Now that you have decided to venture into a new field, you may be wondering how to present yourself in your resume or during the interview.
1. Recognize Personal Attributes
Evaluate and list your personality traits and strengths. A simple career assessment test can assist you in this regard. You should recognize your talents and positive character aspects in the context of how they will support you in your career transition and also in your new work environment. This process will give you the confidence to communicate your ability to take on the new challenge.
Regardless of industry, employers appreciate the soft skills that a candidate can bring to the organization. Sharing examples of your team-building and project management capabilities will go great lengths to improve your chances of securing the job. 2. Emphasize Transferable Skills
The key is to remember that your previous jobs provided you with a wealth of knowledge and expertise that you can tap on in a new career. The first step then, is to filter out all the skills that are relevant and highlight them. This way, you are able to make your employment history work to your advantage, even though at first glance, the job description may appear unrelated.
Hence, apart from professions requiring specialized academic qualifications e.g. Medicine, Law or Engineering, you can rely on your past working experience to demonstrate skills that will continue to serve you well in a different field.
3. Highlight Relevant Experience
This exercise involves listing all experiences that reveal your passion for the field and your desire to pursue the new career. It may include your hobbies, formal or informal training as well as volunteer/unpaid vocations. While less substantive than traditional work experience, such information will boost your position when persuading the hirer of your sincere intention to switch careers.
4. Learn the Lingo
Familiarize yourself with the jargon and buzzwords used in the particular industry you are switching to. Using them in your resume and/or interview, where appropriate, will further display your interest in the field.
5. Request for Internship
Be open to the possibility of doing an internship with the company. This will give you the opportunity to impress your employers (who may then make you a job offer) and also discover for yourself if the career change is indeed what you had hoped it would be! |
