The world never stands still, so it is hardly surprising if you find your career taking a new direction. Your original job may have become less relevant, particularly in light of the pace of technological change. Alternatively, you may have lost the passion you once held for your industry or find your day-to-day mundane and want to try something new.
If a career change is on the cards, your CV will need refreshing and an alternative perspective. Here we look at how you can communicate your intentions and ensure your work history does not hinder your prospects, with a career change CV template offered as a helpful example.
Personal statement
All CVs should start with a personal statement, and yours will be particularly important, with the premise of changing your career trajectory. Your application or cover letter may already have addressed the topic, and your personal statement should reaffirm this. Furthermore, it should highlight how the skills of your past career will transfer to the industry you are moving into.
Over four or five lines, you should aim to convey who you are, what you offer, and your new career aspirations.
What to include within a personal statement on a CV
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE CV CAREER CHANGE TEMPLATE
Skills and abilities
Your previous job roles will have an alternative focus to the career you wish to start. In this case, it can be advantageous to present your skills, abilities, and significant achievement ahead of your work history.
It helps to look at the skills and experience detailed in the job description you are applying for. Once you have noted these, you can create examples of how you used these previously. Highly transferable skills and traits include problem-solving, adaptability, communication, and management or leadership.
How to identify the skills I should include on my CV
Work history
Your work history should be added to your CV with your most recent position first. If you have held numerous roles over a significant time, you can ignore or scale down the details of junior roles and jobs held more than fifteen years ago.
The daily tasks in prior roles may be irrelevant to your new career, so highlight your achievements and provide examples of essential skills or recognition. Bearing in mind that you are making a career change, it can be a smart move to highlight occasions when you learnt something new or broadened your perspectives and knowledge by working with someone in another department.
How much job history should I include on my CV?
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE CV CAREER CHANGE TEMPLATE
Education
Your academic achievements should also be documented on your CV, with your most recent qualifications at the top. You should state the subject of your qualifications and your grades. However, you can summarise your GCSEs to number and grade range if you have higher qualifications.
You might like to highlight your passion for learning if you have studied and gained additional certifications during your career. If the topics of your education do not immediately appear relevant to the job you are applying for, consider including examples of modules and projects that require those essential transferable skills and abilities.
What education and qualifications should I include on my CV?
Hobbies
An optional section, but one that we suggest you don’t overlook, is hobbies. These can be an excellent way to get across your personality and the interests that make you a suitable candidate for the new business sector or industry.
Hobbies where you cannot provide a story that has relevance to your new career, on your CV or in an interview, will likely not strengthen your case and so can be left out.
Should I include hobbies on my CV?
References
Providing the contact details of your references is not required at the application stage of most jobs. You can mention that references are available on request and these are usually only required at the job offer stage of your recruitment.
Should I include references on my CV?
Career change CV advice
Our CV template library and career advice will help you plan your career change and transition. Our career advice pages are an essential and valuable read if you are looking to discover if a career is right for you, what qualifications you will need, and if a job will meet your salary expectations.
-> DOWNLOAD A FREE CV CAREER CHANGE TEMPLATE
CV template examples
- Accounting CV template
- Agriculture CV template
- Arts CV template
- Automotive CV template
- Banking CV template
- Charity CV template
- Construction CV template
- Customer Services CV template
- Education CV template
- Engineering CV template
- Environmental CV template
- Facilities Management CV template
- Finance CV template
- Healthcare CV template
- Hospitality and Leisure CV template
- Human Resources (HR) CV template
- Information Technology (IT) CV template
- Leadership CV template
- Legal CV template
- Manufacturing CV template
- Marketing CV template
- Media CV template
- Office Administration CV template
- Personal Care CV template
- Professional Services CV template
- Public Sector CV template
- Retail CV template
- Sales CV template
- Science CV template
- Social Care CV template
- Telecommunications CV template
- Transportation and Logistics CV template
