Career Change Resume Writing

Here Is My Best Career Change Advice

For career change resume writing, the right approach is essential. The best career change advice is to use the right resume format, but there's more...

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Is a career change on your horizon? If so, pay attention to the information you'll find on this page. It could make or break your career change success!

It's a fact in today's world that the average American changes careers at least once in his or her life. In fact, one statistic I heard was that the average American will change careers every 7 years or so! Long gone are the days of working for the same company from the time you graduate high school or college until that magical retirement day.

You sure won't find that kind of loyalty from companies to their workers these days, and it's rare to find a high level of loyalty from the average worker as well. What with companies merging, downsizing, and moving their operations offshore, you'd be wise to plan for a career change somewhere along the line in your life.

Of course, losing one job doesn't automatically mean that you can never find another job in the same industry or career path. Hopefully, you will. But what if you can't find another job? Or what if you don't really want to? Maybe you're bored with what you've been doing, or you've gone as far as you can in that career and you're ready for new challenges?

Is it really possible to make a complete midlife career change in your working life?

Do you need to start over with a career change?

The answer is a resounding yes! (I know because I've done it... and so has my husband.) But you have to know how to go about the career change resume writing. It also takes a bit of planning, thorough self-assessment, and perhaps additional training.

When I tired of the grind in healthcare administration as a nurse, I spent about 2 years trying to figure out what else I could do. For a long time, I couldn't see any possible career change options for myself.

Luckily, I finally realized that I could parlay a love and talent for writing into a new career as a health writer. I did have to prove my ability to write—even though much of my job responsibility in my previous healthcare administration job did involve writing. I was fortunate enough to be able to use networking and some lucky breaks to get into the career I wanted with a minimum of effort.

My husband, Jim, was a systems engineer for more than 20 years, but graduated with a bachelors degree in math originally. When he began to search for a career change alternative, his path was not quite as clear as mine had been.

Finally, though, after spending quite a bit of time on self-assessment, he honed in on his love for training and teaching. But you can't just move into the field of teaching with no experience or education, no matter how skilled you are at career change resume writing!

Fortunately, the shortage of qualified teachers—especially in certain high needs areas—has led to the development of a number of "alternative path" programs for teaching. Jim enrolled in just such an online program out of Montana State University and launched his new career last year as a high school math teacher!

So, the question is... once you've figured out what you want to do in your new career and you've gotten the training you need, how do you sell yourself to a new employer? How do you make such a career change not only possible, but probable?

Tip #1: Use the Right Resume Format

The first thing you want to consider when doing career change resume writing is having the right resume format that'll put you in the best light for your desired new career. The traditional chronological resume format is probably not going to be your best choice for a career change resume. Instead, you want to use either a functional, or even better, combination, format. You can read more about the different types of resume formats here:
Click to learn about the right resume format for a career change

Tip #2: Emphasize Your Transferable Skills

My second piece of career change advice is to take a look at what are known as your transferable skills. That is, what current or past experience or skills do you possess (either from past jobs or in your personal life) that you could use when you make a career change?

For example, if you wanted to get into a totally new career without any previous job experience or training... I'm not sure you CAN make such a career change without any training, but if so, then look at any related experience you have had, even if it was volunteer or unpaid experience. In some cases, it can also help to build a portfolio of your related work, which can be a very effective way to get an employer's attention.

Tip #3: Get Additional Training to Enhance Your Abilities

Career change resume writing must be focused and specific

Thirdly, before you even start your career change resume writing, you have to be honest with yourself about whether you can really make a career change at all without adding to your skills and credentials by getting some training in the new field.

Some fields are so specialized or complex that they require that you establish a knowledge-base and/or skills base before you can ever enter the field. I know that may not be the career change advice you want to hear, but you need to consider it.

If you do decide to pursue career change training, there can be benefits that go beyond just increasing your knowledge... There's a lot to be said for the contacts you can make during such training that may help you network with people who can provide an entree into the new career.

In Summary...

Anyone can make a career change if they really want to. But take time to consider the career change advice on this page... to make a successful career change, you'll need to know what related skills and experience you bring to the table. And you'll need to know how to sell yourself to a prospective employer by using the right resume format when you start career change resume writing.

For most of us, career change is probably going to be inevitable at some point in our lives... you can count on it! But make sure you use the career change advice on this page so that your career change is on your terms by making a solid career change plan.