Working World

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 67 percent of the American workforce has seriously considered changing not just their job, but their entire profession. Does this describe you? If so, it may be time to give your resume an extreme makeover. To successfully change industries, you need to emphasize your transferable skills.

When a potential employer screens a stack of resumes, he or she begins by looking for the qualifications necessary for a particular position. Usually, if a resume lists any job experience in a different career field or industry, it will be automatically eliminated.

Rarely will a busy HR person take the time to match skills from a non-related career to the position they are trying to fill. That’s your job — to create a resume that highlights your applicable skills and increases your chances of being contacted for an interview.

The Functional Resume

Experts recommend that career-switchers use a functional resume, rather than a standard chronological one. A functional resume has headers such as “talents” and “accomplishments” rather than a chronological list of past jobs. The idea is to change the reader's perception of your background by showcasing your qualifications rather than your jobs.

The first thing to do is to assess your transferable skills — that is, those skills that you've accumulated through education, jobs held, volunteer work done, plus your hobbies, sports or other life experiences. Now make a list of what your potential employers will require in your newly chosen field. Take a look at your list of transferable skills and select those that apply.

Structuring Your Resume

When you’re dissecting your work history, you’ll have to dig deeper than past job titles and formal job descriptions; these are often quite different from an actual day on the job. Your old job titles more than likely show your progression through your old career.

When you are ready to put your new resume on paper, you can begin in one of two ways. Either start with an objective that spells out the position you are looking for and an overview of what you bring to the table. Or try a profile section at the top of your resume as a way to illustrate the type of person you are and how you would successfully merge into your new position.

Avoid going into detail about previous employment that has nothing to do with your desired position. Instead of leaving work experience off entirely, create an "other employment" or "previous experience" section at the end of your resume to document the fact that you do have a work history.

If you are returning to the workforce after an extended absence, you might consider completely omitting company names, employment dates and position titles.

Gaining More Experience

As you prepare your resume, you may realize that your transferrable skills are a little light. If so, here are a few suggestions for gaining more experience in your new field. If you are still working, consider using accumulated vacation time for this.

• Do some volunteer work or an unpaid internship.
• Take a part-time job.
• Pick up some freelance assignments.
• Sign up for college or vocational courses to develop your knowledge and skills.

More Pointers

Remember the following tips for composing an effective resume:

• Bullet points make your resume easier to read.
• Let your focus stay on your accomplishments and not your job duties.
• Leave out personal information such as marital status, age or whether you have children.
• Unless relevant to the position you are applying for, leave out any political or social affiliations and hobbies.
• Keep the look professional and avoid unusual fonts or fancy formatting.
• Double- and triple-check for any typos, misspellings and grammatical errors.

Finally, your resume should be always be targeted and focused to the job and the company; the days of the generic resume are over. Make sure that you tailor your functional resume to specific jobs and employers each time you send it out.

If you follow these suggestions, you will soon be celebrating your new career!

Judith Edna Earley is a freelance writer living in the Los Angeles area. She writes on a variety of topics and most recently authored The Autoimmune Beauty Book (www.autoimmunebeauty.com).