There are two reasons for including an objective on your resume:

1) To show that there is a match between the kind of work you are seeking and the position being offered by an employer.

2) To clearly state your career goals for the benefit of an employer who needs assurance that you have clear goals. Potential employers may be hesitant to take a risk on a candidate who is unsure of his or her career direction.

The ideal resume and objective are tailored to a specific position and employer. Word processing and micro-computing simplify the job of modifying a resume to suit particular positions or opportunities. The myth that one resume will do for all positions is just that - a myth.

You may have several different positions in mind. That's fine as long as each meets your personal criteria for type of work, type of organization, geography, work environment, etc.

1) A simple statement of a professional position: i.e., Landscape Architect, Wildlife Biologist, Statistician.

2) A statement reflecting your functional area and the fact that your are seeking an entry-level position.

-an entry-level position in food industry management

-an entry-level environmental engineering technology position

-an entry-level position in genetics research

3) A statement which notes your functional skills and may include preference for a particular sector of employment, size or organization and/or geographic area.

-an entry-level sales position in a medium to large-sized insurance company

4) Short term/long term format

Short Term: A summer internship in poultry processing

5) Seeking/Offering Statement

Seeking: A horticultural position with a West Coast landscape design firm.

• Be specific! A vague objective invites a vague response or no response at all.
• Avoid the use of trite terms such as: "a challenging and interesting position," "opportunity for advancement," "dealing with people," and "a progressive organization." To understand why, put yourself in an employer's place. He or she reads hundreds of resumes. It can safely be assumed that each resume writer is seeking a situation which can be described by the phrases above.
• State only one functional area, e.g., marketing or finance, in a single objective.
• Make your objective "work-centered" rather than "self-centered". An employer needs to know that the organization will benefit from hiring you. They don't particularly care to know how they can help you.
• Don't count on your cover letter to do the work of an objective. Employers who are overwhelmed with paper frequently separate cover letters and resumes.