When writing a resume, or in the case of online job marketplaces such as oDesk your profile, your objective should be a brief statement of what you can do, not what you want. Often, you’ll see “stock” resumes with objectives stating something along the lines of:
To obtain a position where I can maximize my management skills, quality assurance, program development, and training experience.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you to forget what you’ve read about resume writing from the books.
In the world of freelancing, your potential client doesn’t care about this – they want to know what you can do for them, and whether you can do it cheaper and/or better than the next guy.
Why should I hire you?
Let your objective reflect why you are the best candidate for the job in one or two paragraphs. Explain what you do, how long you’ve been doing it, and how well you can do it.
If you’re extremely quick, say so. If you have been working in your field for 10 years, explain how it gives you that much more experience than the guy who’s been doing this for only three. If you’re meticulous…well, if you’re meticulous, you should have already written that in your objective.
Center your objective around your buyer instead of yourself. Once you do this, you’ll be well on your way to impressing your buyer and snagging the job from the people who didn’t.