CAREER CHANGE RESUMES FOR 2012

Career change resumes need to emphasize and market your transferable skills more than your work experience in another industry. In 2012, it is YOUR responsibility to analyze and present those skills to prospective employers.

WHERE must you do this? In the bulleted Summary section of a Combination resume. This type of resume combines the best features of both the chronological AND the functional formats.

(NOTE: Most employers DON'T like Functional resumes. They don't like to read a lot about your skills, abilities and achievements unless they can also MATCH UP these items with the job titles and dates to which they refer. Recruiters usually distrust a Functional resume because they know it is often used by those with something to hide or disguise. This makes them very wary and suspicious.)

Many of you need to change careers from one industry to another. For example, the continuing housing crisis in the U.S. has forced many mortgage professionals to leave this industry. (The debacles on Wall Street have done the same to investment banking executives.) The retail and automotive industries are also in a terrible mess.

As a result, many mortgage lending (and investment banking) professionals need to think about a CAREER CHANGE. The same applies to executives in retail, manufacturing and employees of General Motors. It means developing a strong change-of-career resume to impress recruiters in a new industry.
For example, an Industrial Engineer or Purchasing Manager in the automotive industry may need to apply to the Aerospace, Medical Device, Appliance Manufacturing or Healthcare industries.

Choose a Job You Love

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." - Albert Schweitzer

"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun." - Thomas A. Edison


Here’s how to offer your VALUE -- your skills, experience and accomplishments in a career change resume:

1. STATE YOUR JOB OBJECTIVE OR GOAL UP FRONT:
In 2012, you must tell employers up front what type of position you are seeking now. Don't expect them to guess or read and analyze your resume from A to Z. They WON'T because they are NOT your skills analysts. Besides, it is very unfair to expect them to do what is, after all, YOUR homework!

Develop a resume title or heading that spells it out clearly — such as “OBJECTIVE: Pharmaceutical Sales / Medical Sales.”

Or write an objective that focuses on a specific employer's needs as stated in a job ad and NOT just on what you want. Add to this, 2-3 lines summarizing your key skills and strengths and/or one or two bulleted accomplishments as your selling "hooks". (NOTE: Never assume that these skills will be known to employers outside the mortgage industry. And never ask employers to "utilize all of your skills." Only God knows what all of your skills and abilities are.)

2. WHAT ARE YOUR TRANSFERABLE SKILLS? (10-15):
Mortgage and other Loan officers have already developed a variety of skills and also have a wealth of knowledge that is easily transferable to other industries.

Examples include analyzing and identifying the needs of customers, evaluating their assets, liabilities and creditworthiness, consultative selling or solutions selling or cross-selling, investment or credit counseling, risk evaluation or assessment, relationship building, communication skills, presentation skills, inside/outside sales, closing skills, and proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint,etc.

But you need to analyze and then detail these transferable skills in your resume to help the reader understand what your CAN DOs are -- especially if you acquired them in another industry. What you claim is transferable, must also make sense to the reader!

You can incorporate your transferable skills into a Qualifications Summary, under “Areas of Skill/Experience/Expertise” and also in the body copy or “Work Experience” section.
3. WHERE TO OFFER YOUR MOST MARKETABLE SKILLS AND STRENGTHS:
A good Summary of Qualifications is a MUST for career changers. You can write it as a brief paragraph or a few bulleted statements. It gives you the opportunity to show and tell employers why your skills would also be valuable to them and why they should interview you. For example:

"Seek to transition my highly related and transferable skills (analyzing, consulting, advising, planning, strategizing, and relationship building) to Investment Banking."
How to Present Your Related Skills as Bullets:








How to Present Your Related Skills as Bullets:





 Skill in researching and identifying potential clients for .....
 Meeting and consulting with clients to analyze and assess or evaluate their current and future financial situations and needs.
 Helping clients to develop customized investment strategies and plans that fit their short and long-term goals.
 Able to educate and teach clients about financial/banking/ insurance products due to my background in Education.
 Success in building rapport and earning the trust and respect of clients due to my personal and professional credibility.
 Excellent communication, presentation and platform skills.
 Problem solving skills.
 Superior relationship building skills.
 Can aggressively build a solid client base that will ultimately drive revenue.
 Leadership and team building skills.
 Proven ability to direct teams in managing customer relationships and providing a range of services.
 Entrepreneurial spirit; business acumen; high energy level.

