How do you write a CV for a career change? (with examples)

• The most important thing to think about when writing a career change CV.
• What your career change CV should include.
• Examples of how to write the different sections of your career change CV.
• Examples of transferable skills you could include on a career change CV.

Gone are the days when you took a job in a certain sector and stuck with it for life. Today, changing employers is common, and so too is industry hopping.

When looking at launching into a new career, you can boil all your worries down to one simple problem – there are people out there with more direct industry experience. 

This is the central issue that every aspect of your CV needs to tackle, and it should be front of mind throughout the resume writing process. Your mission is to convince the reader that your personal career trajectory, in fact, makes you exactly the person they’re looking for.

The good news is you can still use a standard CV template when you’re changing careers – it’s the content, not the layout, that will count.

Two elements in particular take on a new importance – your personal statement and objective. We’re splitting these out here to explain the approach, but they will be read together on your CV as they should appear next to each other.

Traditionally, your personal statement is where you highlight your key skills. The only real change on a career change CV, is that you should accentuate your transferable skills to catch the reader’s eye. We’d advise, you might also want to go beyond the two line length normally recommended.

Bonus tip: write the rest of your CV first, then come back to your personal statement. This should be your “Greatest Hits” from your working life, so going through your CV or Trade Me Jobs profile will help you pick out the best bits.

E.g. 1 Accountant to technical writer.

“I’m a highly experienced accountant with a passion for keeping up with the latest accounting tech trends. I have extensive experience working with common accounting software platforms such as X,Y and Z and assisting clients’ to use these tools in their financial reporting and data analysis processes.”

Here, the candidate is showing a good overview of their hard and soft skills, as well as indicating that they stuck with their former career for a while. This is important in dispelling any concern in the reader’s mind that you’re a serial career hopper.

The next piece of the puzzle is your objective. This is your chance to show the passion you have for making this move, as well as mention any relevant past achievements that show your track record for success.

E.g. 1 Accountant to technical writer.

“After five years in accounting, I’m now looking to take my software knowledge, coupled with my client experience, into a technical writing role. This is something that has always greatly interested me, and I believe my unique combination of skills will allow me to create articles that will help companies get more out of their accounting software.”

E.g.2 Courier driver to warehouse and logistics.

“I’m looking forward to moving into a distribution environment where I can draw upon my delivery experience to help boost operational efficiency. The interaction I’ve had with clients, coupled with my knowledge of the common roadblocks facing deliveries, mean I can provide fresh insights to improve processes.”

Both of these examples show the candidates provide something different from those who’ve perhaps followed a more standard progression within each of these industries. On top of this, there’s energy in both of these cases, demonstrating a drive and desire to learn.

While you’ve summarised your skills and experience in the personal statement, you still need to include an employment history section, as you would on your normal CV.

The important part is keeping it as relevant as possible – tweak the emphasis in past roles to highlight aspects that are closely aligned to where you want to go.

Key to this is mentioning your transferable skills. Transferable skills are useful in any industry imaginable, and are highly sought after by employers. In particular, consider mentioning:

• Adaptability
• Communication
• Resilience
• Problem solving
• Innovation
• Leadership
• Cultural awareness
• Growth mindset
• Emotional intelligence
• Critical thinking
• Teamwork
• Creativity
• Attention to detail
• Project management
• Computer skills
• Researching
• Managing conflict
• Organisation and administration
• Decision making

Don’t just include these as a list, but give real life examples of how you’ve used these soft skills in past roles. For example, communicating an idea to multiple stakeholders or showing resilience by bouncing back from difficult circumstances.