Check out my latest Monster podcast on one of my favorite subjects: How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Career Change.

No cover letter templates, please! You’ve got to write from the heart. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

P.S.: I’ve been offering free resume critiques for more than a month now, and I’m about to close the offer because my schedule is getting super crazy. So if you haven’t yet submitted your resume for a free critique, hop on over to this thread and follow the instructions for posting your resume. Hope to see you there! - Kim

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I loved Norma’s post on the Monster Blog about the right way to go after an internal transfer, and I’m glad Norma pointed out the importance of updating your resume to “sell” yourself for an internal move.

If you’re trying to move up within your company, check out this article that includes strategies for an internal promotion: Resume Writing Tips for an Internal Promotion

For lateral transfers, I would add that it’s important to demonstrate transferable skills that are relevant to the new position. Find out which skills are important in the job you’re targeting, and incorporate your matching skills and accomplishments in the resume. It’s also important to show that you’ve successfully met diverse job challenges and that you quickly learn and master new skills.

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

P.S.: You guys are keeping me busy with free resume reviews! My schedule is starting to get pretty hectic, so I might have to close this offer in the near future. If you would like a free review of your resume, hop on over to this thread and post your resume in the “Comments” section — before it’s too late. Thank you!

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It’s always challenging to write a dynamic career change resume, and I’ve heard from hundreds of people who struggle with this daunting task. But it must be done, and can be done well by using a few effective strategies (and no functional formats — my pet peeve!).

I discussed some of these resume strategies with Monster’s Connie Blaszczyk. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

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A few weeks ago, a career changer posted a message on Monster’s Resume Tips board and explained that he is using “the world’s shortest resume,” admittedly created using a Microsoft Word template. (Click here to read the thread.)

Can you hear me gasping?

His message has been bothering me not only because I know he will have a difficult job search (career changer after 39 years in his field), but also because he’s not alone — many others are trying to achieve major job transitions using inferior job search documents.

If you’re apologizing for your resume, you need to improve it!

If you’re using a resume that’s not the best representation of you, you will pay with a longer and more frustrating job search and possibly lost wages.

Job searching is hard enough for people on a steady career track, and although some can get away with throwing a resume together using a Word template, most require a well-strategized document that markets them effectively. This is even more true for career changers.

Don’t have the skills to write a resume that will open doors? Bite the bullet and pay for a professional resume service. There are many talented resume writers available to take on the headache of creating your resume. Whether you take the time to learn how to write a winning resume and do it yourself, or hire a professional resume writer — please make your resume a priority. You’ll enjoy a more successful job search (and I’ll rest easier!).

All the best,

Kim Isaacs

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Stand out from the crowd, even if your career has taken an unwanted turn!

Are you unhappy in your current job and wishing you can return to a former career? Chances are, you can!

You might feel like you’ve been out of your field for so long, you wouldn’t be desirable. But there are resume and cover letter strategies you can use to make a seamless transition back to the career you loved.

Follow these tips, and please post a comment if you have other strategies that have worked for you:

Resume Tips

• Lead with a bold headline or title section that clearly states your new goal.
• Write a Qualifications Summary that emphasizes your strongest credentials related to your former career field.
• Include a Key Skills section that highlights skills related to your previous career.
• Rearrange your work history so that you lead with your former, related employment. You can rename sections as appropriate (such as “Management Experience”) so it’s clear you’re grouping work history based on type of work and not chronologically.
• Emphasize recent training or activities related to your previous career to show that you’ve kept your skills up to date.

Cover Letter Tips

• Explain your decision to return to a former career. Hiring managers will be wondering why you’re doing this, and this is a perfect chance for you to express your passion for your previous career path.
• Reference accomplishments from your earlier career so employers see that you excelled in this field.
• Give examples of how you’ve been keeping your skills refreshed.

Speaking of keeping your skills refreshed, it’s very important to do this! The best way to keep your skills updated depends on your specific career field, but options include taking a class, attending conferences, participating in networking groups, practicing your skills on a freelance basis, volunteering, and keeping abreast of industry changes and trends.

Can you think of other ways to refresh your skills to prepare for a return to a former career?

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

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Another career change resume came across my desk today, and the job seeker used a functional format…as usual.

Career changers seem to be lured in by the potential benefits of a functional resume, which focuses on relevant skills and downplays employment history. The attraction makes perfect sense, but the problem is that employers often don’t like functional resumes. In fact, this style has been used for so long to hide undesirable aspects of a person’s work history (job-hopping, gaps, career change, incarceration?), that hiring managers may assume there’s a problem as soon as they see a functional resume.

