Congratulations! You’ve made the difficult yet rewarding decision to change careers. The good news? You’re in for an exciting adventure as you blaze a trail down a career path that perhaps you’ve always wanted to explore. The bad news? First you’ve got to get someone to hire you into this new field.
A traditional resume—most likely the resume that you have now—isn’t the best tool to maximize your talent and experience. If you’re transitioning to a closely related field—a hospital nurse to a private nurse, for example—a combination resume format serves you well. It’s like a chronological resume, except that you begin with a summary that outlines your qualifications and certifications, proving that you’re a great candidate for this new role.
If you’re making a larger leap between careers, a functional resume is the right choice because it highlights your skills while downplaying your work history (which undoubtedly has little, if anything, to do with your new career). Since this is the hardest transition to make, we’ll focus on putting together a functional resume.
A couple of tips before you get started on your resume:
• Do your homework. If you’ve made a life-altering decision about pursuing this new career, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re familiar with what the job entails on a day-to-day basis. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you know what employers are looking for in potential employees. You may think you’re perfect for a marketing or PR position because you’re a great writer, but did you know what many employers are looking for marketing staff with sales ability? You can get some information from the Internet, but a better solution is to meet with an employer within your desired industry to pick her brain about what specifically she looks for in a candidate.
• Think like an employer. If your resume can’t demonstrate years of direct experience within this field, what would show an employer that you’ve got what it takes to make it in this new profession? Think through all of your potential transferable skills. Did a volunteer project incorporate a related skill? Does your hobby use a transferable skill?
Crafting a new resume from scratch can be daunting—especially if you’re unfamiliar with a functional format. But the tips below will take you through the creation of your new resume step by step.
• Step 1: Begin with a clearly-stated Objective. This is important on most resumes, but it’s absolutely crucial in a transitional resume. You must tell the hiring manager exactly which position you desire because she probably won’t be able to determine that you’re applying for a graphic design job if all she sees is teaching-related skills. Example: “Graphic design job where 10 years of demonstrable creativity, adaptability, and communication skills will ensure that clients are fully satisfied with their design projects.”
• Step 2: Include a Profile. This is where your knowledge of what an employer in this field is looking for begins to come in handy. In this section, you’ll list who you are in a nutshell—as it relates to your intended position, of course. Example: “Creative, self-motivated professional who can adapt to any situation with ease. Talent for conquering new technology and software application, while retaining creative flair. Trained in cross-cultural communication and fluent in two foreign languages.”
• Step 3: Make a Skills Summary. In this section, simply list all of your skills—column format is easiest to read. Include technology, languages, and hard and soft skills. List everything from “project management” to “Dreamweaver” to “French fluency.”
• Step 4: Create functional categories. Depending on your experience and the job for which you’re applying, your functional categories could be “Sales Experience,” “Organizational Experience,” and “Customer Service.” Under “Organizational Experience,” for example, list all of your organizational-related achievements throughout your career. Example: “Created new system that tracked a 68-employee firm’s compliance with new federal regulations.” This is the most difficult aspect of a functional resume for many people because it can be hard to identify skills, rather than just job descriptions. Sometimes an outside source—a spouse, friend, or family member—can help you brainstorm ideas.
• Step 5: End with a brief employment history. You’ve already plucked all useful skills and experience from your work history and distilled them into your functional category sections. So all you need to list here is the company name, address, your job title, and the dates of your employment. Don’t elaborate on your job descriptions.
It’s a little time-consuming, but writing an effective functional resume is the first step toward the career that you’ve been dreaming of.
Read resume service reviews of the top resume writing services.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Knowing When to Quit to Your Job
For many people, the answer to the question, “Do you like your job?” changes depending on what day you ask. Maybe you can relate to this see-saw of emotions when it comes to your 9-to-5. So how does an employee know when it’s really, truly time to move on—and not a temporary sentiment that will pass tomorrow or next week? There are some guidelines, both internal (how you feel inside) and external (what feedback you’re getting from your interpersonal relationships) that provide clues. Keep in mind, however, that every situation is different, and you should ultimately make an informed choice that is best for yourself, your family, and your health.
• You’re sick of it—literally. If you’re sick all the time, your body is saying, “Run—do not walk—to the nearest exit.” Your workplace could be making you sick in a number of ways. Your office may subtly (or not so subtly) discourage employees from using sick days. So everybody comes to work sick, and you spend half the year at the doctor’s office getting prescriptions for antibiotics. Or maybe you’re suffering from stress-related illnesses: constant headaches, body aches, fatigue that never goes away, sleeplessness, and even hair loss. Endless stress can manifest itself in the physical signs above, but it can also take a toll on your mental health, causing depression and other serious consequences. You should never be asked to sacrifice your health for the sake of your job.
• There’s nowhere to go. If you mastered your job duties three years ago and haven’t been challenged since, you’re probably bored out of your mind all day. If you aren’t being given an opportunity to advance at your company—or if the only position above yours is “owner”—you may need to look outside your current organization.
• You’re only paranoid if nobody’s out to get you. Sometimes the office can feel like high school all over the again: the cliques, the gossip, the jealousy. If poor relationships with co-workers are making you miserable or preventing you from doing your job effectively, the sad truth is that the situation is probably not going to improve significantly. If you’ve tried the usual HR routes to get a disagreement or personality conflict resolved and nothing has happened, you may want to investigate another job where the atmosphere is friendlier and more conducive to—gasp!—actually working.
