Executive resume tips for career changers

Whether you are used to changing fields in your career or are doing it for the first time, writing a career change resume is not an easy task.

A career change resume must bring out the best of your career while showing an employer that your lack of knowledge about their industry will not bar you from putting in a great performance at this new job.

Here’s what our certified professional resume writers suggest that you do when writing a career change resume :

Use the hobbies section

A lot of job seekers forego the Hobbies & Interests section of their resume because they believe it can add no real value. However, when you are changing careers, you need every bit of help to bring out your transferable skills on the resume. Use the hobbies and interests section of your resume to bring out critical thinking skills, teamwork, tech skills, etc.

Find the keywords

Use online job boards to read a few job descriptions for your target industry and profession. This will help you identify the keywords and phrases that are common to resumes in your target industry. Then, incorporate the new keywords into your career change resume for better results in the job market.

Spell out the abbreviations

When transitioning into a different industry, you should know that the hiring manager who reads your resume will have little grasp on industrial abbreviations and acronyms from your previous field. Therefore, always spell out abbreviations and acronyms on your resume. This will ensure that your resume stays ATS-friendly as well.

Emphasize transferable skills

Transferable skills are an essential component for your career change resume . These are the skills that you have acquired throughout your career that will help you perform effectively in the new role. Transferable skills should be mentioned in the skills section of your resume and the work experience section.

Make it ATS-friendly

Every resume that goes through an official hiring process must be ATS-friendly. The only times it is okay to not use an ATS-friendly resume is when you are handing over a physical copy of your resume in person. Create an ATS-friendly resume and make your job search shorter.

Choose design elements wisely

The resume design elements that were common and standard in your previous industry will not be the same for the new sector. Resume trends change by the industry. Do a bit of research on the resume practices of your target industry before you decide on your design elements. For example, corporate employers prefer clean and modern resumes whereas those in creative industries expect a bit more pizzazz.

Target a specific role

The best way to get noticed by employers in a whole in the new industry is to write a tailored resume. Customize your resume for a target role. You can do this by removing unrelated information from the document and keeping only what’s most relevant and recent. A customized resume has a better chance of getting noticed than a generic resume.

Get a friendly review

Ask a friend or colleague to review your resume before you email it for job applications. This will help you spot more mistakes and errors earlier. Also, you will have better chances of being considered a potential hire when you apply for jobs with an error-free resume.