Here's to the crazy ones.

"The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently."

You are not fond of rules and you do not follow the status quo. Fair enough. So let's turn it around.

You probably find the career changer resume a bland document. After all, if you're looking for change, why would you need a career changer resume? You need a revolution.

In case you want the summary, here it is:

  • Use reverse chronological resume format.
  • Frame one line bullet points using cause-effect method.
  • Highlight your achievements over your responsibilities.
  • Include one-line company description for all the companies where you've worked.
  • Quantify your resume points throughout the resume.

The first thing that a career change resume does is tell the recruiter you're confident about taking that big leap.

But if a business developer wants to be a graphic designer, or if an analyst is shifting to marketing, then one must be well acquainted with the respective tools.

The next concern is, showing domain familiarity in your career change resume? Won't your industry give it away? Or would it?

We wouldn't leave you with curiosity. Once you have gotten your profile title and your career changer resume objective for career change resume right, it won't.

The rest of your career changer resume lies in the experiences section. Frame your sentences to reflect your experiences in the same domain and you're gold. We got the trick for you in steps.

If you want them already done for you, visit Hiration's online resume builder now and click on your target profile.

Well, for Shelley, nothing was as painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.

We don't compare to her pain; we understand yours. But, the recruiters want the most experiences candidates too. You gotta have it both ways.
Read on. We shall tell you how.

Additionally, you may always go ahead and use Hiration's flexible Online Resume Builder.

What Is a Career Change Resume?


Switching careers?

A career change resume essentially allows you to switch to:

  • another industry
  • another job profile
  • another position

Although your career trajectory may not have aligned with the same requirements.

Career Change Resume Examples


Making career change resume could be easy but confusing.

It often helps, however, to have a point of reference. You may head on to the database of career changer resume examples to find out which.

The following career change resume samples shall enable you to choose the most perfect format to complement your career change.

Hiration's online resume builder have multiple career change resume templates to choose from.

Best Career Changer Resume Samples

We have attached the necessary formats. These are the templates that you can follow to write your combination resume.

Combination-Resume-1

Functional Resume Sample for Career Change

Functional-Resume

Combination Resume for Career Change

Combination-Resume

Why Do You Need a Career Change Resume?


According to given statistics, we find that there are various reasons for which a person wants to change their career.

In fact, there are 7 broad reasons with categorised madness.

Career-Change-Reasons

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which predicts employment growth based on current and forecasted factors like economics, suggests:

While your career outlook might have looked promising when you entered the your job, changes in economy, technology, or otherwise can impact it.

There are 6 reasons why you should definitely change careers:

  • Your course of life may have changed - lots of travel and long hours might no longer be viable
  • The job prospects for your domain has become poor
  • You might be experiencing a burnout after years of being in the same occupation
  • Your job is too stressful while you are seeking satisfaction
  • Your might be bored of your work which no longer challenges you.
  • You want to earn more money

Kinds of Career Change Resume

There are multiple domains or levels within the industry that require a career change resume for candidature.

This provides an opportunity for all candidates within an organization or outside with the necessary skills to opt for a particular position.

Career Change Resume - Domain Change

Level Change

Although career changer resumes for level change are not the perfect example of a career change resume, the following examples shall help you with the

Career Change Resume - Junior Professional to Mid-Level Professional

Career Change Resume - Mid-level Professional to Senior Professional

How to Make a Career Change Resume?

A career change resume essentially attributes the most relevant information for your target domain.

How to change careers was an enthralling question in the early 1990s but today it is one click away.

To find the perfect career change resume template customized for your target job, use Hiration's online resume builder.

Let's look at one of the career change resume samples.

How to make a Professional Career Changer Resume for Career Change?


The first step to your career change resume is to list the contributions that relate to the target job.

Career Change Resume Key Sections


Career Change Resume Objective


The career change resume objective can be comparatively longer than a normal resume objective.
The career changer resume objective in a career change resume solves 2 purposes:

  • It summarizes your relevant skills and expertise
  • It justifies your candidature for the target job

Let's look at the following career change resume objective examples:

"21+ years experienced, value-driven & result-oriented Technical Training Expert & Senior Management Professional with a track record of spearheading cross-functional teams for conceptualizing, delivering, managing & evaluating training programs across diverse domains. Adept at liaising with varied stakeholders to champion Clinical Learning & Technical Training initiatives for professionals, senior management & SMEs. Armed with an extensive techno-managerial experience for coordinating with senior leadership to effectively formulate & execute commercial learning/training strategies. Proven expertise in mentoring young professionals and providing them with hands-on training to enhance knowledge & long-term organizational performance."

