Brenda asks, “I’ve just completed my marketing degree but have no experience in the field. I do have prior experience as a systems engineer. How can I present myself to potential companies?”
Great question! From what you’ve mentioned, your degree will be your primary selling point. So place “Education” before experience, and write about academic achievements, special projects, internships, marketing courses, and anything else that shows your solid academic foundation.
When describing your tech experience, think about the business benefit of your work, rather than getting bogged down describing technical details. As a systems engineer, did you solve any challenging problems that increased employee efficiency, enhanced productivity, saved time, saved money, etc?
It’s important to show your transferable skills when making a career change. Conduct research on your desired job target, learning the skills and credentials that employers find desirable in entry-level marketing professionals. You will find that you possess a number of skills or credentials that translate to your new goal. Your transferable skills will form the cornerstone of your resume, and you will need to downplay unrelated experience.
To draw attention to your main qualifications for your new goal, add a “Career Summary” section to your resume and indicate your key qualifications for your career change. It will also be important for your resume to have a clear career goal, otherwise you might be pegged as a systems analyst.
You can see examples of career change resumes in my book The Career Change Resume, or feel free to email me again if you have additional questions.
I am frequently asked how to follow up after submitting a resume. Actually, if you plan on calling the employer, it’s better to call before submitting your resume. This allows you to establish rapport with the hiring manager, address the person by name in your cover letter, and may give you an edge over other candidates (calling is not recommended if a company specifically requests “no phone calls”).
Robert wants to know what to do about the fact that he doesn’t have a degree, but he has tons of relevant experience. He writes, “Job postings in my field say that a degree is required. What should I do?”
You have to be careful if you use a functional resume, as this has been the format of choice for people trying to hide something about their backgrounds (usually job-hopping or employment gaps). Recruiters and employers realize this, so many of them review a functional resume looking for what the problem might be (not a good way to make a first impression). I only recommend using this format in cases of excessive job-hopping, a radical career change, or very long employment gaps.