• Your boss isn’t crazy about you. Dealing with cruddy co-workers is one thing, but there’s nothing more demoralizing than feeling like your boss is out to get you. It’s possible that you’re just being overly sensitive, but if “sensitive” isn’t how most people would describe you, you may be onto something very real. Sometimes bosses lose confidence in employees for solid reasons: slipping performance, coming in late and leaving early, an overheard phone call or e-mail criticizing the company or boss, etc. But other times, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for the changing demeanor. If you’re being left out of meetings, your work load or job responsibilities are decreasing, and you’re just plain getting the cold shoulder, she may be trying to manipulate you into quitting or is planning to fire you soon. Before you do anything drastic, however, talk to your boss about your perception. If you’re not satisfied after that meeting, get out the “help wanted” section and start looking!
• You’re not comfortable with your job duties. You should absolutely refuse to perform illegal activities for your boss—it’s better to be out of a job than to risk going to jail. But what about those gray areas somewhere below illegal? Some people may have the stomach for a job that requires unethical activity, but if you don’t, again, your boss probably won’t have an epiphany about ethics and change your job description. Better to look at opportunities in another organization.
• Your family is being compromised. It could be the best job in the world, but if it’s wreaking havoc on your family life, you probably shouldn’t continue. Maybe you’re asked to put in grueling hours, have a long commute that puts you home after the kids are in bed, or travel extensively. Whatever the reason, if your spouse and/or kids are unhappy—and have been for some time—you may want to rethink your job.
• You want to quit. This last item is a catch-all of reasons why you simply want to quit your job. Maybe you’ve been offered a better position elsewhere, or maybe you want to stay home with your kids. If your gut is telling you it’s time to quit, it’s a good idea to listen. And remember that nothing is forever. If you decide down the road that you made a mistake, you can always talk to your boss about coming back or explore possibilities elsewhere.
Read resume service reviews of the top resume writing services.
• You’re sick of it—literally. If you’re sick all the time, your body is saying, “Run—do not walk—to the nearest exit.” Your workplace could be making you sick in a number of ways. Your office may subtly (or not so subtly) discourage employees from using sick days. So everybody comes to work sick, and you spend half the year at the doctor’s office getting prescriptions for antibiotics. Or maybe you’re suffering from stress-related illnesses: constant headaches, body aches, fatigue that never goes away, sleeplessness, and even hair loss. Endless stress can manifest itself in the physical signs above, but it can also take a toll on your mental health, causing depression and other serious consequences. You should never be asked to sacrifice your health for the sake of your job.
• There’s nowhere to go. If you mastered your job duties three years ago and haven’t been challenged since, you’re probably bored out of your mind all day. If you aren’t being given an opportunity to advance at your company—or if the only position above yours is “owner”—you may need to look outside your current organization.
• You’re only paranoid if nobody’s out to get you. Sometimes the office can feel like high school all over the again: the cliques, the gossip, the jealousy. If poor relationships with co-workers are making you miserable or preventing you from doing your job effectively, the sad truth is that the situation is probably not going to improve significantly. If you’ve tried the usual HR routes to get a disagreement or personality conflict resolved and nothing has happened, you may want to investigate another job where the atmosphere is friendlier and more conducive to—gasp!—actually working.
• Your boss isn’t crazy about you. Dealing with cruddy co-workers is one thing, but there’s nothing more demoralizing than feeling like your boss is out to get you. It’s possible that you’re just being overly sensitive, but if “sensitive” isn’t how most people would describe you, you may be onto something very real. Sometimes bosses lose confidence in employees for solid reasons: slipping performance, coming in late and leaving early, an overheard phone call or e-mail criticizing the company or boss, etc. But other times, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for the changing demeanor. If you’re being left out of meetings, your work load or job responsibilities are decreasing, and you’re just plain getting the cold shoulder, she may be trying to manipulate you into quitting or is planning to fire you soon. Before you do anything drastic, however, talk to your boss about your perception. If you’re not satisfied after that meeting, get out the “help wanted” section and start looking!
• You’re not comfortable with your job duties. You should absolutely refuse to perform illegal activities for your boss—it’s better to be out of a job than to risk going to jail. But what about those gray areas somewhere below illegal? Some people may have the stomach for a job that requires unethical activity, but if you don’t, again, your boss probably won’t have an epiphany about ethics and change your job description. Better to look at opportunities in another organization.
• Your family is being compromised. It could be the best job in the world, but if it’s wreaking havoc on your family life, you probably shouldn’t continue. Maybe you’re asked to put in grueling hours, have a long commute that puts you home after the kids are in bed, or travel extensively. Whatever the reason, if your spouse and/or kids are unhappy—and have been for some time—you may want to rethink your job.
• You want to quit. This last item is a catch-all of reasons why you simply want to quit your job. Maybe you’ve been offered a better position elsewhere, or maybe you want to stay home with your kids. If your gut is telling you it’s time to quit, it’s a good idea to listen. And remember that nothing is forever. If you decide down the road that you made a mistake, you can always talk to your boss about coming back or explore possibilities elsewhere.
Read resume service reviews of the top resume writing services.
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