Preparing for a Career Change
Better pay, less stress, or wanting a new challenge there are many reasons why a career change can happen. There are a few ways to make a job transition easier through proactive change preparation.
- Understand the skills and talents needed for the new job. If there are skill gaps, get training, or additional experience. Volunteering in a similar role can be a great way to “test-run” a new career.
- Adjust your resume content to highlight newly acquired skills, talents, and contributions in order to secure job interviews.
- If needed, update the resume format to match the new job aim. Don’t let the resume design stand out in the wrong way.
- Prepare for discussions with hiring managers during an interview how you have bridged from one type of job (previous position) into a new career role by gaining new skills and the ways you can contribute to job needs.
- Know why you are a valuable employee, highlighting career contributions as they pertain to the new job. Explain the ways (education, training, experience) why you are well-suited for the job.
- Remove resume career history that is no longer relevant to your new job goal. Remove irrelevant keywords and unaligned older jobs. Omitting resume content can be difficult because it is letting go of past accomplishments to move forward with a new career.
Sometimes it is helpful to have another perspective regarding your professional brand, LinkedIn profile, and résumé. If you’re struggling to communicate your value, contact me.
