How to prepare your resume for a career transition

Many professionals change careers more than once in their lives. Whether you are chasing better pay or a change of interests, a career transition is a big event in your life. Your resume needs to be carefully constructed when you start applying for new jobs to make your transition. If you do not edit your resume well, your valuable experiences will be lost among a mass of unwanted information on the document.

Today, we are going to discuss three resume-writing strategies you can use to make your resume stand out in the job market. These tips will teach you how to align your past experiences with the demands of the new job and portray yourself as an ideal candidate.

First of all, you should identify your target job

It is important to first?identify your career goals ?before you take the next steps in your job hunt. If you are planning to make a career shift, you must have a clear idea of your goals for the career transition. Do you already have a job title in mind or are you going to accept whatever job comes your way in the new industry? Your target job title has a lot to do with the content of your resume. You need to bring out your target job title through the resume headline and resume summary. Also, you must?tailor your resume to your target job title . It is important to list your target job title at the top of your resume right after your name. This way, potential employers can immediately know what your goal is. Also, your resume must bring out the experience and achievements you have related to the target role.

You should use the right kind of language to write your resume

The language and tone of your resume tell potential employers a lot about your expertise. This is even more relevant to professionals who are making a career transition from military to civilian roles. The language you use matters a lot when?listing military experience on your resume . You want the hiring manager to notice the true extent of your skills and abilities. However, you don’t want the information to fly over their head due to the excessive use of military lingo when describing your experience. The same theory applies to all professionals. If you are?making a career transition ?into a new industry, your resume must highlight your experiences and achievements in simple language that professionals from different industries can understand.

Your resume must feature the right keywords

Every industry has a set of industry-specific keywords. Most jobs also have specific keywords that are associated with their roles. These keywords can be anything, such as particular skills, different tools, varied technologies, or even different conditions. Employers use these?keywords ?when they create job descriptions. Once candidates apply for jobs, these keywords are used by applicant tracking systems to filter the job applications. You can?spot the right keywords ?for a particular job application by reviewing the employer’s job description. Whenever you are making a career transition, it is important to use these keywords throughout the length of your resume and cover letter. Ensure that potential employers will spot the right keywords on your resume by adding a list of the right skills to your key skills section.