How to Write a Résumé When Changing Careers

Your résumé should change along with your career goals. Here are some ways to restructure and polish your résumé as you move toward a new profession or career.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Colored pens
• résumé software
• Computers
• Printers
• Spiral Notebooks
• résumé paper

1. Read up on the skills and requirements for the new career or job you are seeking. Look at job listings in the newspaper or online to get an idea of what skills you'll need to break in.

2. Make a list of the skills and requirements you discovered in step 1. Your new résumé will need to focus on them.

3. Compare the skills and requirements on that list with those listed on your current résumé, underlining the qualifications both have in common. These are the skills that will carry over to your new résumé.

4. Rewrite the résumé to highlight the skills that apply to your new career. Focus on your strengths, experience and education in these areas.

5. Change the focus of your résumé. If you are a pharmacologist trying to break into pharmaceutical sales, for example, focus on your experience with different vendors and other tasks that relate to sales.

6. Think of any other experiences relevant to the skills on your list, including volunteer work, internships, hobbies and travel. Work all of these experiences into your résumé.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider volunteering, interning or taking a second job within your new area of interest to gain experience.

• Check your résumé carefully for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. Use your computer's spell check program, then ask someone to proofread your résumé.

• If you don't feel you can write an effective résumé, specialized services can do it for you. Look in the yellow pages under "Résumé" or "Résumé Service."

• You may have to settle for a lower paying job until you can build up your experience - and hence your résumé - when changing careers.