Explaining Why You Are Changing Careers

Nancy Anderson
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Changing careers requires confidence, determination and the ability to answer questions about your motives and thought processes. It's not always easy to make a career shift, but finding a field that you're passionate about is more rewarding than almost any other type of compensation. Being able to explain your reasons for making a career change and identifying transferable skills can help your marketability and success in landing a new profession.

Know what you hope to accomplish when it comes to a mid-career industry change. Naming your goals helps you find potential companies and gives you a sense of where you need to begin on your new career path. The Global Post recommends that you list how your long-term objectives are compatible with a change in careers so that potential employers are assured of your determination to grow in a new industry. Hiring managers want to be certain that your desire for something new isn't a fleeting craving and that the time and money spent in training won't be lost. In short, interviewers need to know that you're determined to succeed in a new environment.

Think about why you've decided to make a leap into a new career so that you can explain yourself in interviews. If an experience at your previous job launched your big step to changing careers, then explain that as succinctly as possible. Making a big career shift isn't easy, and you can't often expect to match your previous salary. Developing a new career requires honing new skills, undergoing additional training and putting in hours of hard work. However, hiring managers recognize and appreciate the bravery it took to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your destiny.

Customize your resume with transferable skills, itemizing past roles that match your new focus and listing volunteer work that speaks to your new goals. Think about past internships you may have held. You want to highlight anything that gives you a step up on traditional applicants. Pull people in your networks for advice and referrals; chances are if you're interested in a new industry, you already have friends and professional acquaintances working in that realm. There's nothing more helpful to landing a new job than successfully utilizing people you've met and worked with in the past.

Listing your reasons to make a career change, considering how your long-term goals fit into a new line of work and tailoring your updated resume go far when establishing yourself in a new role. Starting a new professional path is becoming more common, as the power of networking and high-speed Internet and the globalization of the workforce have made changing careers easier than ever. Prepare yourself, and make your mid-career industry change with confidence.

 

Photo courtesy of nongpimmy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

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  • Kimble D.
    Kimble D.

    My resume is not updated,and I couldn't copy or paste it,so I sent it from my mobile phone. Please call me. 585-705-1362. I'm currently working but, work is slow in the painting business. my last material handler job I found lost material and saved the company 1 million dollars. I hope to join your team.

  • JANE ALTMAN
    JANE ALTMAN

    COVER LETTER... a line saying "but what is not easily grasped from my resume is that......." and "that is why I am writing to you today"

  • Veronica Leger
    Veronica Leger

    Very sound advice for todays ever changing workforce.

  • Michael D.
    Michael D.

    My resume has at least 3 totally different fields on it. I look like a job hopper on paper, but the truth is I'm always working

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