Changing careers has a special set of challenges and obstacles. For one, as a job seeker you need to ask how you can present yourself through your resume? Will your resume reflect your new career goals and objectives? How will your "old" skills apply to your new career objectives? Will the reader feel I can do the job?

Employers will scrutinize and examine your resume with a critical eye: What experience does this candidate have? Can they do the job? Does the applicant know what they want? Where do they work? Do they have gaps in their employment?

Before you construct your resume, you should ask yourself several questions. Here are the most important ones with a sample.

Question 1-
WHAT IS YOUR CAREER OR JOB OBJECTIVE?
Here is why it is especially critical for the career changer to answer this question:
If you do not have a job objective, the reader (human resources representative or manager) will not understand what you want. They will look at your previous experience and assume you want to do the same job.

Examples of those who need to be very specific in stating their goals:

• A paralegal who wants to be human resources recruiter.
• An engineer who wants to go into technical sales.
• An operations manager who wants to become a corporate trainer.
• A nonprofit manager who wants to become a customer service manager.
• A clear, focused job objective shows that you are clear and focused. You know what you want. The reader will want to learn more about you.

In many jobs and roles, job titles are insignificant. It is what you do that is important. s The job objective explains to the reader your common background and skills. The job objective unifies and supports all of your work and education. Here are some examples. (By the way, job objectives can be very brief in nature-you do not have to be flowery.)

1. CAREER OBJECTIVE: Development Director in a nonprofit agency.

2. JOB OBJECTIVE: Lab Assistant in a biotech company.

3. JOB OBJECTIVE: Community Worker II for San Mateo County (this is a specifically advertised opening)

Question 2-
WHAT OVERALL EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION DO YOU HAVE THAT RELATES TO THIS JOB? What specific skills, achievements, education, or training do you have that applies to this job? In other words, show me. Convince me that you have what it takes. A special section at the top, can also provide the reader with compelling reasons to read on. You might call this title:

• SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• CORE OF EXPERTISE
• HIGHLIGHT OF QUALIFICATIONS

  Examples that might be included in this area:

  • Number of years of experience
  • Special skills relate to the job
  • Education (degrees, certificates, courses)
  • Special awards or achievements
  • Personal Attributes that contribute to the job

Question 3-
WHAT ARE THE CRITICAL SKILL AREAS FOR DOING THIS JOB? Talk to professionals in the field. What do they say are the key elements of core of the job? If they emphasize technical skills, make a section that will emphasize this component. Get in the mindset of the job you are applying for and what skill set is needed. Here is just a quick example. Let’s say you are applying for office manager. What is key to the role of office manager? Perhaps, key sections might be; For example:

• ORGANIZATIONAL
• MANAGEMENT
• COMPUTER SKILLS

Question 4-
HOW DO I FORMAT MY RESUME? WHAT DO I PLACE FIRST?
The key issue here is: do you bring more education or more hands-on experience? If you are a recent college graduate, you will emphasize more education. If you have more experience, you would emphasize your work. Always format your resume and list of how you want the reader to quickly survey your resume. You need to hit the reader with key points right away.

CASE STUDY:
Tiffany is a fictional character. The example and circumstances are real. Please note: Tiffany wants to work in the human resources field. She has related skills, interests, and abilities. However, if she were to use a chronically resume, it would not reflect her last job. By writing a hybrid resume that emphasizes skills, achievements, and creating skill categories she is able accentuate or emphasize her critical areas related to her desired career objective.