The above objective signifies:

  • the years of work experiences - "21+"
  • your current profile tailored to the target profile - "Technical Training Expert & Senior Management Professional"
  • your functional expertise and relevant skills - "conceptualizing, delivering, managing & evaluating training programs across diverse domains"
  • skills that can help the target profession - "liaising with varied stakeholders to champion Clinical Learning & Technical Training initiatives for professionals, senior management & SMEs"
  • learning/experiences to benefit the target profession - "Armed with an extensive techno-managerial experience for coordinating with senior leadership to effectively formulate & execute commercial learning/training strategies"

The following another example from a career change resume for a candidate changing careers from a "Pro Bono Consultant" to a "Revenue Growth Strategist & Operations Leader":

"6+ years experienced RevOps Strategist adept at spearheading cross-functional teams to formulate & implement cost-effective strategies across growth, marketing, sales & customer success for boosting revenue generation. Possesses a track record of optimizing performance for accomplishing customer success and retention targets while deploying expertise in building strategic models to drive operational excellence. Proficient in conceptualizing & executing initiatives to bolster business development & drive major gains in profitability as part of delivering compelling value to key stakeholders & senior leadership."

The above above example of changing careers typically shows the objective from a midlife career change resume.

This career change resume objective showcases:

  • the years of work experiences - "6+"
  • your current profile tailored to the target profile - "RevOps Strategist"
  • your functional expertise and relevant skills - "formulate & implement cost-effective strategies across growth, marketing, sales & customer success for boosting revenue generation"
  • skills that can help the target profession - "conceptualizing & executing initiatives to bolster business development & drive major gains in profitability as part of delivering compelling value to key stakeholders & senior leadership"
  • track record to exemplify said skills - "track record of optimizing performance for accomplishing customer success and retention targets while deploying expertise in building strategic models to drive operational excellence"

Such a direct and relevant career changer resume objective shall best complement your career changer resume for changing careers.

The above examples also suffice for a career changer resume summary for career change.

In a career change resume for changing domains/industries your career changer resume summary for career change must show your familiarity with the target domain.

Career Change Resume Skills


Team Leadership is the most important skill for any career.

In the contributions/experiences section, as well, make sure to reflect your Leadership skills first as a bucket against the same. Then showcase your experiences under the given niche.

Let's look at the following snippet from one of the above career change resume examples:

Leadership & Team Management

  • Spearheading a team of ~25 to direct administration of the Training & Education and Technical Services departments
  • Leading the Field Technical Services Engineers Team of ~15 to service a huge installation base & achieve 98% uptime
  • Generated revenues of USD ~500K from services & in-house repair of 1400 units in FY ‘18

Furthering with another example from the very happening domain of data science, let's understand the following. We think of people in a lab-coat crouching behind huge servers and crunching numbers when we think of data scientists.

But, a data scientist is additionally someone who can:

  • manage projects well
  • identify minute incongruousness
  • facilitate operational excellence
  • resolve problems in a data-driven approach

These are the transferable skills for career changers. Key skills like "Project Management" and "Operational Excellence" and technical skills like "MS Excel" play an important role on the career change resume.

So how do you find the transferable skills for career changers?

Step 1: Analyze the target job description for a list of required skills
Step 2: List all the relevant skills you possess
Step 3: Determine the skills you have w.r.t. the skills required
Step 4: Identify and list a set of common career changer resume skills
Step 5: Make a list all the skills out of this set

Now, for the same candidate who is looking to transition to the career of a "data scientist", he/she must develop all the missing skills like "statistics", "analysis", "machine learning", "Hadoop", etc.

These are the skills outside the list which is important to make the big leap.

You shall find a list of the skills predetermined for your target profile. They're one click away.

Apart from the skills which you'll find on our online resume builder, you also need to mention instances which showcases your skills along the lines of critical thinking, problem solving, communication, etc.

