In yesterday's post I wrote about the 3 formats for a resume and focused on the chronological format; the first choice of hiring managers and recruiters. However, if you are changing careers, that probably won't work well for you. You'll need to use a Hybrid or combo functional resume. Here's why- employers are looking at your resume to see:
Is your last job the same as the position they want to hire for?
Is the work history solid, without glaring gaps?
Is the experience similar to what they need?
Sound familiar? This is what I said yesterday. If you are changing careers or you answered "NO" to any of the 3 questions above, then you probably will want to use the Hybrid format (Download Hybrid template ) .
Changing careers/jobs is difficult, but it will be easier to show you are a match for your new career if you have done a good self assessment.
Idententify you talents...skills you are really good at and enjoy.
Write Accomplishment stories about times when you have used these talent/skills, These stories, carefully editted, should convince the employer you have the right skills for the job. That's why you are listing them before the work history/experience on your resume.
The logic behind the Hybrid resume is that you want them to focus on what you can do, not when or where you did it.
I did something similar 10 years ago.
If you haven't used any of those skills since, what makes you think you can still do it well? Better yet, an employer can get someone with current skills pretty easily in today's job market...why you? Chances are, you are using those skills today, just in a different career. Connect the dots for the employer. Tell current stories of how you have used the right skills.
A woman in a workshop wanted to change careers. She had been in manufacturing for many years, but before that, she had been a "secretary" (not a term used very often in today's job search). She wanted to list her secretarial job on her resume and when asked what current office skills she had, she said none. But once questioned further, it turns out that she had been a team leader and had to organize her team's time for scheduling shifts, she entered data for shift output and regularly answered questions phoned in from customers (internal and external). She has current administrative skills and needs to tell these stories to support her current skills, the ones employers are looking for. She does not need to, but could, list her secretarial job- without dates.
Writing a Hybrid resume requires that you know what you want to do and why you will be good at doing it. It also requires selling your skills, not just dumping them on the page.
Remember, the point of your resume is to impress the employer. You do so by showing them that you are qualified for the job. Connect the dots for the employer so they can understand why what you have done is similar to what you want to do.
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