Resume Format for a Career Change

by Ellie Williams

If you're changing careers, you may have little professional experience in the field you're trying to break in to. This doesn't make you less qualified than other applicants; in fact, you can demonstrate you're a good fit by emphasizing how your previous experience has prepared you for your new career. Include anything that relates to the job you're applying for, from volunteer work to general skills you can transfer to your new role.

Functional vs. Chronological Resume

Many job-seekers use the traditional chronological resume format, which lists your entire work history beginning with your most recent. However, if your professional experience is unrelated to the field you're trying to break into, a chronological resume emphasizes your lack of experience. A functional resume, on the other hand, focuses on your skills rather than your work history. With a functional resume, you lead with a skills summary, which highlights three or four relevant skills and gives examples of how you've used those them at previous jobs.

Downplay Unrelated Experience

Draw attention away from experience unrelated to the job for which you are applying you're applying. Instead of describing in detail all of your previous jobs, list only your job title, employer and dates and location of employment. If you have related experience, list those positions first under the heading "Relevant Experience." Separate your unrelated jobs in a section titled "Previous Professional Experience." Or, omit your previous jobs and add a note saying "additional work history available upon request."

List Transferable Skills

Even if most of your previous experience is unrelated to the jobs you're applying for, you likely gained skills or performed duties that apply to your new career. Make these qualifications the focus of your resume, demonstrating how you'll use them in your new role. Avoid industry-specific language so employers focus on the skill, not in what capacity you used it. For example, when describing management experience, note how many employees you supervised, what projects you oversaw and any contributions you made, but don't specify that you gained this experience in the health care industry if you're now seeking a position in finance.

Include Volunteer, Temporary and Freelance Work

Don't limit your work history to full-time, professional positions. Any experience in the industry is relevant, including volunteer positions, internships, temporary jobs and freelance or consulting work. Include this experience before you list unrelated positions, describing in detail what duties you performed, what projects you worked on and what you achieved. For freelance experience, for example, mention clients you've worked for, especially if they're high-profile companies. Describe the projects you worked on for each client, noting the results. If you're applying for advertising jobs, highlight sales letters, email campaigns and other marketing projects you've worked on and mention how much each increased sales.

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