5 tips for career-changing resumes

The dilemma: you’re switching career and don’t have direct experience in your new function or industry. How do you write a resume / CV that will stand out when you’re lacking the ideal background?

The rules of good resume writing still apply: tailor your resume / CV to the role, show what you can do, and back up your application with a selection of relevant, specific career highlights.

Before you start writing, it helps to consider your application from the company’s point of view. What particular business-related problems can you address? What interesting perspective does your unique background (even in a different industry or function) bring? Are there any similarities between what you’ve done or accomplished and what the new role might also produce?

Answering these questions will help you target your resume to the specifics of the company and the position, as well as demonstrating that you have researched and understand the issues currently facing the company. (See Successfully changing your career in 7 steps for more advice on changing careers.) Here are five tips for writing a compelling resume.

1. Write a positioning statement (not a career objective)

A positioning statement isn’t a career objective, but a short paragraph that sums up who you are and your working strengths. Placed at the beginning of your resume, it helps the person reading to visualise you in the role you want.

2. Apply your transferable skills

Make it clear to the employer that you can bring the same skill-set to the new role from your previous career. If the position requires leadership and mentoring skills, make sure that these are stated clearly on your resume / CV. Of course, you’ll need to back up your claims with specific examples, but don’t discard relevant experience just because it was in a different industry or function.

3. Find appropriate career highlights

Trawl back through your career to find specific instances where you solved a problem, or accomplished something of value to the company. These examples will need to resonate with your potential employer, so make sure they are appropriate in some way and that they highlight your abilities and your fit for the role.

If you can’t quantify your achievements numerically (i.e. “increased profits by X% by cutting costs”) take the advice of Alison Green (Ask A Manager). In her article, The number one question your resume should answer, she says that if you can’t numerically quantify what made you great in your job, ask yourself what you accomplished in the job that someone else wouldn’t have.

Some examples: “Maybe you introduced a new initiative that led to increased visibility for the company or higher retention. Maybe you did the work of two people after someone left and wasn’t replaced. Maybe you were the only person in your department’s history to meet all deadlines for three years in a row.”

4. Consider a hybrid skills-chronological format

This format can be a good choice if you’re applying for a job in a new sector. The format includes both skills and employment history, so you can avoid any suspicion that you’re trying to mask limited experience (an inherent problem with functional formats). Chronological formats also tend to favour those who’ve had continuous employment in one company or industry, so adopting a hybrid format will help you highlight the relevance and importance of your skills and abilities.

A hybrid format could look like this:
- Your contact details
- Positioning statement
- Workplace skills (your transferable skills) in various headings relevant to the role, with key accomplishments under each heading illustrating your skills.
- Career history section, showing your dates of employment, with the most recent (or relevant) first.
- Education and training
- Links to your online presence such as your LinkedIn profile, Visual CV; Google profile etc

5. Don’t use the wrong terminology

Be careful that you’re not writing for the wrong audience! Terminology, jargon, specific industry phrases etc may not be understood in a different sector. You’ll need to use the same terms that your new industry does to strike the right chord.

Photo credit: ricoeurian