Should you list a desired position title in your resume?

Question

Back in the day I was told that you should always list the title of the position you're applying for, in your resume. However, some companies only accept resumes you upload to their websites, and they restrict the number of resumes you can upload to their websites to something like 2, maybe 3 resumes at most. So I'm wondering if it's still a good idea to list something like "Seeking a Senior Software Engineer" position in one's resume. I think it would be better to put that into the cover letter instead.

Bottom line, in today's job market, when applying for a job, is it still best practice to list a job title? Or would it be better to state that in a cover letter?

Answer 1

Bottom line, in today's job market, when applying for a job, is it still best practice to list a job title? Or would it be better to state that in a cover letter?

In general, you should talk about the position you are applying for in your cover letter, not your resume.

While you might still want to tailor your resume (emphasizing the relevant points) to a particular position, the cover letter is where you really expound on your fitness for the company, and for the particular position within that company.

Most companies that accept online resumes have some way to indicate the position of interest anyway.

Answer 2

Where you're working with online sites, I'd say minimize confusion. If you keep a short description of your goal in the top of your resume, make it generic, not specific - for example "I'm seeking positions requiring senior level expertise and responsibility in a engineering position". Stay away from a specific job title as it may imply you know MUCH more about the company than you really do.

As opposed to the days of simple snail mail or email of resumes - a lot of online sites link you to a specific offering in the course of using the form. That'll be a better connection to a specific job and it'll tell the reviewer on the other end exactly what position you're applying to.

As Joe Strazzere says - the best place to go into depth is the cover letter - that's the place you can map the overall view of your work history to your vision of the job you're looking for.