Career Change Resume Writing Tips

Career change resume writing is quite different than what you may be accustomed to when creating a typical resume, but becoming more common every day.

Many people are finding themselves looking at new career paths, some will find their company has downsized others will just determine it is time to make a change for financial reasons. If you have found yourself in this position recently you may be at a loss for where to begin making these changes. Who and what you are going to be from this point on and then how to get there can be challenging to say the least, here are a few tips to that end.

New Career

Before you can create your new resume for a career change, you need to determine what the change is going to be. Do you want to begin a whole new career that has little if anything to do with your current position? Perhaps you have been in your chosen profession for 20 plus years and simply want to go a new direction within the field, these decisions are important to the creation of your new resume.

Resume

The first thing you should do is start a brand new resume, the number one mistake most job seekers make is to bring out their old dusty resume for a new career path. You may be using some of the same information but you will want to re-tool it so to speak to fit your new career goals. From the research you should have already completed you can come up with a list of requirements a hiring manager in your desired field would have and work your resume to fill those needs.

It is a good idea to look at your life as a whole for experience that may translate to your career. This is especially true if you are heading in a brand new direction. Look to things such as hobbies and volunteer work, though these are not part of your job description there could be valuable skills you have picked up that will translate to your new position. For example, your current job may not require much record keeping but if you have been doing the files and books for a charitable organization over the past ten years, that is relevant job experience.

Resume or Cover Letter

The next question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you actually need the full resume at the moment, if you are entering an entirely new career field a simple cover letter that outlines your interest and relevant experience may be enough to get an interview. This will depend a good deal on the company you are applying with, and again whether you are changing jobs entirely or simply moving up in your current field.

Conclusion

Changing careers is not an easy task today and if you want the best possible chance at a new and exciting future, your resume is going to have to reflect that desire. Include relevant past and present job experience and even anecdotal evidence of times when your business has faced a specific issue and how you were instrumental in finding a solution. You have to shine above the competition when you are looking for a new career, which is not easy in today's job market. Finally, make sure you insert proper keywords into your resume, things that make it easier to find in a database of thousands of applications. These keywords should correlate to the important characteristics of the job you are seeking.