Questions About Resumes When You Lack Experience

How to use experience in one field to look good in a different field?

by Jim Callihan
(Vancouver, WA)

Any tips for translating experience in one field (market research) into qualifications for a job in a "new" field?

Took a Masters degree in Sociology in the early 1980s after 3+ years in grad school. Special emphases included medical sociology, sociology of science, and the sociology of aging.

Left academia feeling it wasn't the best place for a young sociologist to spend his time. Spent next 20 yrs building small businesses in healthcare (til early 1990s) and market research (ongoing).

There's a job opening at a highly respected local community college for a part-time sociology instructor. Want it really bad!! It's an enormously exciting opportunity and I'm struggling a bit with how to take all the experience of my professional career and show how it applies to the teaching position. It does - tremendously well - just not sure how to best go about it.

When leaving academia years ago I had imagined that in a perfect world the opportunity to teach would present itself at the end of whatever career I happened to be concluding. This is that opportunity.

ANSWER: Jim... What you're talking about is transferable skills and every job/career has them. To some extent, you can show these skills in your resume, but you may also need to "sell" yourself a bit in your cover letter. Anticipate any objections and offer evidence of how you'd overcome them. I have no doubt you can do this. I'd emphasize how things you did in your healthcare business career might relate to skills that are needed as a teacher. Also show how you've kept up in the field of sociology.

To your success,
Kathi

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How Do I Write a Resume for a Career Change?

by Anonymous
(Somewhere)

I'm changing career from biochemistry to banking. How do I write a resume?

ANSWER: The first thing you want to consider is having the right resume format for your career change. The traditional chronological resume format is not your best choice for a career change. 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

Second, you need to take a look at 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 in your new career?

For example, if you want to get any 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 I advised you to look at any related experience you have had, even if it wasn't paid. Another idea (if possible) is to build a portfolio of your work, which can be a very effective way to get an employer's attention.

Thirdly, you have to be honest with yourself about whether you can really make a career change without adding to your skills and credentials by getting some training in the new field. There's a lot to be said for the contacts you can make during such training too, that may help you network with people who can provide an entree into the new career.

To your success,
Kathi

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When Changing Careers, Do I List My Current Unrelated Job Responsibilities on My Resume?

by Unknown
(Somewhere)

I'll be making a dramatic change in my careers. I'm sure a functional resume should be suitable for career changes. Do I still list all the responsibilities of my most current job which is totally different?

ANSWER: When writing your resume, you always want to give yourself credit for your job accomplishments, even when jobs weren't directly related to what you want to do in the future. It's still your job history.

The trick is to "paint a picture" of how everything you've done before gives you the skills to do well in the new career. You want to emphasize the "transferable" skills you bring to the table, things like computer skills, people skills, organizational skills and so forth.

To your success,
Kathi

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How Do I Write a Resume When I Have No Experience in the Field I Want to Work?

by Anonymous
(Somewhere)

How should I start writing my resume? The job that I am looking for is Interior Designing, which I have no specific background in here?

ANSWER: I think you'll find the answer I gave here applies to your situation as well:

Career Change Resume

You can also see this page for more info

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Should I list being an AVON Rep on my resume?

by Janet Warner
(St Petersburg, Florida )

I have been an AVON Rep for eleven years as a side line. I was fired from my last job and am having a hard time getting hired because of it. Would it help if I put my Independent Contracting position as an Independent Avon Rep on my resume as my current job?

I am not really making much money just breaking even but I am totally having a hard time with the last job as being fired.

ANSWER: Hi Janet... I would definitely include your AVON experience on your resume. You don't need to volunteer how much you make at it. Neither do you need to own up to being fired from your last job, unless directly asked. Good luck in your job search... it's a tough market out there...

Kathi

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