Marcus RichardsBefore making a drastic career change, consider the pros and cons. Perhaps the impulse to change activities is caused by fatigue, emotional burnout, or problems at work. Sometimes, to get rid of thoughts of quitting forever, you just need to rest, hire someone to write a paper if you are combining work and study, get a small bonus, or have a heart-to-heart talk with a colleague who is constantly causing you problems. If you are clear that you want or have to turn your career around 180 degrees – don’t be afraid. We offer you useful tips that will help you pump up your resume and interest a future employer.
Where to get new experience
Even if you have ten years of experience as an accountant, that won’t help you much when you’re looking for a job as a graphic designer, and vice versa. When you change careers you will have to build up experience all over again and start from scratch. Yes, and a resume without relevant experience also can not be made – it should only contain information relevant to the job.
Five ways to get work experience when you change careers:
Internships. Companies mostly engage students or recent graduates for internships, however, some offers are available to everyone. As an intern, you can gain some useful experience, learn more about the particular field, and see how it works for you. Internships are sometimes paid, and your responsibilities will be lower than in a regular job.
Courses. Choose courses that have lots of hands-on assignments-they’ll be your first experience and lines in your portfolio. After a decent course, you can confidently take on uncomplicated projects and apply for entry-level positions.
Startup. The selection of employees in a startup is not as rigorous as in large corporations. Startups are more interested in accepting inexperienced enthusiasts and growing as a team. Try to find some interesting young projects over the Internet and write them an outstanding motivation letter.
Networking. If you have work experience and you’ve already made connections and professional contacts, use them! Talk to acquaintances from different companies and offer your candidacy. A presentation of you by an employee of the company is a more effective stimulus for the manager to talk to you than an impersonal response to a vacancy.
Freelance. For example, you want to get a job in a cool design bureau but have no experience. Offering your services on the freelancing exchanges is another great solution for it. This is how you will add to your portfolio and make some money as well. Be prepared that you will face a lot of competition and will need to constantly search for orders.
How to create a relevant CV
Preparing a CV for a dramatic change of work area is a little more complicated than usual – make sure you do not provide it with unnecessary information. We also would not recommend creating a CV if you do not have any experience at all, even completed courses or internships. Before you start working on your resume, make sure to gain some practical experience first. Some extra tips for creating your CV:
Highlight overlapping skills
Thoroughly go through your skills gained from past job positions and select the most suitable for your resume. If you used to be an editor, you don’t need to write any long reads for the developer position, but it is worth mentioning a teamwork skill. If you’re worried that your resume will be empty, then you can fill it in with a couple of irrelevant skills, but try to choose those that are a little close to the new work field.
Describe the competencies in detail
If you don’t have much experience in the new field, emphasize your skills. You don’t need to write briefly about responsibility and public speaking skills; describe the competencies in detail. For example, not “advanced public speaking skills,” but “experience making presentations to top management,” “negotiating skills with LPRs,” or “experience speaking at international events of more than 1,000 people.”
Show your motivation
You are a mystery to the employer if you radically change the field of work. They might think that you are an infantile person, an adventurer, an inept employee, or just someone who suddenly realized his calling. To get this position you have to prove that you are the candidate of the last type.
Your resume and cover letter should reflect your great desire to work in a new field. Pay special attention to the column “about me”, think well of the content for it.
Write a cover letter
Another chance to show interest in the job is to write a cover letter. It is strictly necessary for specialists without experience and those who are fundamentally changing the field of work.
The basic rules for writing a cover letter:
Do not duplicate information that was already mentioned in your CV
Describe what is the benefit of you getting this position for the company and not for you
Summarize your quantitative results and achievements
Show your knowledge about the company and its activities
Explain why you have decided to make such a rapid a career change
You can also check some essay writing service reddit reviews to find one that will help you with composing or editing (or both) your cover letter. This is how you make sure it looks professional and expresses you as a reliable candidate.
With the changes in the economy, changing careers is no longer a surprise. If the resume in the “about me” section or the cover letter answers the question “why are you changing fields,” why not give it a try. Employers are not intimidated by changing careers if they can see the logic of the transition between fields or the candidate’s motivation.
