5 Hints for Writing a Compelling Career Change Resume Could you be having thoughts on changing your career? If you are, there is no do...
5 Hints for Writing a Compelling Career Change
Resume
Could you be having thoughts on
changing your career? If you are, there is no doubt that you will require a
fresh and revamped resume that will work towards earning you an outstanding job
in that new field. The typical working person normally changes his/her career
an average of 12 times and in each time, writing a resume
is of the essence. Coming up with a resume is not exactly the easiest thing one
can do; you should take heart with the knowledge that the experience that
you’ve gathered in your previous industry, even though different, will be
relevant.
This is because you find that many
skills are intertwined with each other and if not, they are easily
transferable. In your resume for changing your career, you will be required to
tell the tale of the transferable skills that you have to your hiring managers.
This tale should be comprised of all the viable qualifications that you have
acquired from the previous career. You should also be in a position to
demonstrate how relevant and applicable these qualifications are.
There are myriads of reasons that
can back someone up in their decision of making a career change, so you should
not be worried about having made the wrong decision. In this article, we will
consider some of the tips that will help you come up with an irresistible
resume for a career change.
1.
Write Resume Objectives
Make proper use of
the objectives section
You should use the resume’s
objectives section to highlight the kind of job that you’re looking for. The
objective should revolve around you just like the other parts of your resume.
When coming up with these objectives, you should ensure that you’ve connected
the dots for the potential hiring managers. You could use the space you’ve been
provided with here to ensure that you’ve made it clear about the manner in
which your previous career has given you the necessary skills that will help
you to thrive in the new field you want to join.
2.
Determine the Resume Format That Works Best For You
There are various
resume formats to choose from
There is a wide
variety of resume formats that can be used to assist you in crafting a career
change resume. The chronological type of resume lists your experience from the
most recent all the way to the oldest. It is the most common resume format but this should not be taken to
mean that there are no other options out there.
The functional type of resume can
be regarded as one of the best choices that one can make when in the process of
switching careers. This is because it helps in placing the focus mainly on your
experience and skills instead of the places that you’ve worked in and when you
worked in them. In addition to the above-stated types of resumes, there is yet
another one known as the combination resume. This is a resume type that
combines the chronological format with the functional one and is also a great
option for people looking to switch careers.
3.
Add a Skills Section
Make sure that your skills are
clearly presented
When your potential hiring
managers are in the process of scanning through your resume, chances are that
they might not see familiar responsibilities and job titles that can be related
to their industry. This goes ahead to show you the importance of having a good
skills section that highlights the hard and soft skills that are required for
your new job.
4.
Leave Out Any
Unnecessary Information
Does your potential employer
really need all that information?
Your resume is not required to
exhaust all the positions that you’ve held, all the tasks that you’ve ever completed
as well as the all the programs that you’ve participated in. You should only
include your main highlights that will make your resume come off as relevant to
the hiring managers. This can especially be of the essence if you are in the
process of switching your job level or even shifting from one career to
another. Leave out any irrelevant information.
5.
Identify Your Transferable Skills
Do you have skills from your
previous job that can be applied in the new one?
You should first ensure that
you’ve acquired some in-depth insight concerning the new industry that you
would like to move to. This can be acquired by reading industry news and job
descriptions in order to get a hold of the required skills that employers
expect you to have. After you’ve done this, you can print your current resume,
include your job history and ensure that you have a list of the skills that
you’ve attained and made use of in your entire working career. Then, go ahead
and list the commonly required skills by employers in the industry that you’re
shifting to, and look for possible matches.
Conclusion
Moving from one job to another is
one of the most common occurrences that people encounter in their working
careers with 76% of workers that are aged between 35 to 39 years not retaining a
single job for more than 5 years. However, this transit is not normally as easy
as it’s made to sound. The dynamics behind it could be quite challenging.
Having a compelling career change resume can significantly improve your chances
of succeeding in this. This article has shed some light on some of the vital
things that you would do well to remember when coming up with such a resume of
your own. All the best changing careers!
Author's Bio:
Kevin is a professional educator and a private
tutor with over 8 years of experience. He is also a content writer for various
blogs about higher education, entertainment, social media & blogging. Currently, Kevin works as a part-time writer for
EssayWriterSite.com. During his off time, Kevin enjoys traveling and
cooking. Feel free to connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin &
Google+.