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If one is looking to change careers, how does one list all of the irrelevant experience?

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  • Img_3620_small
    Reputation: 51

    Hopefully, in your research on new career paths, you've learned what skills (both technical and personal) are either needed or desired, and you've mapped those to the skills/traits you have.

    Assuming you're referring to how to present yourself on a resume, the short answer is: don't list it all. Remember the resume is a marketing tool, not an application or historical document. The reader has to be able to see (in 5 seconds or less) that you have the skills, if not the experience, that they need. You don't have to include everything you've ever done, but should include those things that relate directly to the position you are targeting. If the reader doesn't quickly see the match, you won't make it out of the 'no' pile (and, if you've submitted it through a company's database, chances are it won't be seen by human eyes). Right now, with the job market what it is, companies can find candidates that are a 95% DNA match to what they are looking for, so few will look further than the exact matches.

    Most successful career changers are successful because of who they talked to or met, not because someone found their resume. Of course you have to have one, so write it the way that best represents what the reader wants to see (and with examples and results). If a chronological resume does that, then great! If not, writing a good functional resume may be the option.

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  • Picture_of_me_small
    Reputation: 33

    Excellent question Sam, you will need to update your resume. You surely have 'transferrable skills' that will be relevant regardless of your career change. You may need to have more than one resume for your varied work experience and skill sets. Specifically what are your career changes?

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  • 69470_550796517378_17700402_32266336_8256335_n_small
    Reputation: 0

    There are some skills that employers are always looking for in a job candidate. These can include things like: being a good team player, the ability to take initiative and work with little or no direction, manage other people toward an outcome, being detail oriented, etc. Usually these are listed in the job description. Rewrite the "irrelevant" experience" on your resume to show how you demonstrated those skills in prior positions.

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