how to make a resume for career change

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11 Career Change Resume Examples [& Templates]

Marketing Manager

Best for senior and mid-level candidates

There’s plenty of room in our elegant resume template to add your professional experience while impressing recruiters with a sleek design.

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Like this template? Customize this resume and make it your own with the help of our Al-powered suggestions, accent colors, and modern fonts.

• Career Change Resumes
• Changing Careers To Resumes
• Changing Careers From Resumes
• Career Change Resumes for Teachers

Noah breathed a sigh of relief as he found a few accounting job descriptions that intrigued him. After spending years in various financial roles and racking up some impressive creds as a financial analyst, he felt confident in this career switch. But was he as prepared to  make a resume as he was for his career change?

Noah’s confidence went up when he found our library of career change resume examples and time-tested hints. Plus, he knew he’d be able to expand upon his career objective and add even more value by making a cover letter ! The notes he took while preparing his application materials even helped him navigate a victorious interview.

Whether you’re looking to change careers in accounting, teaching, or any other profession, check out our handy resources to build your own success story like Noah did!

Career Change Resume

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• A summary merges your background with the opportunities you’re seeking. In other words, a summary demonstrates how your experience has prepared you for your new field. However, you should only use a summary if you’ve had  at least 10 years of experience.
• Choosing a  professional resume template  and  resume format  can help make your resume look professional and cohesive without much effort.

Multiple Career Resume

• The keywords you include will help tie your expertise together and prove that you have the right abilities for the job. 
• Start by listing hard skills (aka technical, learned skills) listed in the job description. If you don’t have a lot, then simply use soft skills like “analytical” and collaboration.”
• Whatever jobs you’ve held, find a common thread between them and the new job, then sew that thread into every job experience. It’ll be a subtle but powerful tool to increase credibility despite multiple career changes. 

Career Change To Accounting Resume

• If you’re applying to be an accountant but it wasn’t your most recent role, be sure to add a certifications section highlighting that you are a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Career Change To Administrative Assistant Resume

• Enhance your career change to administrative assistant resume with a short summary that shows recruiters where to draw parallels between your past experience and target title.

Marketing Manager Career Change Resume

• There are numbers everywhere; look for percentages relating to your skills, like how you boosted efficiency or increased sales from last quarter. The sky’s the limit!
• If you can’t find (or don’t have access to) percentages, then use plain numbers relating to how many team members you worked with, how many clients you took on, or how many referrals you gained.
• Things like only using active verbs and avoiding personal pronouns might seem minor, but they make reading your resume easier, which is huge for recruiters and hiring managers.
• And speaking of details, always  double-check your resume  for proper grammar, punctuation, and overall flow.

RN Career Change Resume

• An objective is only two to three sentences, so make sure each word packs a verbal punch by showing off your years of experience, skills, and desire for the role you’re seeking.
• For example, mentioning your adherence to HIPPA guidelines can demonstrate to hiring managers that you will stick to the rules. On the flip side, explaining how you used active listening to assist patients will show your compassion and customer service skills.

Journalist Career Change Resume

• Start by keeping your resume to a single page. Otherwise, you’ll overwhelm hiring managers (who will likely toss your resume into the recycling).
• It’s best to use reverse-chronological formatting on your resume to keep your most relevant job history at the top. While other formats are necessarily wrong, they aren’t standard, and they’re harder for hiring managers (and the ATS) to read.
• In your contact header, include your email address (make sure it’s a professional email), your phone number, and your location. 
• Consider adding a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile if you have a LinkedIn account.

Mechanical Engineer Career Change Resume

• Consider asking a friend, relative, or even a career advisor from your alma mater to scan your resume for errors and discrepancies.
• Nothing tells a recruiter you’re not the right person for the job like saying you’re great at “time management.” 
• Put color in your section headers (or company titles) and your contact header. This will add visual interest without being overwhelming.
• If you’re applying to work at a conservative financial firm, you may want to stick to traditional colors rather than pastel pink or lavender.

Teacher Career Change Resume

• Look for ways to connect your previous duties to the responsibilities listed in the job description.
• Many skills  indirectly  transfer from one job to another. Consider your collaboration skills: your ability to work well with fellow teachers will help you work on team projects at your next job.
• Of course, if you have any skills, projects, or experience in your new field, include them, and explain how you’ve mastered them in your career change cover letter .
• Using a  resume template  is invaluable here, as you can easily scooch sections to the side, adjust your margins, and fix your font type to give you some extra wiggle room.

