Do You Want to Do Something Completely Different?

There are lots of good reasons to update and improve your  résumé       If you have acquired new skills that were not part of your package in the past, certainly you should put those new skills into your résumé.  If you have earned a new certification that is recognized as a key validation of competency in your profession, that's another reason.

However, there is one particular circumstance that will always justify creating a new, outstanding resume.  If you are switching careers from one type of profession to another one in an entirely different field, you must create a new document that can bring this "new you" to the attention of people in the new field who have never heard of you.

There are two keys to a successful  transition to an entirely different profession.  The first is to identify and document the  transferable skills that not only served you well in the old job, but can be valuable in the new job as well.  The second is to learn all you can about the personality and culture of the new organization that you want to join, and then to identify and list the qualities about you that will ensure that you are a great culture fit for this organization.  

In all my years in recruiting, having placed hundreds of candidates with dozens of organizations, the single most crucial quality that I have seen that makes the difference between success and failure is whether an individual is a good culture fit with the group that he/she is joining.  Given that a person has the basic skills necessary to perform the job functions and meets the requirements of the job (licenses, citizenship, background check, etc...), organizations can teach someone what they need to know to do the job well.  What they cannot teach is personality and attitude.

In today's economy and job market, more and more people are seeing the need to learn new skills and to go down a completely different career path than what they had envisioned earlier in life.  To do that successfully, to put yourself in a position where you can pursue the job you really want instead of just any job, you must have a résumé that can tell the reader why, even though you do not have experience in this particular profession, you still have what it takes to be successful in it.

A large part of our business is involved with helping people who are going through that type of change.  We work with former military personnel who are transitioning to civilian life, people who are retired from one type of position and still have a lot of good working years left and want to do something different, and stay-at-home moms and dads who want to re-enter the work force.

We can help you as well.  Contact us and we can show you how we can do it.

by Ken Murdock

ken@newwaveresumes.com