How can you write an objective or summary for a career change?

I use a headline, instead of an objective. "Emmy award-winning Broadcast Journalist with expertise in political and healthcare coverage" is an example. Without headlines, no one would read articles online, in a magazine, or a newspaper. The same goes for a resume. As for the summary, I include it, but I keep it to 5 lines or less and I use a headline and summary on all resumes, not just senior level. But in order for them to work, they have to make sense and be well-written.

Identify Your Target Career: Clearly define the new career path you're pursuing. Understand the specific role, industry, or job you want to transition into Avoid Generic Statements: Steer clear of generic statements like "Seeking a challenging opportunity" or "Looking for growth." Be specific about your goals. Here's an example of a career change objective: "Results-driven marketing professional with 5 years of experience in branding and customer engagement, seeking to leverage strong analytical skills and creative problem-solving abilities to transition into a data analyst role within the healthcare industry." Remember to adapt your objective to fit your unique background and the specific job you're applying for.

In today's competitive job market, I recommend the inclusion of a summary in all CVs. A summary offers a succinct snapshot of your skills, achievements, and the value you can bring to an employer, going beyond merely stating your career goals. By highlighting your next target position and integrating relevant keywords, a summary can enhance your CV's visibility and capture the attention of hiring managers. This forward-thinking approach aligns with organisational goals and presents a complete picture of your professional value, setting the stage for a successful job search, whether you're just starting out or changing sectors.

I honestly would not recommend using an objective, you can use a headline and then add some key phrases followed by a summary. The summary should be concise and straightforward statement that indicates your intention to change careers. Be specific about the new industry or field you're targeting.

The titles "Objective" "Summary" and "Profile" disappeared from resume a decade ago! Use your personal brand under name and contact information to entice a further read. Follow this with a soft skill paragraph followed by the hard skills, pertinent keywords or buzzwords. This top third or the first page needs to seduce the reader into wanting to read further.

Identify the skills, abilities, and qualifications from your current and past roles that are transferable to the new career. Focus on skills that are applicable and valuable in the new context.

Be memorable, creative, and stand out from the crowd. What are your strengths? Demonstrate how you will add value to the company for which you are applying. In your summary, be consistent with your personal branding.

It is definitely important to show your achievements in a resume but in Danish culture, it is important to also not break "Law of Jante". It is important to not boast or brag about yourself but in a resume focused on the Danish labor market, you have to balance it so that it doesn't come off as you being a "know-it-all" or full of yourself. For example, how you can combat this is to focus on it in a group or teamwork effort so that it brings you down to a more humble level while being able to show off your achievements. Being humble is an important factor to consider for the Danish labor market but also don't downplay your achievements too much. It is all about balance :)

I believe that your unique skills and personal brand are what set you apart from other candidates in a job search. These could be anything from being multilingual to having a knack for conflict resolution. It's crucial to identify these skills and understand how they apply to the job you're seeking. Your resume is a marketing document. It's your chance to sell your unique skills and personal brand to potential employers. It should always accurately represent who you are and what you can bring to the table.

Keywords are non-negotiable. In the absence of a job description, one could churn out 10 JD's and put it on word cloud to get the common keywords for the particular role in a specific industry.

Use of keywords and phrases particularly when your experience and skills relate exactly to the client's requirements enhances and sets you above other candidates.

Avoid using resume buzz words such as goal-getter, mission-oriented, critical thinker, and the likes in this summary section. Rather than writing ‘results-driven professional’, show the results you have helped your current and past employers achieve.

Your objective or summary should be a concise yet informative statement that highlights your specific strengths, purpose, and value. Similar to an elevator pitch, ensure this statement creates an image of confidence and professionalism. While your first draft might contain several sentences that cover a wide range of topics, continue to narrow the focus to create a concise yet compelling statement.

Example Career Change Summary: "Experienced project manager with a history of successfully leading cross-functional teams to deliver complex projects on time and within budget. Inspired by the possibilities in sustainable energy, pivoting expertise into the renewable energy sector. Ability to manage resources, streamline processes, and drive collaboration aligns with the innovation and growth potential of the industry. Eager to contribute to the development of clean energy solutions that positively impact our planet's future."

A career objective and an executive summary can be integrated if done correctly. When combining the two, the key is to create a concise statement that highlights your professional background, your skills and achievements, while also indicating your future goals. 1. Experience and Achievements: Begin by highlighting your most important experiences and key accomplishments. 2. Weave in Your Skills: Indicate the skills you possess which are relevant to the position. 3. Your Career Objective: Here's where you seamlessly include your career objective. Weave it in to the narrative of your summary. 4. Align with the Company's Vision: Show that your personal career objectives align with the company’s mission.

Ready-to-use template, no need to search?further: "Enthusiastic and adaptable professional with a proven track record in [current industry/occupation] seeking to leverage diverse skill set and passion for [new industry/occupation]. With a strong foundation in [relevant skills from your current career], eager to transition into a new role and to bring fresh perspectives to drive success in [target industry/occupation]. With experience in [mention key transferable skills like leadership, project management, data analysis, etc.] and commitment to continuous learning and growth. seeking to embrace this career change opportunity to contribute expertise, collaborate with industry experts, and make a meaningful impact in [new industry]."

The key is to showcase how your existing skills and experiences align with the new career while conveying your enthusiasm and motivation for the change. Customizing your summary for each application will increase your chances of making a strong impression on potential employers in your desired field.

When writing your resume, think about who is going to be reading your resume. Is the company mainly Danish, German, Indian, Chinese, (etc) or multi-cultural? You have to remember that when you apply, that you have to take cultural communication into consideration while applying what value you can give to them in their cultural language (not literal langauge spoken).

Mention has yet to be made concerning a cover letter. Cover letters must show genuine interest in the company and a desire to be considered as a viable candidate.