Perfecting Your CV to Help You Change Your Career

Photo Courtesy: Kris

It doesn’t matter if you have just finished university, looking to move from part time work to a full time position, looking for jobs in London, New York, Sydney, Mumbai or elsewhere, or if your current job doesn’t offer satisfaction and you want to begin a brand new career – it’s possible to change your career with a strong CV.

Deciding On a Change in Career

Deciding on a complete career change can be a very harsh and tough experience – especially at a time when the economic climate is in the state that it is at the moment. Due to the fact that job competition is so high, employers can simply just choose candidates that have a good level of experience for available roles and may not consider those candidates that are looking to change positions.

But don’t lose hope just yet. If you’ve made the decision that you definitely want to make that all important jump, then it can be done. Keep positive and focused and you will achieve what you have set out to do.

First things first – when you have made the decision, you will need to develop a strong CV that’s going to impress a potential employer who may also have 500 other CVs of perfect candidates and convince him that he should give you the benefit of the doubt, despite your lack of experience, and invite you to the interview stage.

Gather All Possible Knowledge about Your New Career

When you have decided on what career you would like to change to or are searching for a new career in the field you have trained in, find job adverts in that area and see what employers seek within that industry. Research the type of work you will be doing and get some industry knowledge. Why not contact key influential figures within that field to see if they can offer you any advice?

Find out as much information as possible and try to build a presence within your chosen field. If you attend a talk or conference, add it to your CV to show that you are serious in beginning a career in the industry. Look out for any available training opportunities such as evening classes and make sure you fully understand what you’re getting into.

Write Your New CV from Scratch

To develop your new CV, I would suggest wiping the slate clean and beginning from scratch; a new beginning, a new CV. Make a fresh start – this will make you more focused and less bogged down on what you have done in the past.

Now that you have researched your career to see what skills and experiences you need and you have got rid of you old CV, it’s time to sit down and begin work on your new one. You need to carefully match up any key experiences or current skills that you have and that can be associated with the new roles you want to apply for. Your CV needs to show that you have sat down and have carefully thought about this career change.

Add All Relevant Skills besides Transferable Ones

When you have discovered what skills you can transfer then the next stage is to talk about your other skills and how, what you think, they can add to the role that you are seeking. These skills may not necessarily be related to your last job, but to your interests at home or any other hobbies you have. For example, if you currently work in human resources but have a passion for fashion and in your free time write a fashion blog and you want to begin a career in fashion or volunteer for a fashion house, then make sure you include this on your CV. This could be essential in getting an employer to notice you.

As you learn more within your new chosen industry, keep developing your CV with new skills and experiences you are learning. If you are in the process of attending a class or learning new skills, add that onto your CV even if you haven’t finished as this will show the employer how motivated you are.

Let Your Cover Letter Explain Your Intentions and Efforts

Just as important as your CV is the cover letter. You need to make clear the reason why you want to change careers. You need to show the employer how determined and focused you have been to make the change happen. You need to talk about how you have gone about to reach your goals and how you have invested a huge amount of commitment to be successful in your chosen field.

Be positive in your job search. I am not going to lie – the transition from one career to another won’t be easy. But even if it is so, what you really want in a career will be worthwhile when you get there.