How To Rewrite a Resume for a Career Change Within Education
Many people are having doubts about changing their career. They’ve been working in this field a lot of time, and moving to another one feels like you have to start over. If you are facing the same challenge, you have to know it’s absolutely doable.
You won’t have to work longer hours to get recognized as an expert in a new field. You may succeed in landing an advanced position. The experience you already have is enough to do this.
The barrier you’re going to go through when changing a career within education is more about people, not your skills. You have to persuade the HR’s of the company you’re applying to you’re a perfect match for the job.
Once you arrive for an interview, getting a job should be easy. When you talk to the HR personally, you’ll have a chance to show what you’re made of and convince them you’re the right person to hire.
However, you have to get to the interview first. Most positions have so many applicants they can’t interview all of them. This is why you have to create an outstanding resume first.
Here is how to create a resume that will send you straight to the interview, even if you don’t have enough experience in the field.
What skills does your experience create?
Every experience creates a skill. The experience of being an educator creates a lot of skills. Many of them are transferable. This means you can use them inside and outside of education, even if you don’t have experience in the field you’re applying into.
Employers want to see experience in resumes. It’s the easiest way to measure someone’s potential. However, it’s not the best one. Someone with five years of experience in sales may not have the skills to work with the audience or persuade in a friendly manner that someone with five years of experience at teaching has.
Focus on skills that you have built during your years as a teacher. Here’s what you can go for:
- Organizational skills
- Motivating others
- Communication skills
- Multi-tasking
- Creative use of technology
If you doubt you have these skills, you have to think again. Anyone who’ve taught a class for at least one year has been in charge of anywhere from 15 people. You have to explain things to them, solve conflicts, motivate them, organize workflows, and multi-task to get things done.
This is a set of skills any employer would love to see in their company. Mention them in the resume, and you’re one step closer to the interview.
What projects did you take part in?
Employers don’t want to hire people without any experience whatsoever. If you want to make sure they invite you over for an interview, you have to add some kind of relevant experience to your resume. Since you haven’t worked a single day on your dream job, you’ll have to make your small achievements seem bigger. These can be side projects or volunteering work.
If you’re switching to a sales rep career, tell about the time you helped run the school charity fundraiser that involved selling cookies. If you’re trying to become an HR, mentioning your dean always talks to you before making a hire.
James Abram, who now runs Cake HR Systems, has made a switch from teaching to HR over ten years ago. Here’s what he had to say about making it to his first interview in the new field. “When the interviewer asked me why I’m the best for the role, I said that if my co-worker can’t figure out a good workflow, they come to me for advice. That seemed to cut it for him.”
If you don’t have something you could bring up in the resume, you could follow the next tip.
What education do you have?
Clearly, you have an education in pedagogics, but that alone may be not enough for your next career. Even if you’re switching jobs in the field of education, you may need to show some certification to prove you’re the best candidate for the position.
If you have finished a course or training that gave you the knowledge you can implement in your new career, you should definitely mention that. If you haven’t you may want to consider doing just that.
What you don’t need
Not all experience is relevant. If you did run a charity fundraiser but you’re applying for a librarian, you should omit it. Make the job of the HR person who’s reading your resume easier by only talking about relevant facts about yourself.
Four steps towards the interview
Follow these four simple tips, and your new resume will impress employers. The only thing you have to master now is the art of the interview. Once you learn how to navigate it, getting your dream job is just a matter of time.
