While there is no one right way to write a resume, I can tell you that when I was in a corporate job and looking to fill a position, one of the things I always wanted to see in the resume is the Professional Objective & Profile section just below the name and contact information.  I call this the “billboard within the billboard” as it summarizes key information about the applicant in the already abbreviated format of the resume itself.

While I sometimes have clients argue this approach potentially limits their career options, I can only tell them what I typically did when reviewing a resume without it – I tossed it in the reject pile.

When literally hundreds of resumes have been dropped on my desk, I wanted to sort through them as quickly and efficiently as possible.  And if someone didn’t provide a brief overview of their qualifications, I was simply not going to spend the time to determine if the jobs I had open fit their particular interests and skills.  My feelings were, “If they don’t know what they want to do, I’m not going to figure it out for them.”

This may seem harsh, but it is reality.  Your goal is to get the recruiter to review as much of your resume as possible.  To entice them to do this, make it as easy as possible for them by including a Professional Objective & Profile section.  Otherwise, just like I used to do, they may not give your resume more than a cursory glance.