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Career change CV: showing a path that changes direction

A change of career worries a recruiter on one point: "will they stay?". Your CV must answer before they ask, by showing the move is considered and that your background prepares you for it.

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What the recruiter is asking

Faced with a career-change CV, three questions: why the move, is this candidate ready for the job, and will they stay? A good CV answers without spelling them out: it explains the plan in one sentence, proves that some skills carry over, and shows that you have already trained.

1. A summary that presents the plan

The summary is the place for the "why". It says where you come from, where you are going, and what your background brings. An example of 49 words:

ExampleAfter eight years in logistics, where I coordinated a team of twelve and tracked the delivery schedules of a warehouse, I am training in project management (certificate gained in June). Organised and used to tight deadlines, I am looking for an assistant project manager role in the manufacturing sector.

The plan is clear, the training is dated, the skills are named. Check the length of yours (40 to 100 words) in the free checker.

2. The skills that transfer

List what you can do that also serves in the new job: leading a team, keeping to a budget, writing and proofreading, negotiating, training, meeting a deadline, using a tool. Write them in the vocabulary of the target job and back each with a fact.

BeforeTeam leader: supervision and organisation of work.
AfterWeekly planning for 12 people across 3 loading bays, meeting delivery deadlines despite the year-end peak.Illustrative example: use your own details.

3. An order of sections that serves the plan

  1. Target job title and summary.
  2. A "Key skills" section or your recent training, before your experience, if they support the new plan.
  3. Experience, most recent first, keeping what speaks to the new job.
  4. Earlier education, languages.

4. Showing you have already committed

Training you have taken, a certificate, a placement or trial assignment, a personal project, volunteering in the field: these are the proof that the plan is serious. Put them in evidence, with dates.

Mistakes to avoid