Positioning a résumé for a career change
Dear Sam: I have been in IT sales for over nine years and I am really tired of it. The market has changed and I work for a small company that is just barely holding on. I would like to make a career change but most employers only see the sales that I have done and nothing else. How do you tailor your résumé so that employers will look at you differently? Best regards. – Vanessa in Columbus
Dear Vanessa: When you are embarking upon a career change, there are two major steps you have to take. First, you’ll need to identify what you want to do at this juncture in your career. It is imperative that you define your purpose and the audience that will be reviewing your résumé. Once you have completed step one, you will be able to identify your transferable skills. To define what these may be, review the job postings for the positions that capture your attention, and highlight keywords or phrases that appear repeatedly. Next, consider your own experiences and how they align with the skills required in your desired profession. For example, if you want to go into customer service, your background in sales will align in such areas as relationship management, problem resolution, needs analysis, and more. Armed then with a list of your transferable skills, you will weave these competencies into your qualifications summary, and use them as a guide to deciding what information to include on your résumé.
A word of caution however, a hiring manager does not have time to pull out what experiences in your background lend themselves to their opportunity, so it is very important that you do this for them. I often have clients’ state that they can do anything and everything, and they hope this markets them for a position during a career change. Unfortunately, when you are competing against candidates who have tailored their résumé towards a specific field or position, your résumé, if kept broad and unspecific, won’t stand a chance. I only mention this to reinforce the importance of defining your purpose and identifying your transferable skills – steps essential in facilitating a successful career change. Best of luck!
Dear Vanessa: When you are embarking upon a career change, there are two major steps you have to take. First, you’ll need to identify what you want to do at this juncture in your career. It is imperative that you define your purpose and the audience that will be reviewing your résumé. Once you have completed step one, you will be able to identify your transferable skills. To define what these may be, review the job postings for the positions that capture your attention, and highlight keywords or phrases that appear repeatedly. Next, consider your own experiences and how they align with the skills required in your desired profession. For example, if you want to go into customer service, your background in sales will align in such areas as relationship management, problem resolution, needs analysis, and more. Armed then with a list of your transferable skills, you will weave these competencies into your qualifications summary, and use them as a guide to deciding what information to include on your résumé.
A word of caution however, a hiring manager does not have time to pull out what experiences in your background lend themselves to their opportunity, so it is very important that you do this for them. I often have clients’ state that they can do anything and everything, and they hope this markets them for a position during a career change. Unfortunately, when you are competing against candidates who have tailored their résumé towards a specific field or position, your résumé, if kept broad and unspecific, won’t stand a chance. I only mention this to reinforce the importance of defining your purpose and identifying your transferable skills – steps essential in facilitating a successful career change. Best of luck!
posted by Dear Sam at Friday, February 10, 2006
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