Teacher to Project Manager Resume

• The work experience bullet points to occupy the largest share of your CV—no more than four bullets for each role. As for your contact info, education, skills, hobbies, and certifications, a side column will do the trick. The cherry on top is restricting the entire resume to one page.

Teacher to Human Resources Resume

• But more importantly, mention the relevant transferable skills you bring to this entry-level role, a requirement Elijah executes well in his teacher to human resources resume. Better yet, let your bullet points show how you used these proficiencies in previous teaching roles.

Related resume guides

• Engineering

• Youth Program
• Wharton Online

How to Write a Career Change Resume [With Template]

Starting a career in a new field is exciting, but getting your foot in the door often presents a challenge. If you’re worried about your application being overshadowed by candidates with more experience than you, don’t underestimate the role that a well-written resume can play in the hiring process. Even if you don’t have the work experience an employer is looking for, your resume can effectively convey why you’d be a great fit for the job. 

According to iHire’s 2020 Talent Retention Report , 66% of survey respondents have recently considered changing careers. The report also found that not knowing how to write a career change resume was a commonly cited roadblock for would-be career switchers. 

In this guide, we explain what a career change resume is and how to write one. We’ve also included a free template, so you can get to work on crafting a resume for your dream role.

How to Write a Resume for a Career Change

In general, most best practices for writing a resume also apply to career change resumes. However, there are a few areas you’ll want to be sure to emphasize when writing a resume for a new career path. While a traditional resume focuses heavily on work experience, career change resumes focus more on transferable skills.

In terms of how your resume is structured, a combination resume format may be the way to go. This type of resume places an equal emphasis on both skills and experience. Instead of starting the resume with your work experience, combination resume templates typically begin with an objective and a summary of relevant skills. 

The steps listed below can help you adapt your existing resume into one that is tailored for career switching. 

1. Craft a resume objective  

A resume objective is a short summary of your professional experience, skills, accomplishments, and career goals. 

Resume objectives and summaries are often considered optional, especially if you are trying to save room on your resume, but this section is crucial for those looking to change careers. The hiring manager may not make an immediate connection between your experience and the role you’re applying for, so your resume objective is essential for helping convey why you’re interested in this industry. 

Your objective should be no longer than a couple sentences. If it takes up more than two or three lines on your resume, try to shorten it.

2. Include a skills summary 

If you’re in the midst of changing careers, you’ll want to feature your skills prominently on your resume. In fact, we recommend listing them above your work experience. 

In the skills summary section, list a few skills you want to highlight, and add bullet points underneath each skill that provide examples of when you’ve used this skill. 

Not sure what type of skills to include in this section? Scan the job description for the position you’re applying for and use some of the required skills as your starting point. Some soft skills—such as leadership skills —are applicable for almost any job. Including some of the same keywords as the job description can help ensure that your resume makes it past automatic review filters.

In some situations, you might also choose to make a separate section for “Technical Skills.” In this section, you can briefly list your proficiency with various industry tools or software. This can be a great way to capture additional keywords from the job description, without having to list full examples of when you’ve used each tool. 

3. Focus on the most relevant work experience 

For a career change resume, the work experience section is all about transferable skills. You don’t necessarily need to list all of the responsibilities you had at your old job. Instead, focus on the responsibilities that are the most relevant for the new position you’re applying for. For example, if you’re a customer service representative hoping to land a job in digital marketing, you may choose to narrow in on your ability to find creative solutions for your customers. 

Here are a few tips for describing your work experience:

• Connect your work experience back to the skills listed in your skills summary section
• Focus on achievements, providing numbers and data whenever possible
• Tailor your descriptions to each job you apply for, working in keywords from the job description

If you’re running out of space on your resume, keep in mind that you don’t need to list every job you’ve ever had. Stick to your most recent two or three jobs, and leave older, irrelevant jobs behind. 

Related: How to Successfully Navigate a Midlife Career Change and Avoid a Crisis

4. Highlight your education (including certificates) 

Whether or not your education is directly related to the job you’re applying for, it’s still important to include this section on your resume. If you have limited professional experience, you can bolster your resume with some descriptions of your academic achievements, such as your GPA or relevant coursework you’ve completed. 

For example, imagine you have an undergraduate degree in history and are applying for a role as a business analyst. If you took any courses in business or analytics during college, be sure to mention them. They might not have been a part of your degree, but they show that you’ve had an ongoing interest in understanding how businesses operate. 