You can find tons of resources on the web to kick-start the process, including online courses and data science bootcamps which can give a boost to your skills in no time.

Being a data scientist means being at the helm of latest technologies, and leveraging the same in the favor of organizational interests. So how can you prove that you are the someone who constantly teaches oneself new skills, identifies gaps, resolves issues and also facilitates processes?

You do this across your contribution section. Framing the sentences right shall assist your recruiters understand your direct familiarity with the field.

When it's time to send a positive signal at the interview for a data scientist role, you have a career changer resume full of proof.

The great news for people with a background in data science? If you are a manager or a professional in some other domain with a background in data science, you have a higher chance at excelling than someone who is a pure data scientist.

The demand for managers or businessmen with a strong data-based background is already exceeding the demand for pure data scientists.

This translates into a plethora of opportunities for professionals and managers who wish to migrate to a data science-based role.

Today, most of data-based projects that companies are now working on require a collaboration of multidisciplinary teams.

To stay ahead of competitors, many organizations drive their decisions in a data driven approach. This means that there is clear requisite for managers and business leaders to possess skills in data analysis beside their existing skill sets.

Hiration pro tip:
If you are switching careers completely to data science, it's better to start incorporating data science functions in your current profile.

This will make it easier for you to make a quick switch.

Start by incorporating data-driven decisions in your current profile. Every leader or manager requires a mix of data and analytical acumen. Move ahead of the competition by beginning with your current profile.

The field of data science thrives on networking and community engagement. If you are thinking of transitioning to the big data arena, immersing yourself in the community is the way to go.

How do you do that? It can mean everything from meetups to receiving mentorship and participating in bootcamps.

Networking with like-minded data scientists can help you align your career goals with personal interests.

There are three major kinds of skills required for preparing a career changer resume for career change. Of the three, Job Skills are the ones which are a must.

These are the keywords which help the ATS parse your resume with a good score and help the recruiter look at your career change resume with a sigh of familiarity.

Job Skills for a Career Change Resume


There are specifics to a job. For a pilot, his skills in "Pre-flight Checks" are prioritized over "Verbal & Written Communication" while his expertise in essay writing is not considered at all.

These are the job skills. The ones which are absolutely required.

FAA Licensed Commercial Pilot

KEY SKILLS:

Pre-flight Checks Hand-to-eye Coordination Reporting in-flight Issues
Decision-making Instrument Interpretation Leadership
Verbal & Written Communication Multi-tasking & Time Management Team Management

The particular skills you need to do a specific job. Examples: Fin swimming or Python Programming.

Transferable Skills for a Career Change Resume


  • Computer and Internet Skills
  • Written and Verbal Communication
  • Organizational Skills
  • Multi-tasking
  • Time Management

Hiration's online resume building tool possesses a pre-filled list of skills which are related

Adaptive Skills - The skills or personal attributes used to survive life are know as adaptive skills. Examples: Confidence or Persuasion

Adaptive Skills for a Career Change Resume


  • Analytical
  • Adaptable
  • Quick Learner
  • Relationship Building
  • Discreet
  • Flexible
  • Efficient
  • Detail-oriented

However, your adaptive and transferrable skills only play a role significant enough for the recruiter to dig deeper into your career changer resume. Now he/she knows that you shall be able to fit into the domain although you have not directly been a part of it.

However, the skills that play the most important role are the skills which are required in the target job description itself. These are the skills which need to be tailored according to the target domain each time you apply for the same.

Let's look at the following list of skills used in the career change resume while shifting from the profile of "Leader – Technical Services & Education, Restorative Therapies Group" to that of "Commercial Learning & Training Specialist".

KEY SKILLS:

Clinical Training & Applications Medical Equipment Servicing Sales Training Strategy
Technical Education & Services Training Infrastructure & E-learning Initiatives Process Implementation & Optimization
Stakeholder Management & Collaboration Forecasting & Training Performance Analysis Commercial Learning & Education
Recruitment & Training Programs SME Training & Technical Training Leadership & Team Management

Formatting your Career Change Resume


Your career change resume goes beyond the conventional reverse chronological order.
Your career change resume can often be formatted in the functional format.

To do this, first prioritize your section.

The summary and key skills must in all cases go together.

However, the rest of the contribution sections, your technical expertise and academic projects may be ordered according to relevance to the target job.

