6 Brilliant Tips For Writing A CV When Making A Career Change

Are you planning to switch careers? Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! You have come to the right place. 

There is a point in everyone’s life when they don’t know what career to choose. People end up choosing a career they are not passionate about. Working in a sector you are not interested in can be very overwhelming sometimes but it’s okay to switch careers if you are not sure about your current one. 

The biggest dilemma people face while switching their careers is how to start. After so many years of hard work, you are again standing on the starting line just as you were back then when you graduated with zero experience. The feeling is very scary when you have already put in so many years of your life in one career and now you have to again start from scratch and compete with people of higher skills and experiences. You have been working hard all day and night without any interest but now you know that it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. So don’t be afraid to step in. 

Perfect beginnings give perfect results. So, if you’re planning to start a new beginning you must do it right. The key to excelling when switching careers is to write a perfect CV for a career change. As long as you have your perfect CV with you, stepping into a new industry will be a piece of cake. We understand how tricky and confusing it can be to write a career change CV. That is why we are here to help you. We have sorted out some tried and trusted tips that can help you write a perfect CV when making a career switch to wow the recruiter.

1. Creating A New CV

At first, you need to understand that now you are giving a fresh start to your career. It’s not like you have to leave your past experience behind but give a new kick start while carrying your past with you and not changing your past. So, if you are making a career switch, make sure you create a new fresh CV for it and not mold your old one.. Your old CV will be more biased towards your past career and would not be able to wow the recruiter. You need to tell your recruiter why you are suitable for their job, not for your past field. To create new CV, You can take help from Online Resume builder tools

2. Choosing The Right Format

The very first step in writing a CV is to choose the right format. Creating a perfect CV would be impossible if you choose the wrong format. You must choose a combination CV format to showcase your transferable skills, qualities, and detailed qualifications along with your past career experiences. If you are skilled in diverse fields, a combination CV format would be ideal for you but make sure you do not shift from your ultimate goal and make the recruiter think you are not suitable for working in their sector. 

3. Adding A Resume Summary Or Objective

Both, a resume summary and a resume objective, give a short gist of your relevant skills and experiences. It is the first thing the recruiters notice. It will help the recruiter decide whether your skills are relatable to the job or not and whether to read your resume further. Although both the resume summary and objective have the same intent, their use can be different.

Resume Summary – showcase your accomplishments relevant to the job you are applying for.

Resume Objective – show how your current skills are relevant for the job and how they will transfer you to the new position. 

So, if you are switching fields that are correlated, you can go for a resume summary. But if you are switching to a completely distinct career, then you must add a resume objective. You must include these in your resume summary or objective:

• One adjective (energetic, hard-working, efficient)
• Job title ( Either the one you are applying for or the one you were working as)
• Years of experience in the field you have mentioned in the job title
• Your transferable skills and how they are relevant to the job
• Past accomplishments or achievements ( Try to add only the quality ones and do not add more than 4 achievements )

4. Add Your Detailed Qualifications

Now that you are starting from scratch, the most important thing in your CV is your educational qualification. You must include all your detailed qualifications and show them why your qualification is relevant to the job. Do not just talk about your GPA or degree but turn it into a reason to hire you. Along with your scores and degree, you can add a few skills or qualities you have learned from that particular degree. It will make your CV look attractive and more relevant to the job. Make sure you include skills that can relate to the job you are applying for.

5. The Skills Section

Now, it’s time to show what you have learned throughout these years of your hard work. You can add all the skills you have earned from your past experiences as well as the general ones. You can make a checklist of two types of skills. First the professional ones from your past career and second the general ones relevant to the post you are applying for. You can shuffle both of these skills as it will be helpful in impressing the recruiter.

6. Making Your Experience Section Relevant To The Job

At last, comes your experience section. Now, if your past career was totally unrelated to the one you are applying for now, you will still have to mention your experience or else it will be counted as a career gap and would not leave a good impression on the recruiter. What you can do is add some transferable skills to your job description. You may know how the skills you learned in your previous career can help you with the new one but the recruiter might not think the same. So try putting yourself in the recruiter’s shoes and explain your perspective to them. You can explain how your skills are relevant to the position you are applying for, giving them a reason to consider you for the role.
With the aforementioned tips, you can kickstart your fresh career with a perfect CV. Writing a CV when you are changing a career can be really daunting but it is something that must be done with perfection or else it will affect your career. So, if you are not sure about writing a career change CV, you can also hire resume writing services India for professional help.