This article is part of the “Resume tips” series.
“Opportunities don’t happen, you make them.”—Chris Grosser
Career change is an important decision that can turn into long-lasting happiness and satisfaction. It’s no surprise that changing careers can be an exciting and yet daunting thing. At some point in life, everyone needs a little change in their career. Well, a new career change demands the addition of new certifications and skills. People often do a career switch as their existing job fails to fulfill their needs.
A career change can help you gain new experiences, and move to a better position, especially if your current job is stagnating. In fact, recent company culture stats reveal that 30% of organizations promote career breaks. Moreover, updates about career switching are worth mentioning on the resume. So, if you are someone who is looking for ways to write a career change resume, this blog will help you.
Are you switching careers? Here are 4 must-know strategies for writing a career change resume:
1. Study About Your New Career
You must deep dive into the new career or job role you are looking for. Since you will be walking into a new sector, you may not have sufficient knowledge about it. This will further impact your resume positively. So, better perform a thorough study on the new field. You can study on- qualifications, demanding skills, etc.
2. Know Your Transferable Skills
As per the latest recruiting stats, 59% of recruiters show interest in checking applicants’ abilities in a resume. You should include transferable abilities & skills that is how your knowledge from past works can be a benefit to the new role you are applying for. Examples of transferable skills are – problem-solving, organizational skills, teamwork, leadership, etc. As teamwork is the main supporter of employee engagement, it can benefit you if you are applying for a project manager profile.
3. Summarize Yourself as a Go-Getter
While adding a summary line, make sure to connect it with what your past career or job has given to benefit your upcoming career. You can use adjectives like “versatile” or “well-rounded” in the summary part of the resume. Further, a summary line is really helpful in breaking your chance of being hired by the recruiter.
4. Keep the Resume Short & Simple
Recruiters and HR managers find it easy to check a single-page resume. Simple and short resumes are easy to read and serve as a gold standard for career seekers. Never risk overloading your career change resume with extra details in an off-putting way. Moreover, recruiters often use recruitment software that parse resumes and automatically update candidate’s details in the recruiting dashboard. For a resume parser to be able to successfully fetch your details, make sure you create a well-structured resume with all your important information.
Easy To Follow Tips To Write the Best Career Change Resume
You need to write a career change resume in a way that will help you in increasing the chances of being hired into your new industry/career. Below are 5 easy steps that can get you hired, even if you do not have much expertise in the new career industry.
1. Layout & Style
A functional resume layout is the best option for someone changing careers as it puts focus on your expertise and skills- the most striking part of your work! Here’s what you can follow:
- 12 font size is legible and clear
- Use 10” margins for resume
- If you have less than 10 years of experience, use a single-page template, otherwise, go with a two-page template resume.
- Always save the resume in PDF form before mailing it to the recruiter
Note: You can be creative while writing a career change resume. Getting noticed is the key challenge. Moreover, being a little creative in your resume layout may help you get selected for an interview!
2. Resume Header
A resume header is a clear introduction to your professional background. Check how you can write a good career change resume headline:
- Mention your name & surname in a clear and bigger resume font
- Add a job title for the job you do or the job you are filling for below your name
- Add links to your online profile, work samples, etc.
- Your Address
- Email Id- It’s best to use famous email options such as Outlook, Gmail, etc. “Firstname.lastname@gmail.com” or “last.first@gmail.com” are the most common examples of professional emails
3. Updates in Summary Part
A career change resume summary is a 3-4 sentence statement at the top of your resume. Here’s what needs to be included in the summary section:
- Mention your best skills and talents
- Your updated years of experience
- The achievement you are proud of and how you can add value to the new job role with the same
4. The Education Background
Know how to put down your educational background in the career change resume:
- Mention the highest education degree
- If you are a fresher, add details of relevant courses & projects
- List the name of the institute and the time period you spent there
5. Additionals Sections To Add in Career Change Resume
As per the kind of company, job level, and personality, you can include the below-given sections in your career change resume:
- Communication skills
- Interest and projects
- Publications
- Volunteering work and so on.
Nowadays, many recruiters conduct personality assessment tests to search for the best talent. So, try not to add false interests or personality traits in your career change resume.
Do’s & Don’ts of Career Change Resume
Have a look at the ultimate Dos and Don’ts list that you can consider while writing a recruiter-ready career change resume.
What To Mention in a Career Change Resume?
- Select a layout that sends a clear message and matches your present career situation
- While mentioning past work write your achievements in numbers
- Begin every sentence with a strong adjective
- In the experience checklist use 4 to 6 points as per the job profile
- Do optimize for the applicant tracking system
- Do include your soft skills too
What Not To Mention in a Career Change Resume?
- Do not add anything confidential about you
- Do not include the obvious skills like MS Word. Always add something that stands out.
- Avoid adding unrelated or random hobbies
- Don’t try to hide gaps, be honest and share how much you have updated in career gaps.
- Never use too much of buzzwords in a career change resume
To Conclude
Evolving times require evolving solutions. Technology has become an innate part of hiring, especially in the competitive and ever-hustling tech industry. Recruiters in the tech industry now prefer an AI-powered technical assessment platform that reduces time and efforts for tech recruiters and improves the quality of hire. Therefore, it is paramount that your resume possesses strong and precise skills in any area or field of work. It will help you surpass initial resume screening and land you on the assessment rounds for the tests that will define your abilities and skills in the most efficient manner.
With time, the screening, pre-employment skill tests, and hiring process have taken a new turn. Further, a wave of work from home has started in white-collar jobs worldwide. With so many advancements, you must have a strong career change resume while applying for a job. You can follow the above-given tips for making an attractive career change resume. At the end of the day, it is only a resume that your recruiter will check for a few seconds before a decision is made on whether to hire you or not.
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