Some employers and recruiters prefer profiles to objectives; it’s up to you to decide which works best for your resume – keeping in mind your experience, skills, education, training and qualifications, and more specifically, the job that you are interested in.
An objective on your resume is a way to stress to employers that you know what you want in a position. A profile explains what you have to offer the employer and can help sell your potential as a future employee.
I’ve had a lot of awkward silences when I ask someone to come up with a personal or professional profile for their resume. Basically, a profile is a very condensed version of a cover letter referring to your key qualifications for a position or field of work. You may also see a profile referred to as career summary, personal profile statement, profile statement, resume summary, and summary of qualifications.
Your profile is the 30,000 foot level of what you can do; your experience is the proof of this. Your experience section is about where you have been; your profile section is about where you want to go.
In the end, it really is up to you whether to use an objective or a profile in your resume. However, here is something to keep in mind…
Treat every word on your resume like expensive real estate. Square footage is at a premium; so make every word count!
by Anna Bennett, Blogger for Agilec