Show Off Your Know-How With a Skills Summary Section

Your resume summary / goal is only an introduction. Now you need to show HR what you have.

To do this, you need a good skill summary section.

The skills summary is a must-have section for almost any career change resume.

Unlike your work experience, it places more emphasis on your skills. This allows you to show how qualified you are, even if you haven’t finished the job before.

A sample skill summary section for a front-end developer might look like this.

Use Your Work Experience to Show Off Transferable Skills

Let’s take a different example and let’s say you switched from a job in sales to copywriting.

Compared to a more creative field like copywriting, a resume you’ll use for sales will probably be slightly different.

So what do both roles have in common?

First, both require you to have excellent communication skills. You should also be good at understanding your target market and communicating complex information in simple language.

And this is the common topic you’ll want to focus on in the work experience section.

So when listing your previous jobs, consider some transferable skills you bring to the table that will be relevant.

Even unrelated jobs have some universal skills that help everywhere.

Let’s look at some examples to give you a better idea of what we mean:

Here’s what’s done right:

• Demonstrates transferable skills and achievements.
• It emphasizes only those parts of the experience that relate to the new role.

While the above example does not mention product descriptions or advertisements, communication materials and sales scenarios show that the candidate can write.

It would therefore be relevant and worth mentioning for a copywriting position.

Now, compare this to the following career change work experience:

Of course, this example is good. But only if the candidate is applying for a sales job.

For copywriting, none of the mentioned skills will work.

Therefore, when listing previous job positions, you should focus only on those that are relevant.

Now that you know how to properly list work experience, let’s move on to the next section: Education.

Here’s what you need to know:

Make Your Education Section Shine

Your education department will be an essential requirement for just about any position above the entry level.

It is quite simple to list the training on your resume.

All you have to do is list your most recent education entry (for example, university degree) and then add all the important things under it.

For example, you can add things like:

• Name of degree (Minor – optional): e.g. B.A. International Business Administration.
• Name of educational institution: e.g. University of Groningen.
• Years attended: e.g. 2015 – 2019.
• Location of the program (optional): e.g. Groningen, Netherlands.
• GPA (optional): 3.84 (only include if you excelled).
• Courses that are relevant to the job (optional): e.g. Advanced Business Finances.
• Exchange programs (optional): e.g. exchange program in Florida, U.S.

The complete list of this tutorial entry might look like this:

You may be wondering, what if I don’t get the right training for the job? Maybe you have a Master’s degree in Philosophy, but you are applying for a job in marketing. Are you still listing?

The answer is definitely yes.

Even if your degree is not relevant at all, it still shows that you are passionate about learning and education.

In some cases, you can even show some transferable skills with your degree.

Let’s say you have a B.A. You are applying for jobs in English Literature and marketing.

You can highlight how your degree gives you great writing skills (must-have for most marketing roles), for example:

Note – Still have questions about how to list your education section? Maybe you are wondering what else you can add? Check out our complete guide on how to list training on a resume with over 13 real-life examples.how to list education on a resume with 13+ real-life examples.

Are you done with your education department? Great!

This brings us to the next section of your career change resume. How do you write a resume when changing careers?,#What should I put on my resume for 2020?,#How do you write an objective for a career change on a resume?,#How do you write a resume for 2020?,#What is the best layout for a resume?,#How long should my resume be 2020?,#What is your career objective best answer?,#How do I switch careers without experience?,#What can I put on my resume instead of objective?,#How can I make my CV stand out 2020?,#What kind of resume do employers prefer?,#How can I update my resume in 2020?,#What is a downside of including a career objective in your résumé?,#How do you answer a career change question?,#What is a good career objective?,#How do you justify a career change?,#Why do you want to leave your current job in 6 months?,#What is your expected salary?,#Do you need an objective on your resume 2020?,#Which of the following should not be included in your resume?,#Should you put retired on a resume?,#How do I get my resume noticed?,#How do I list my skills on a resume 2020?,#What resume template is most successful?

How (and Why) to List Skills On a Career Change Resume

When it comes to the skills section, what most recruiters want to know is whether you can actually do what the job posting wants.

As with other chapters so far, relevance is paramount.

You should only list the skills appropriate for the job you are applying for.

Start by scanning the job listing to find out what’s relevant.

Most job postings usually contain a list of requirements or skills they expect a good candidate to have.

So, all you have to do is mention exactly these skills in your resume.

Let’s look at an example.

Showing Career Certifications on a Resume

As you change your career, certificates are a great way to show that you are serious about your profession.

This indicates that you are willing to put it to work and have already taken the first steps.

When listing certificates though, make sure they are relevant to your domain.

For a marketing role, here’s what this looks like:

And here’s an example done wrong:

For a marketing role, these certificates are completely irrelevant and not even in the same field.

While they’re impressive on their own, that doesn’t mean they’ll make you a better marketer.

Listing Personal Projects

Another great way to show that you are the right person for the job is to list personal projects.

This can be just about anything:

• Setting up a sports team at the university
• Your project for Business Class
• A part-time online store you created on Etsy
• Passion project for woodworking
• And whatever else you love (this applies to your new career)

Almost anything is important that can make up for your lack of experience in the field.

But of course, remember that your projects must be relevant to your new job.

Are you starting to code? Here’s what your projects section might look like …

Be sure to stick with related projects though.

The HR manager cares about your CODING experience, not the fact that you set up a basketball team in college.

Now compare this with:

How to Write a Career Change Cover Letter

Are you done with your resume?

Great!

But wait before you get too excited – you’re still not finished.

You should back up your resume with a career change cover letter.

And no – it’s not like the regular cover letter you’re used to writing.

When changing careers, you want to use your cover letter to highlight WHY you are changing fields and WHY your skills are a good match for the new role.

To do this, be sure to come up with a ton of samples and, if possible, specify any key statistics or measurable results that you can take advantage of.

To help you create the best career change cover letter, check out the example below:

Here’s what’s done right with this cover letter:

• It appeals to the reader (eg “Dear Doris”, or if you can’t find his name, “Who May Be About”).
• It makes it clear that they want to move on to a different career (in this case, from marketing and retail to public relations).
• It shows that they have done the research and that the letter is tailored to the company’s products and brand.
• Provides specific examples and achievements (“More than $ 10,000 raised for the event.”).
• It ends with a confident note and provides a call to action (and where to contact them).

Think your cover letter game is incomplete? Check out our complete, step-by-step guide on how to write a cover letter.

how to write a cover letter.

Key Takeaways

To summarize, going through a mid-career transition probably sounds scary.

However, if you shape your career change resume with a focus on transferable skills and experience, you’re good to go!

Make sure you follow these main tips as you work on your CV:

Use the combination resume format to highlight your transferable skills and work experience.
Include all key career change resume sections – contact information, resume goal or summary, skills summary, work experience, soft and technical skills, certificates and personal projects.
And while doing so, only highlight those that are relevant to your new position.
Finally, be sure to include a custom cover letter on your resume and mention WHY you changed the fields and what unique skills you’ve brought with you.

At Novorésumé, we’re committed to helping you achieve your dream job every step of the way. Be sure to check out our career blog for industry-leading advice and more actionable tips.