Don't Forget to Write a Compelling Objective Statement When Applying for Work as a Laborer.
The objective statement on your laborer resume should be compelling to the hiring manager who reads it. Your cover letter will set the tone for the reader, and get the little 'hamster wheel' turning inside their head – the objective of your resume will be the first statement they'll read on your resume and should maintain the momentum that should have already been created by your resume cover letter. You can think of the objective as a one or two-sentence sales pitch you're making to the hiring manager.
Most employers don't think of new-hires in terms of being short-term employees – even if the job advertisement labels the job as “short-term.” Employers want to get as much as they can out of the training expense they'll incur by hiring you – even if you're a skilled laborer and don't require much training (hiring new people costs money.)
Tips for writing a killer laborer resume objective statement:
Length matters here folks: A solid objective will have 2 – 3 short sentences and take up no more than 3 lines of text on the paper. Most applicants make their objective too short like “Looking for a well-paying position in a company that encourages upward mobility.”
Put some thought into it: Did you recognize the example used in the last tip? If you did, it's probably because everybody and their great-grandfather has used a similar generic objective on a resume at some point in their working life. Statements like the one that's shown above add no value to your resume and present nothing compelling to the employer.
Always write a new objective for each job: This is a custom statement you're making to an employer who has individual tastes in their staff choice, and quality expectations. You can reuse most of your resume contents from job-to-job, but the objective must always be unique.
Give your objective some weight: Add some substance, some meaning to the whole thing. Instead of making empty promises or presenting vague career goals.
Tell the reader some numbers: Eg., “Experienced landscape laborer with 2 years of experience to offer the right company. If hired, I can assure you that supply costs at my post will go down by 20% or more and I'll go out of my way to increase profits on every job I'm involved with.” – This kind of objective would be very compelling to a cost-conscious employer who wants to spend less and make more, right?
Nothing negative: So many job applicants completely screw the pooch on this point. Do NOT talk about what you don't want, or what you won't tolerate from an employer, or coworkers. Wait until you're a highly sought-out expert before you make demands to someone who can instantly make a decision to offer you a weekly paycheck, or kick your butt to the curb. Leave past issues in the past where they belong – negative statements on your application usually in never hearing from the employer again, and often not realizing what turned them off.
Use 'punchy' power words to give your objective some oomph!: Eg., experienced, professional, expert, ambitious, passionate, trustworthy – and others to get the hiring manager excited about learning more about you.
Don't listen to people who tell you that you can't use pronouns like “I” and “me”: There are so many articles floating around on the Internet that advise against this, but how can one avoid it altogether? You can't. First off, you aren't applying for work as a wordsmith or newspaper editor, and second: employers don't expect that a document written about you and saying what you can do won't include references to yourself. Most people who advise against this style of writing haven't any experience sitting in a hiring manager or recruiter's desk chair.
Laborer resume objective samples:
Unskilled laborer:
“Hungry, ambitious and friendly person seeking an opportunity where I can earn while I learn how to repair home basements and foundations. I've had a passion for this career path since I watched a repair crew fix the leaks in my parent's foundation wall. I'll work extra hard and never shy away from grunting it with a shovel in one hand and a trowel in the other.”
Skilled laborer:
“Knowledgable basement and foundation repair expert seeking work with a busy company who offers overtime and performance bonuses. I plan to use my skills and 4 years of experience to help you reduce costs, improve customer relations, and improve employee retention levels by working one-on-one with less skilled workers.”
Professional laborer:
“Professional framing construction supervisor with 10 years of experience building new homes and repairing older ones wants to be the newest member of your team. If you hire me, you'll be adding an asset to your team who's an expert in all framing techniques including older post & beam and balloon-style framing, along with modern platform-style construction – all without the need for training.”