If you’ve earned any certificates outside of a degree program, be sure to list these, too. Online programs and certificates offer a way to expand your knowledge in a specific subject area, without the time commitment of a full degree program. They can show employers that you are serious about your professional development and would like to gain more experience in a particular industry. 

Related: Top 10 Most In-Demand Online Courses from Wharton Online Right Now

5. Add in notable projects and accomplishments 

Dedicating a section of your resume to projects and accomplishments isn’t always necessary, but if you’re changing careers or do not have much work experience, this can be a valuable way to round out your resume. You can use this space to highlight any personal achievements that are not directly related to work or school—for example, personal projects, volunteer work, or involvement in industry-related clubs or organizations. 

If you choose to include a section for projects or accomplishments, make sure that everything you list ties back to a key skill or characteristic that is relevant for your desired career path.

Career Change Resume Example 

Now that we’ve covered some tips for creating a resume tailored to a career change, let’s explore an example. We crafted this resume for a customer service representative who is applying for a digital marketing specialist position. 

Name and Contact Information 

Abigail Jacobs 

Philadelphia, PA

267-555-0176 | [email protected]

linkedin.com/in/abigail-jacobs-example

Driven and hardworking professional with a proven track record of increasing customer satisfaction levels. Looking to leverage my problem-solving skills and build upon my 3+ years of customer service experience by transitioning into the digital marketing space.

Professional Skills 

Problem Solving

• Developed creative solutions for unsatisfied customers at Platinum Auto Insurance and Accelerate Call Center
• Lead brainstorming sessions with team members to improve customer satisfaction metrics

Communication 

• 3+ years of experience in customer services roles, frequently communicating with customers both on the phone and over email 
• Completed a B.A. in Communications and was an active member of the Public Speaking Club while in college 

Organization 

• Used Excel to organize and track customer service metrics, and compiled these metrics into weekly reports for management 

Technical Skills 

• Microsoft Word
• Google Suite 
• Google Analytics 
• Google Search Console 

Work Experience

Senior Customer Service Advisor

Platinum Auto Insurance | Sept 2019 – Present

• Resolved over 100 customer complaints per week, communicating with customers via phone and email 
• Tracked KPIs for each ticket and delivered weekly customer satisfaction reports for management, consistently exceeding target satisfaction ratings by 5-10%
• Collaborated with team members to identify creative solutions for customers

Customer Service Representative 

Accelerate Call Center | Jul 2018 – Sept 2019 

• Responded to 50+ calls per day, answering questions from customers and redirecting to other departments as needed 
• Demonstrated written communication skills by revamping customer service phone scripts, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction ratings 

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

University of Pennsylvania | Jun 2018

• Completed courses in advertising and social media

Digital Marketing Certificate 

Wharton Online | Mar 2022

• Completed a six-week program from The Wharton School
• Learned about topics such as marketing analytics, customer relationships, social media, and e-commerce marketing 

Personal Projects

Marketing Assistant for Public Speaking Club 

2017 – 2018

• As a member of the Public Speaking Club at University of Pennsylvania, assisted the club with creating a monthly newsletter
• Managed social media accounts for the club, consistently posting content and engaging with followers 

Marketing Consultant 

2020 – Present 

• Assisted a friend with the creation and management of photography business website
• Used Google Analytics and Google Search Console to measure the performance of website content 

Career Change Resume Template

We’ve adapted this example into three different template formats, with the hope that it can serve as a jumping off point for your own career change resume. Click on the links below to download the template:

• Microsoft Word .DOCX
• Google Docs (click on “File > Make a copy” to save to your own Google Docs folder)

Stand Out From the Crowd With Wharton Online

If you’re looking to switch careers in the near future, an online certificate program can help set you up for success. In addition to gaining valuable insights into a specific industry, you’ll be able to list your certificate on your resume and LinkedIn. This can give you a competitive edge during your job search. 

Wharton Online offers certificate programs in subjects such as leadership and management, asset and portfolio management, and digital marketing. All of our courses are conducted 100% online, giving you the flexibility to complete coursework on your own schedule. Explore our online programs today , or reach out to us with any questions. 

For more tips on how to navigate a career change, download our free guide, “ The Career-Switching Handbook for 30‑Somethings .”

Download our eBook: The Career-Switching Handbook for 30‑Somethings

Job-hopping is a growing trend among young professionals, and for many good reasons. Download our free eBook, “The Career-Switching Handbook for 30‑Somethings,” for the latest career-switching tips, strategies, and data.

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The Wharton School is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.