Update your resum茅 for changing careers
Updated January 22, 2026
If you鈥檙e thinking about a career change, you probably need to change your resum茅, too, especially if it鈥檚 been a year or longer since you updated it. The look, feel and content of a resum茅 have evolved. Most resum茅 formats and resum茅 templates are outdated or could hurt your job prospects in some way. You usually have only one chance to make an impression, so you want to make it a good one. When it comes to highlighting transferable skills and experience on your听resum茅 for changing careers, here鈥檚 where to start.
How to write a resum茅 for changing careers
Before you start writing or rewriting a resum茅 for changing careers, do your homework on that next career field. Each industry or profession has its own norms and expectations when it comes to skills, experience and training.
For example, does the field that interests you prioritize experience or specific training courses that you should feature in your skills section?
Due diligence is key. Research online job postings to identify the knowledge and skills employers require. You can also talk to at least three people in the role you鈥檙e targeting to understand what the job is really like, including the people, projects and performance metrics it encompasses.
Then, reflect on your experience to pinpoint parts of your background that directly match or strongly relate to your desired role. This may come from work history, volunteer activities or education.
Resum茅 format tips
From there, you may also consider starting to work with a career advisor and some resum茅 templates to build your resum茅 for changing careers. You鈥檒l probably end up using one of three types of resum茅 formats:
Chronological Resum茅
A chronological resum茅 is the most common and traditional style of resum茅, starting with your most recent or current role at the top, and then moving in reverse chronological order down the page.
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Functional Resum茅
A functional resum茅 organizes experience by skills instead of dates of employment, which is why it鈥檚 also known as a skills-based resum茅. This format can be helpful when you need a career-change resum茅. It听highlights your most relevant experience at the top of your resum茅, helping employers see an immediate connection between your skills and the target role.
Since the where and when may not be relevant or may make you appear unqualified and/or inexperienced, it can be helpful to bypass such restrictions. This type of resum茅 also puts the focus on your finest achievements in related fields. It highlights relevant work you鈥檝e done, as well as your transferable skills.
For example, if you are going from the education world to IT, you may want to highlight how you used technology to manage class schedules, troubleshoot problems or propose solutions on a daily basis. Or you could mention that you tutored students in technology or even taught computer classes.
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Combination Resum茅
What are transferable skills?
All skills matter, but transferable skills are arguably the most valuable, especially when writing a resum茅 for changing careers.
A transferable skill is any learned ability that can be leveraged or 鈥榯ransferred鈥 from one job to another. Some skills, like communication or problem-solving, are nearly universal to any role. Career changers must focus on those that are highly relevant to their current job target. They need to share specific examples of how they鈥檝e used these skills. It helps employers see the parallels between their past experiences and the needs of the role to which they applied.
Changing careers may not be easy. With the right tools and mindset, it can lead to a future aligned with your interests and goals.
Style and content matter in a resum茅
It鈥檚 important, too, to note what other people in your industry use for their resum茅s, both in terms of style and content. If you can review a current resum茅 from your industry, especially from someone who recently used theirs to land a position in your field of interest, you may be able to learn from it. Even if it鈥檚 just a matter of helping you select the formatting.
When you鈥檙e ready to start typing, remember the following:
- Keep it short and sweet. Try to limit your resum茅 to no more than two pages. Leave out extraneous details about previous jobs and specific supervisors. Less is almost always more in a resum茅. Every word should focus on the most important aspects of the skills, achievements, training and experience you want to convey. When you鈥檙e done, you should review a printed copy and cross out any unnecessary words, phrases or sentences. Also remove previous roles that are irrelevant to the career change you seek.
- Avoid jargon and abbreviations. "When you work in a field for a while, jargon becomes second nature," says听. However, phrases and abbreviations don鈥檛 always translate between industries. As TheBalanceCareers.com notes, "If you're in publishing, the CMS is the听Chicago Manual of Style;听if you work online, it's your Content Management System; and if you're in healthcare, it's the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services."
Resum茅 for changing careers templates
Be careful with resum茅 templates. A resum茅 template might seem like a big help getting started. However, templates are often not designed to get through the applicant tracking systems employers use to automate the resum茅 screening process.听
If you do use a resum茅 template, make sure it鈥檚 from a trusted and experienced career resource. Otherwise, open a blank Word document and start with your name in large, bold text at the top. Add your essential contact information (phone number, email and city of residence) directly below that.
