Tailoring Your Resume for a Career Change

My daily conversations with job seekers cover many topics, but one that I hear quite often about is individuals looking to change careers.  Embarking on this transition can seem daunting, but not if you have armed yourself with the right tools to update your resume accordingly.  Here are 4 resume tips to implement when looking to change careers:

  1. Highlight Transferrable Skills:  Even if your current position or career path does not align with your intended career target, it is likely that you have broader skills or attributes that will lend itself to the new career target.  Incorporate these transferrable skills or attributes throughout your Work Experience section to make an impact with the reader.
  2. Revamp Your Career Summary:  While your career summary should focus on your years of experience, skills, and accomplishments, you can revise this section based on the new positions or industry you’re targeting.  Blend an objective statement in with your summary to make it clear that you are looking to transition into this new role.
  3. Choose the Right Format:  It may be in your best interest to develop a functional resume rather than a chronological format.  A functional resume emphasizes skills over the traditional chronological format.  You could even use a hybrid of the two that focuses on your transferrable skills while still listing out the chronological employment further down the page.
  4. Remove Unnecessary Information:  There may be aspects of your current work experience that you need to de-emphasize or completely remove from your resume if it is not relevant to your new goals.  While most employers like to see a diverse background, some career changers may want to utilize that space on the resume for more directly relevant experience or skills.

Feel free to comment below with any questions or other helpful hints you may have learned when attempting a career change of your own!

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