For example, your Academic Achievements could be prioritized at the top (right after key skills), in case you are looking to shift to a profile which would be best benefited from the same.

Shift-Profile

Let's look at one of the following career change resume examples of a "Develoment Research Analyst & Consultant":

The next career change resume sample shows the order of a career changer resume for a "FAA Licensed Commercial Pilot" in which the most important sections - "Flight-Time Details" and "Aircraft Details" are highlighted first followed by the "Education Section". The rest of the information is hardly required on the same resume.

No-Experience-Resume

Career Change Resume FAQ


  1. Which format do I use for my career change resume?
  • Level Change Resume > Reverse Chronological Format
  • Industry Change Resume > Combinational Format
  • Domain Change Resume > Combinational Format
  • Resume with Year Gap > Functional Format
  1. What experiences do I put on my career change resume?
  • Make sure that all the experiences that you put are relevant to the target job description. This does not mean that you put only the necessary profiles, but that you must include the necessary contributions or achievements.
  1. What's the most common career changer resume mistake?
  • Making general claims
  • Overusing industry jargons
  • generic resume summary for career change

Best Career Change Jobs At 40


Changing careers at 40? Let's guide you through the best jobs for career changers over 40.

As per a survey, over 50% of the working people are not satisfied with their jobs.

While the probability of young people quitting their jobs is relatively high, many people over 40 believe that changing jobs at this stage will not work out. Even if they are dissatisfied, they end up working the same job till retirement.

There's no such thing as being too late to change a career for another one. It is a common misconception.

The truth is such that it's only not easy to leave a career you are pursuing at a given moment.

This happens because of 2 reasons:

  • You are used to it
  • It provides a sense of comfort

However, the though of non-fulfillment at job or not developing in your chosen field continuously leads to the thought of getting a pleasant career change.
Take the leap of faith today.

For many senior citizens, the last regret on the deathbed is not about the things which were done, but things which were not.

Studies find that ~80% of the working population of the age 40+ thinks about changing their careers, but barely 6% of them actually change it.

Let's look at the jobs that are the most probable even for you:

HR Manager


While one can believe that being in HR is nothing short of a nightmare, the same pales when one factors in the remuneration factor as well. The average salary of $85,000, the average age for HR is a little short of 44. Additionally, only 20% of the HR workforce is under 34.

SEO Specialist


So you have developed a website. But there are trillions of websites - of course you know that right? How can you make sure that your target audience is able to find you out of countless similar sites? To ensure that your website is ranked when a user searches for the same on an engine like Google, Bing, etc., you need to optimize the content on your website around these requirements. Enter the SEO Specialist, who will make sure that the content on your website is optimized and you appear in the first page of the query/search term which you are targeting.

With a spurt in digital business, websites are realizing the importance of getting ranked on Google. Consequently, the role of an SEO Specialist is in high demand. As far as the role is concerned, it only needs a steady internet connection - meaning that the job is essentially remote in nature.

The work hours are flexible, and you don't need to enroll for an expensive course in a tier-1 college. There are tons of online resources that will do the job - even otherwise, there's not much difference between someone who did this course from, say, Oxford, and another one who completed the course from their local community college.

The average salary of an SEO Specialist is roughly in the range of $51,000 per year.

Patient Advocate


Patient advocacy has emerged as a profitable career domain in recent years. With a marked improvement in healthcare leading to a jump in average lifespan, the overall population of senior citizens is on the rise. Consequently, the demand for specialized medical services is on the rise as well.

A patient advocate ensures that the patient assigned to him/her is seeing the appropriate doctor for his/her affliction. They have to ensure that the patients are adhering to the treatment plans prescribed, and that they are using the available treatment options to enable quick recovery. They are also tasked with updating the patient's family members and the people around them and making sure they are on the same page.

While some patient advocates are independent or self-employed, a majority of the professionals out there are affiliated to established hospitals, rehabilitation centers, etc.

Financial Manager


Financial managers shine in terms of employee job satisfaction and salary potential. (You can expect to make in the low six figures in this field.) Also, it’s the type of job where experience counts more than perky youthfulness.