After your contact information, you might want to write a couple of key phrases. For instance, if you鈥檙e in social media marketing, you might say: "Brand Messaging & Strategy 鈥 Data & Analytics 鈥 Stakeholder Engagement." Follow that with a one-sentence overview of what you bring to the table (e.g., "Successful online marketing tactician positioned to 鈥").
Then, under that, take a similar approach with your skills ("Content Marketing, Web Design, Email Newsletters & Marketing," etc.).
From there, skip a line and start a new section called "Experience," and list your jobs starting with your most recent one and working back to the oldest relevant position.
What else to include in your resum茅 for changing careers
- Keywords: Your resum茅 must contain relevant keywords, which are terms or phrases specific to a particular industry or role. If you are writing a resum茅 for changing careers, elaborate on job duties and accomplishments that directly relate to your current career goal. This still applies even if they were just a small part of your experience. For example, if you鈥檙e an office manager looking to become an accountant, detail the accounting functions you performed in your office manager role. This applies even if they were a minor part of your job.
- Accomplishments:听Include anything that communicates the value you add in the workplace or how well you perform a task.
- Numbers:听You should include numbers, percentages or other industry-specific metrics that prove you鈥檙e a top performer. Review your resum茅 and ask yourself听how many,听how much听or听how often and look for opportunities to add numbers that provide evidence of excellent work performance. This information is especially important for career changers. It shows employers that you can make a positive impact in the workplace, even if your experience was in a different industry or function.
- Success stories:听If you鈥檙e unable to add numbers, or it doesn鈥檛 make sense for the type of work you do, include (short) success stories. Describe any sort of positive impact you鈥檝e made in clear, concise language. This could be specific problems you solved, promotions or awards you received or staff you mentored and developed.
- Unpaid experience: Career changers should consider adding academic, internship or volunteer experiences directly related to their career target. For example, if you鈥檙e a warehouse supervisor looking to become a software developer, perhaps you can include class projects from programming classes you completed. You can also include volunteer work where you taught teens basic programming skills. Experience can come from many places outside of work. If it鈥檚 relevant, find a way to add it to your resum茅.
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What to exclude from your resum茅
- Objective statement: Objective statements are outdated. Replace it with a "professional profile." Add three or four lines of text that tells the reader a few relevant qualifications and accomplishments that demonstrate you鈥檙e a fit for the role. For career changers, this section allows you to control your narrative instead of leaving it to employers鈥 interpretation.
- References:听It鈥檚 no longer common practice to include references. Instead, keep references on a separate document and provide them when requested.
- Full mailing address:听You can include your city, state and ZIP code, but there鈥檚 no need to include a full mailing address in this digital world.
- Personal pronouns:听Avoid using words like听I,听we听or听us. Brevity is the norm with resum茅s, not complete sentences.
- Unnecessary phrases:听Eliminate phrases like听responsible for听and听duties include. They add nothing of value to your resum茅. Instead, start with a verb like听increased,听spearheaded听or听created听to describe your experience and accomplishments.
- Pictures and graphics: Unless you鈥檙e looking for a role where pictures and graphics are typical, like acting, modeling or graphic design, never include images on your resum茅. Focus all of your effort on presenting your skills, experience and achievements in a way that demonstrates a fit for the target role.
Click on the image to download a career changer resum茅 sample.
The importance of career advisors
Career advisors can also help with a resum茅 for changing careers. Typically job-hunting experts, they can bring a razor-sharp focus for detail as well as insider knowledge of the business world and specific industries. Moreover, they can provide a fresh perspective on your resum茅, cover letters and job postings. Their job is to provide a steady guide and be a sounding board to bounce ideas off of.
A career advisor can also be a good resource for interviewing. They can help by offering advice or conducting a mock interview. As with a mock trial or debate, doing a low-stakes run-through of an interview can work wonders for your preparedness and self-confidence.
Find career advisors and advice about your听resum茅 for changing careers
Your college or university may have career advisors to help when you need a听resum茅 for changing careers. 果冻视频听supports active students and graduates with a听Career Services for Life庐 commitment that includes help with resum茅s, career advice, job-hunting and more.听
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Fairbanks is a freelance writer with a background in SEO content creation and blog article development
This article has been vetted by 果冻视频's editorial advisory committee.听
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