Resume Tips for Career Changers
Writing a resume can be a challenge at the best of times, but when you plan to change careers, this task is even more daunting. If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of success, you must understand how to present yourself and you background in a favorable light. It’s important to find ways to indicate to readers just how you will be the right fit for the role, even if you may not have had much direct experience in the arena.
To ease your path to a new career by decreasing stress and making it less of an ordeal to find a job quickly, you must put together a cracking CV. Read on for some top resume tips for career changers you can follow today.
Alleviate People’s Concerns
When people read over your CV and see you’re entering the new field for the first time, they invariably have a lot of questions about why you’re making the change. Unfortunately, the first thing people wonder is if you struggle to commit or if you had to leave your past sector for some negative reason.
As a result, it’s vital to alleviate readers’ concerns about your reasons for going down a different path. Make it clear why you have changed direction and specifically why you want the job you’re applying for now. Show that you’re committed to the new field and happy to work your way up in it if needed.
Include a couple of sentences in the Profile or Objective section of your resume that details why you’re drawn to the new arena. Explain what steps you’ve taken to get qualified and learn about the field, too, such as a degree or an internship. Try to preempt the questions you think a hiring manager may have, and then look for ways to answer these questions within your document.
Show How You’ll be a Great Fit for the Role
Of course, just like with any time you create a resume, when you’re changing careers you need to make it obvious to readers that you can do the job and are well-suited to it. Readers need to take away from your CV that you can handle the role straight away and that the skills and experience you build up in previous fields are relevant in this new one.
While often we think our transferable skills should be obvious to everyone else, this is not necessarily the case. You need to make it blatantly obvious that you can hit the ground running if you get the job. Highlight how everything you studied, learned and accomplished in the past has prepared you to get results in the position.
There might be, for instance, various “soft” skills such as communication and relationship-building, time management, negotiation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, creativity and customer service that you have honed over the years. In addition, think about your abilities in areas such as sales, marketing, finance, accounting, administration, HR, analytics, tech, project management and the like.
As an example, let’s say you have completed an online Master’s degree in Educational Administration in preparation for getting a management role in a school. In this case, you could mention how the combination of your studies and prior work history has led you to be ready to enter the education system, and how your strengths in working with people of all backgrounds and being efficient and organized will help you achieve results.
It’s always wise to research the organization you want to work for, too. You must understand the corporate culture within this institution to know how to best tailor your resume. Show that you will fit in from day one, and you’ll help your case significantly.
Get Your Documents Looked Over by Others Before Submission
Another key step to take before you submit your resume is to get it looked over by someone else or preferably a couple of people. While you will no doubt read your document numerous times to try spotting errors yourself, it’s impossible to notice all issues because you don’t have fresh eyes. This is where an external reader comes in very handy.
In particular, see if you can get someone who is experienced in the sector you want to join to proofread your document for you. They will not only be able to spot typos, spelling and grammatical errors, strange changes in formatting and the like, but also they should be able to alert you to things you’re missing or which seem incorrect based on the industry you’re joining. Since you’re new to it, you may not realize these things for yourself.
Tiffany Rowe is a guest blog contributor. She is a leader in marketing authority, and prides herself in her ability to create and provide high quality content that audiences find valuable. She also enjoys connecting with other bloggers and collaborating for exclusive content in various niches. With many years of experience, Tiffany has found herself more passionate than ever to continue developing content and relationship across multiple platforms and audiences.
