IDP, 1/2 done with ARE, etc..) and provide clues to where you want to go in the coming years (take over the world, etc.)

Feb 19, 07 3:02 pm  · 
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holzwacw

i figured "taking over the world" would be a good way to honestly tell them my desires.

Feb 19, 07 3:29 pm  · 
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