How to Write a Résumé When Changing Careers

By eHow Careers & Work Editor

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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.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Step1
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.
Step2
Make a list of the skills and requirements you discovered in step 1. Your new résumé will need to focus on them.
Step3
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.
Step4
Rewrite the résumé to highlight the skills that apply to your new career. Focus on your strengths, experience and education in these areas.
Step5
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.
Step6
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.

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Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Start sentences with present tense verbs, i.e., "Type 35 wpm. Answer telephones, take messages." No one wants to wade through flowered language in a resume that should cut to the heart of the matter.

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eHow Article:  How to Write a Résumé When Changing Careers

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