Deciding to change careers is a hard choice to make, but once you do, it can ultimately lead you to a more fulfilling life. However, changing careers is not just a simple matter of finding a job in a field you want to be in. You will need to create an entirely new resume that will highlight your strengths and skills and not necessarily your past job titles only. In this type of resume, you will need to highlight the skills and education that can transfer to a new position.
Step 1
Look at your work history and identify skills you have learned in your current career that will be transferable to your new one. Leave no skill behind as you never know which one will get you a phone call from a prospective employer.
Step 2
Group similar skills into separate categories. For example, you may have a category with your leadership skills, one with your financial skills, and one for management skills.
Step 3
Type your contact information at the top of the page. Leave a few lines of space.
Step 4
Type your your career objective. The career objective needs to be a brief and to the point statement about what you seek to do in terms of employment. A good example is "To lead a team of sales managers in a hospitality setting."
Step 5
List your skills by category under your career objective. This allows the hiring manager to immediately see the skills you have for the job. This type of resume is called a functional resume.
Step 6
List your job history or education history, depending on which one is more relevant. If you have been in the work force for at least 10 years, you might want to list the companies you worked for, the job titles, and dates of employment first. If you are recently out of school, you may want to list where you went to college or graduate school before listing any employment experience.
Step 7
Type out any professional certifications or volunteer work you have done to end the resume.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep the resume length to about a page. The key is to quickly sell yourself for the desired position in such a way that the hiring manager doesn't have to wade through a long document.
- Don't get discouraged. Changing careers is difficult and you may be told many times that you don't have the right experience for a job. Keep going.
Things You'll Need
- Pen and Paper
- Computer with word processing program
Member Comments