  1. Administrative/Executive Assistant
    With 46 being the median age, the job of an administrative/executive assistant is perfect for anyone who thrives in multi-tasking. Contrary to popular belief, this particular role in not just a glorified secretary profile. It's the 'new power job' in today's day and age, according to USA Today. It should be, considering the better-than-average salaries and even better opportunities for advancement.

It is projected that roughly 5.6 million new jobs will be created in this particular domain by 2024.

Include Only Important Details in Your Resume


Format your career changer resume as per the requirements of the hiring manager
It won't matter if you labored for weeks and ended up with a stellar career changer resume - the first time your career changer resume is being scanned, the recruiter won't devote more than 5-6 seconds on the same.

What can you do to ensure that those 5-6 seconds are converted to 25-30 seconds, or a minute?

Well, a recruiter-friendly career changer resume format will certainly help. If a career changer resume is poorly formatted, even 5 seconds of a recruiter's time would be a luxury.

Make sure the format is as per latest trends, the margins are adequate and the headings are clearly stated.

Bold significant words/phrases and achievements to catch the recruiter's eyes
Make sure you only use one-liner points - if a point is more than one line, break it down into multiple points or create sub-points

Achievements over Responsibilities


Many people commit the mistake of transferring the job description of their preferred profile in their career changer resume.

What they forget is that a JD is oriented towards responsibilities, while a career changer resume is centered on achievements.

In technical domains like engineering, development, project management, etc., recruiters look for those candidates who are problem-solvers at heart.

How can you convince the recruiter that you are one? By showcasing instances wherein you solved problems of similar nature in previous roles. Doing this will guarantee a shortlist - you went to the trouble to understand the recruiter's problems and you demonstrated how you solved them across your career changer resume. What else can a recruiter wish for?

There is a difference between job responsibilities you were entrusted with, and the achievements you registered while you were discharging these responsibilities. Focus more on the latter.

Include a one-line description of the companies where you've worked, containing figures around number of employees, geographic presence, gross revenue, etc.
Establish a cause-effect relationship in each career changer resume point. Don't just mention what you did but why you did.

Achievements should consist of your contributions alone, not the contribution of the team or the department.

Refrain from using lengthy descriptions and instead focus more on achievements

Quantifiable Impact over Generic Achievements


Showcase specific accomplishments that provide an exhaustive picture of your contributions.

Don't just mention 'identified avenues for reducing costs'. Write 'identified areas of improvement to reduce costs by USD 200k'

Quantifiable impact of your achievements will automatically put you ahead of 90% of the applicants out there.

In case you are not able to quantify the achievement, ask yourself - what would have happened if you had not done X?

Tailor Your Career Changer Resume as Per Industry Trends


Things are different when it comes to domains like design or advertising. There, applicants can exercise certain creative freedom when it comes to designing your career changer resume.

But for most traditional industries, recruiters might get turned off if your career changer resume does not follow industry specifications.

Thus, when it comes to career changer resume design and career changer resume format, make sure you are aware of the latest trends in your industry.

Before the recruiter has a chance to dive down into your achievements, your crisp career changer resume formatting is what will make them reach there.

Professional Summary over Objective Section


A professional career changer resume summary is supposed to provide a short overview of who you are, the skills you are familiar with, and how you can use those skills to deliver a quantifiable impact.

"Seeking challenging assignments in data science" tells the recruiter nothing. Remember, it's the topmost section in your career changer resume - you need it to deliver an impact or else the rest of your career changer resume won't even be processed.

An Objective section is only suitable for entry-level professionals who are just entering the job market. The purpose is defeated if you are an experienced professional still writing an Objective section.

Identify the problems which your target organization is facing, understand your role and its importance in the organization, and tailor your career changer resume keeping these factors in mind. You'll get a shortlist if you are able to convince the recruiter that you know the problem they are facing, and you are armed with the required skill-set to do something about it.

Networking Is Where It Is At


If you are in the job market as an unemployed job-seeker, sending out career changer resumes can look like a full-time job. But as you go up the professional trajectory, most roles are filled through networking.

It would certainly help if you are able to get a head-start when it comes to networking. Start contacting everyone in your circle, including recruiters and senior-level professionals in a position to hire, or just about anyone with insights who can help.

Go to Hiration career platform which has 24/7 chat support and get professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries. You can also write to us at support@hiration.com and we will make sure to reach out to you as soon as possible.

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