Not a good way to make a positive first impression: “What’s the matter with this guy?”

I’m not saying that a functional resume could never work. But I do think that most career changers have sufficient transferable skills and accomplishments that can be highlighted by using a combination resume format. This style provides the best of both worlds — the inclusion of a qualifications summary and key skills, plus the reverse chronological work history that employers like to see.

If you’re changing careers and trying to decide on the best resume format for you, consider a combination resume. And please, avoid a functional resume unless you have a highly thought-out strategy or are using the services of a talented professional resume writer.

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

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Some resume writers don’t recommend creating a targeted resume version for each career goal, but I believe this is necessary for people in career transition. The job of a career change resume is to convince hiring managers that the applicant has what it takes to succeed in a new career. How can that be done with a “one-size-fits-all-jobs” resume?

It takes a lot of research, reflection, and marketing savvy to create a resume that will open doors to new careers. One came across my desk yesterday, and even though it was written by the brilliant resume writer Karen Hofferber, it still blew me away. The client owns a medical billing practice, but wanted to pursue a development job at her children’s school where she had been volunteering for many years. When I reviewed her new resume, I thought, “POOF! You’re a development specialist!”

Want to make sure your career change resume is going to cut it? Here are a few of Karen’s strategies that should work for you:

1. Add a targeted, job-specific career goal. The top of the client’s resume has a big banner that says, “Goal: Development Manager — ABC School.” So there’s no confusion about what she wants to do from the start of the resume.

2. Write a dynamic qualifications summary. Focus on the skills and accomplishments that are relevant to the new goal. It helps to research and study the job description (or a job description for a similar job) to see the employer’s requirements for the position, and then sculpt your own description proving the value that you offer.

3. Add a skills section. A bulleted list of skills/keywords helps hiring managers quickly see that you have the requisite skills for the job. Omit skills that you use in your current job that are unrelated to your new goal. This client had excellent medical billing skills, but they were left out of the skills section to make room for development-related skills.

4. Emphasize related work, even if it’s volunteer experience or hobbies. Karen created a “School Development Experience” section that highlights the client’s achievements through her volunteer work. It is formatted like a regular job, and shows the value that she has already brought to the school through her fundraising efforts, relationship-building with parents and teachers, and proven success organizing school events. Just because she wasn’t paid doesn’t make the experience any less valuable!

5. Draw out transferable skills from unrelated jobs. This client’s paid experience doesn’t appear until page two of the resume, but when it does appear, the reader gets a strong dose of transferable skills that are relevant to her new goal. The description of her business management role focuses on communication skills, project management accomplishments, customer service delivery, and excellent organizational skills. She doesn’t just say she has these skills, she provides examples of positive business outcomes and benefits that resulted from her using these skills.

6. Show your passion in your cover letter. This client’s letter was so compelling, I said I would eat my hat if the client didn’t get the job. Forget looking at cover letter samples and copying verbiage — speak from your heart and reveal your passion for your new career. Make a clear case for how you would benefit the employer if given a chance, and let your enthusiasm shine through.

To your success,

Kim Isaacs

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I loved to go camping when I was a kid - my favorite moments are from these fun getaways. We had one big tent for my mom, dad, brother and me. One night it was raining, and my father warned us, “Don’t touch the tent.” He had a deep, authoritative voice that should be listened to, but when my brother and I asked why we shouldn’t touch the tent, he just repeated, “Don’t touch the tent” without giving a reason. Of course, it drove us crazy and my brother and I had to touch the tent, and learned that touching the tent while it’s raining causes water to leak in.

My brother and I learned many of our lessons the hard way, but since my dad passed away last year, I find myself wondering if some advice needs to just be listened to — even if the reasons aren’t clear. As Monster’s Resume Expert since 1999, I’ve given a mountain of resume and job search advice over the years, and most people seem happy to receive expert guidance on a topic that can be so confusing. Around a year ago, though, a job seeker named Steve contacted us with resume questions, and I provided strategies for getting the attention of hiring managers given his career change goal and a history of job-hopping. Well, Steve didn’t listen to the advice and decided to keep using his resume that was in the wrong format for him (straight chronological, which highlighted his jumpy work history and unrelated skills).

Guess what? Steve came back to us - a year later - and he still hasn’t found a job. It made me wonder how different his life would be now if he didn’t “touch the tent.” Sometimes you need to listen to expert advice to make your own life better.

Maybe sometime I’ll tell the story of how I was on air mattress duty, and the only mattress I remembered to plug was my own. That was a rough, sleepless night for my family. Sorry!

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