Charlotte Grainger 
Highlight your value with these top tips
Do you dread Mondays? Has your current nine-to-five job got you down in the dumps? Perhaps you've been dreaming of a completely different role or just looking for a new challenge. Whatever your reason for changing careers, you'll need to convince your target employer to give your application a shot – but how? Read our guide on how a career change statement should be written, along with advice for updating your CV and boosting your application.
What is a career change statement?
This statement briefly explains to the recruiter or hiring manager why you're applying for the job – despite coming from a completely different role or industry. It helps them understand why you're shifting jobs or industries, including the skills that you can bring to the role at hand.
On your CV, your career change statement is typically expressed in your profile summary, also referred to as your personal statement or professional summary. This is the short paragraph that sits at the top of your CV.
3 career change statement essentials
A recruiter or hiring manager is likely to consider candidates whose work experience closely aligns with the role. That's why, as a career changer, you'll need to work extra hard at getting their attention. A compelling career change statement is a quick way to do that while addressing the reader's doubts or questions about your suitability for the role.
As you begin to write your career change statement, keep the following things in mind:
1. Your career goals
Much like an objective statement, your career change statement should include your professional goals. What job do you want? What sector do you want to work in? What's the overarching aim of your career change? What inspires you to make this move? Answering these questions will help recruiters (and you!) ultimately “get” why you're changing careers in the first place.
2. Your transferable skills
Next, highlight a few, valuable transferable skills. As these skills are sought-after across industries, they can help convince the hiring manager that you're worth a shot even though you lack the on-the-job experience. These skills can include:
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Communication skills such as reflective listening, negotiation, and public speaking
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Teamwork skills like collaboration, liaising with teams, and relationship-building
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Leadership skills such as delegation and management
For instance, if you're applying for a role in journalism, but only have admin experience, you should look for duties that overlap. Previously, you may have been responsible for taking notes, writing emails, and researching various topics. Believe it or not, you can take all of these past skills forward in your new career, no matter the industry.
3. Overlapping experience (against your target role)
While you can prepare a generic career change statement for use in your applications, it's best to customise it whenever possible. Do this by reviewing the job description. While you may not align with the criteria exactly, look for any overlap in your experience and skill set. Drawing attention to these crossovers in your career change statement is a wise move.
Career change statement example
Use this short career change statement example for inspiration:
After a fulfilling decade working as a teacher, I am now looking to transition into the content creation sector. Relying upon my wealth of curriculum knowledge, I am well-suited to making educational materials that can be used by an array of KS2 and KS3 learners. My classroom experience has taught me the value of clear communication, reflective listening, time management, and organisation. These essential skills will be the foundation of my work ethic as I move forward in this new chapter of my career.
Boost your application: tips for writing a career-change CV
So you've written an attention-grabbing career change statement, but how's the rest of your CV looking? Once you've secured the recruiter's interest with your career change personal statement, you'll need to keep them engaged by writing a stellar CV that fits the bill. Here are a few pointers:
Keep your CV keyword-optimised
To improve your chances of a real-life human reviewing your application, you'd want to make sure that it passes through the company's ATS or applicant tracking software. Including keywords on your CV could be the difference between your application being rejected and gaining an interview.
Of course, this also becomes easier once you're well-versed in the role's duties and day-to-day tasks. That's why researching your target industry matters. For example, you may want a job in software development, but do you fully understand what that entails? Covering your CV with industry-specific jargon may be laying it on a little thick, but you should make it obvious that you understand the career path.
Showcase the right skills
Since you're changing careers, you may think you don't have the skill set to convince a hiring manager that you're qualified for the job. All hope is not lost, however. As mentioned earlier, if you don't have the ideal skills for a certain industry, you can prove your value by highlighting your soft or transferable skills throughout your CV. Take the time to identify any areas of crossover and ensure that they stand out on your CV.
Downplay irrelevant experience
In the same vein, avoid listing things that have absolutely nothing to do with your new, dream role. For example, you may have a wealth of experience in accounting, but that just won't help you bag a job in the digital marketing field.
While it may feel tempting to include every single skill you've acquired over the years, doing so could be a recipe for disaster. The recruiter should not have to wade through reams of text to get to the point. The key here is to wow the recruiter with any information that aligns with the role.
Supplement your CV with a cover letter
When a recruiter or hiring manager looks at your CV, it's going to be pretty obvious that you're in the midst of shifting gears. The lack of relevant experience and qualifications will stick out like a sore thumb ‒ there's no getting around that. That's why you need a chance to explain yourself and set out your rationale for the sudden switch in direction. Be honest about the move.
You can explain some of that away in your career change statement; however, you might find yourself needing to say more. Within your cover letter, you have the opportunity to fully explain the reason behind your career change and why you believe you can take on the role at hand. The passion you have for the industry should be at the heart of what you write here, so make sure it comes through. Explain what has drawn you to this particular career and what you know about the sector.
Ways to enhance your employability when changing careers
Changing careers is a big decision, so if you've got the extra time to prepare for it, why not engage in activities that can further support your application?
Consider volunteer work
It's a smart move to gain and add some voluntary experience to your CV in the industry you hope to enter. You're likely to be up against experienced candidates; so you really need to do something to make your career-change CV shine. Before you start applying for roles, taking on a little volunteer work could set you apart.
While it takes time and energy to volunteer, it can support your career change statement. The fact that you've given your time for free to learn about the sector will win you brownie points.
Learn new skills
Of course, while it's well and good to highlight transferable skills and downplay irrelevant ones, nothing quite catches an HR manager's eye (and pleases the ATS) like sought-after hard skills on your CV.
Consider a worker trying to transition from a sales representative position to the marketing sector. A strong ability to connect with potential customers is a valuable transferable skill, but being able to analyse data is essential for a marketing professional. Finding a way to gain this skill will easily improve your candidacy.
Thankfully, upskilling for any job seeker is easier than ever. There are dozens of free online resources that you can use to expand your skill set as you change careers.
Manifest your new career!
The idea of explaining your career change to potential employers may seem intimidating at first, but it needn't be. While you may not have oodles of skills and experience in your chosen sector, you can still show off your passion and transferable skills in your application. Have faith in the talents you've acquired in previous roles and highlight how they may be used in this new industry in your career change statement. Better yet, take advantage of opportunities to boost your chances of landing that all-important interview. Good luck!
Need expert help in expressing your career change on your application? Submit your CV for a free review now.
This article was updated in April 2020 by Lauren Settembrino and in 2024 by Charlotte Grainger.