Or as a Paragraph:“Outstanding sales professional with a track record of accomplishment selling complex products and services to C-level executives in highly competitive marketplaces, now desires to to transition into new product lines and industries. My forte is building rapport and developing ongoing and productive relationships with key accounts.”

4. CONVERT YOUR NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES:
The ability to survive, act positively and solve problems during a crisis or tough times is something to mention in your resume. Consider adding a bulleted accomplishment or two highlighting such an item.

For example, one administrative client of mine had to cope during a labor strike at the nursing home where she worked. Cathy did not leave her post for days, hired the necessary replacement staff and helped to keep the facility running. She recorded this in her resume and received five interviews and five job offers in a single week! (When she first approached me for assistance, Cathy's biggest concern was the lack of a completed 4-year degree! She had modestly viewed her major accomplishment as "I was just doing my job.")

5. MENTION PREVIOUS PRODUCTION NUMBERS OR USE COMPARISONS WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR PEERS OR IN RELATION TO INDUSTRY AVERAGES:
“What do I use for accomplishments if my employer has gone bankrupt or if the mortgage industry has collapsed?” Make comparisons to the performance of your peers if this will present you in a favorable light. For example, you may have only closed one deal last month, but if that tied for first place in your office then you can truthfully report that you achieved top ranking despite the industry’s decline! And even if you haven’t received any sales awards this year, include previous honors from other years. Employers like to see a track record of consistent and repeated achievement.

Below are a few samples of bulleted accomplishments to guide you in creating or phrasing your own.

How to Word Your Accomplishments:
-- Received national awards for production: Quadruple Gold nationwide. (Only agent team to receive this award in Miami, FL)
-- “Consistently led the office in sales volume, earning top rankings for production during periods of high growth as well as market decline.”
-- “Recipient of numerous awards during my six-year tenure, including repeated ‘Top Sales’ rankings and election to the President's Club for my superior production (six consecutive months of exceeding $1M in volume).”
-- Consistently achieved 120% or better of established production goals; achieved 130% of business development goal.
-- Exceeded customer retention and business development goals by building the client base to more than 200 clients.

6. REMOVE OR MINIMIZE INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC TERMS:
Due to the negative publicity that Wall Street and the mortgage/asset-backed securities industries have received, you may be tarnished with the same brush through “guilt by association”. You may even be unfairly accused of contributing to the troubles or even demise of a company.

However, sincere and hardworking professionals can deal with this problem by minimizing industry-specific terms in your resume. Avoid mentioning "Wall Street" or “sub-prime,” and even the term “mortgage”. Instead, use neutral phrases or euphemisms like “finance” and “financial services”.

Do these resume tips really help in a career change resume? Below is a recent success story:"Matthew:

First, let me say that I have had rave reviews on my resume from everyone and many have said how impressed they were by my unique career change resume -- from real estate sales to investment banking. It made a lot of sense to them. They could see for themselves what my transferable skills were and why they could use me. This helped them to see my VALUE, as you predicted.

I have already had three interviews with Raymond James and with Merill Lynch. I have been meeting most of the folks at Raymond James and am excited about starting a new career with them. I am already studying for my Series 7 and it has so far been both challenging and fun. I can't thank you enough for all your support and encouragement." -- H.A., Orlando, Florida

For free advice about a career change resume FOR YOU, please E-mail or call me for a FREE consultation or price quote. My fees are extremely reasonable.

mattgreene@aol.comTel.: 1-718-436-3504


Copyright, 2006-2012 by Matthew Greene. All rights reserved.
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CAREER CHANGE RESUMES
RESUMES FOR MORTGAGE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

RESUMES FOR RETAIL INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

RESUMES FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS