By Jeff Lipschultz
Career Change Is a Big Deal!
It is hard enough to find a new job. Typically, many
are applying for any open spot, and the competition can be tough. We all know it is critical to stand out and be recognized as someone bringing something special to the company.
This difficulty intensifies when you are a candidate who is new to the specialty, craft, skillset, or occupation -- even with years of experience in other areas.
The challenges exist mainly because Human Resources is typically looking for experience on the resume that matches the job requirements (as closely as possible). Frankly, when they are overloaded with candidates, as most are these days, they are looking for reasons to weed out many resumes to get the “stack” smaller.
How to Succeed in Your Career Change
So how does one successfully cross over into a new area of expertise?
Make Your Goal Clear
When your resume is the first thing they see, you must be clear about your intentions. If a resume describes you as an Engineer, there is no way they will think of you as a Business Development Associate. Even if that’s the job for which you applied.
I’m not a big fan of
Objective/Mission Statements on resumes (a Summary statement is more in tune with a hiring manager’s needs for learning about you). However, in this case, it is helpful.
An Objective Statement can make it very clear you are looking for a change. It should also be convincing that you can do the job. For example:
Objective
To complete a transition from Engineering to Business Development by leveraging experience and knowledge gained while:
- Working with
customers on technical requirements.
- Helping developing sales materials with Marketing Team.
- Accompanying Business Development Mangers to client meetings.
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