Welcome to Resume and Cover Letter Writing Information Guide
Resume Writing Format Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
Tips to Write a Great Resume when Changing Careers
from: John GrothResume Writing: Tips When You Change Careers
Drafting and writing a resume in which you wish to change careers raises some special challenges. First, you need break down what you have accomplished in your current career into smaller more generic bites. These smaller parts of the current career will become the building blocks of the new resume.
You need to do some detective work on the new job or career. Find one or more people currently in the proposed new career position and contact them and see if you can come in for a short fact finding interview. If an interview is not possible find the best time to talk to them on the phone for a few minutes. Have your questions prepared. You need to know the three or so critical skills of the new career that would make you a good candidate. What skills or what lack of experience would absolutely not qualify you for the new career?
For example, if the new career required you to work in a team orientated environment and you’ve never worked in that type of environment, would you be disqualified? Not necessarily. Upon reflection in your present position, for example, although working alone there was a great deal of coordination required with others and with other departments to get your work done. In truth you were working in a quasi-team and doing very well.
Your resume will now be written to reflect your skills at working with others. Point out results achieved by your abilities to work with and through others.
In another example, a long time flight attendant was growing weary of the travel and other headaches and decided to move to another career. She had previously had her kitchen remodeled and was appalled at the real lack of customer service in the whole process. After some thought and interviewing the principals of several small and larger companies that performed this type of remodeling service she began drafting her resume. It focused on her considerable customer service skills, her analytical abilities, her first hand experience in remodeling her home, and her sales skills. In a relatively short period of time she landed a job in the trades’ office of a larger construction firm that specialized in remodeling projects. Within a short time she was doing estimates and some designing. She now views her new career as having a future that is almost unlimited.
In yet another example, the applicant used his success at fund raising for his son’s high school band
to leverage his way into another career. His former position as a parts manger for an automobile dealership had little room for growth. After he reworked his resume he uncovered a growing position as an area technical manager for a large manufacturer. The key to the new career was his showcasing of his fund raising experience, along with his technical background made him a desirable candidate for the new career.
The key in both examples was to break down the current position into smaller parts. And then take those parts and build a resume that directly addressed the needs of the new career. Of course, if the new career requires additional education, it can be secured through self-study, the internet or local educational institutions while you continue in your present position.
Once you find the relevant skills needed in the new career you’ll be surprised how many of them you perform on a daily or weekly basis. The secret is to write the resume to highlight the required skills. For if you successfully perform a particular task infrequently what’s to say that you can’t be successful doing it closer to full time. With this approach, you’ll be closer to your ideal planned career.
Resume Writing Format News
St. John's looks to change to preschool/day care format - Beloit Daily News
St. John's looks to change to preschool/day care format Beloit Daily News At the close of the school year, five staff members at St. John's School will lose their jobs. A consultant was hired, however, to help them prepare for future job searches with resume updating and other items, the pastor said. |
Ask the Experts: Fresh résumé format may open doors - Sacramento Bee
Ask the Experts: Fresh résumé format may open doors Sacramento Bee The 11 centers offer free services, such as résumé revisions, interview skills and job referrals. To find a One Stop career center near you, go to www.sacramentoworks.org or call (916) 263-3800. I have an MBA, eight years of part-time grant-writing ... |
How to Write a Résumé When You're Just Out of College - Forbes
 Forbes | How to Write a Résumé When You're Just Out of College Forbes Another format, advocated by Laura DeCarlo, executive director of Career Directors International, a trade association for résumé writers and career coaches, and the former director of career planning at a for-profit school called Herzing University, ... |
ALL-STAR: Does Format Need Tweaking Again? - Fox News
 USA TODAY | ALL-STAR: Does Format Need Tweaking Again? Fox News What few predicted, though, was that the new format would encourage drivers to take it easy for portions of Saturday night's $1 million race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now fans are upset winner Jimmie Johnson essentially sandbagged for 60 or so laps ... New All-Star race strategy irritates fans |
Recruiters Tell Us: Do Resume Fads Really Work? - Forbes
 Forbes | Recruiters Tell Us: Do Resume Fads Really Work? Forbes Job seekers are told to focus on their skills and accomplishments in their application, and the increasingly popular functional (or skills-based) resume takes this advice to the extreme. This format differs from a traditional resume in that the ... |