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Your Career Change Resume. The 5 Minute Career Coach April 2010
April 01, 2010

Helping Career Changers Around The World

April 2010



Hello!

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of The 5 Minute Career Coach!

What's in this Issue

This month I am getting practical again and looking at resumes and CVs. Many people struggle to get these right, especially when making a career change. If this includes you, then take a look at the Special Offer I am making for my 5 Minute Career Coach Community. And for some instant help and advice, click here to read this month's article on career change resumes.

With best wishes

Cherry

Cherry Douglas
Your Career Change Guide

How To Change Careers




Please don't keep me a secret!

Feel free to share this newsletter and my website with your friends. I wouldn't mind betting that there will be a few of them who are unhappy with their own careers.

Remember that they can get their free copy of 11Ύ Ways To Kick Start Your Career Change when they visit the How To Change Careers website.


Know Your Personality, Know Your Career

  • Would you like to get greater clarity over what kind of work could be right for you?

  • Are you intrigued by the idea that your personality can guide you towards the right career choice?

  • Would a list of career ideas that match your personality be useful?

Then take a look at Know Your Personality, Know Your Career and find out more.

career-personality


Quote of the Day

"This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"

Is your current job letting you be who you really are or does it leave you hemmed in or with a sense that you are playing a role to someone else's script? If the answer is yes, then what will you do to start being more true to yourself? When will you begin to be who you want to be?

Your 5 Minute Coaching Session

Challenging questions are one of the key tools coaches use in helping clients to create change.

Each month I offer you a mini coaching session by asking you a challenging question to think about. The questions I ask are designed to get you thinking in new ways and hopefully gain insights that may open your mind to new possibilities for you career and for your life.

Try this one for size.

When did you or do you feel really motivated?


Start by looking at all the various jobs you have done and reflect on the particular aspects of your work (not the whole job) that have made you feel enthusiastic in the past. If you find it hard to identify things from your work, then spread the net wider. What activities make you want to get stuck in and keep you absorbed for hours?

What does this tell you about what is important to you? What do you need to do to bring more of this motivation into your working life? Do you need a change of career or just a change of focus in your work?

Community Member Spotlight

I decided it would be nice to say a particular hello to one individual member of the 5 Minute Career Coach Community each month, just picked at random from the list.

For April I am sending extra best wishes to Moira. It is not quite a random selection this time because I happen to know it is Moira's birthday today!

Hi Moira! I hope you are having a great birthday and are enjoying the April edition of the 5 Minute Career Coach. Thanks for all the helpful feedback you have given me and I hope the newsletter continues to interest and inspire you.

Writing a Career Change Resume or CV

Have you identified a new career you would like to pursue but do you keep getting stuck when it comes to actually applying for a job? Are you wondering how on earth you are going to 'sell' yourself to a new employer in a totally different field?

The doubts start to creep in and you ask yourself questions like 'How do I convince them that after 10 years in finance, I now want to work in health care?' You may be convinced that this is what you want, but will they see it the same way?

There is no magic wand that will guarantee success, but there is much that you can do with your resume to help make the transition you are aspiring to.

Here are my top five tips for writing a career change cv.

Focus on the transferability of your skills
You will have gained many skills through your work and life, but when you are changing career direction, it is important to present them in a way that shows they are applicable in many different contexts, not just in your current work situation.

Use a skills based or functional format
This allows you to present your relevant and transferrable skills on page one for most impact. If you leave your work history two page two, the reader will already be impressed with your skills before they have a chance to question the relevance of your previous employment.

Highlight what you have done to prepare for the new area of work
If you have done some additional training, gained relevant work experience or done voluntary work as part of your preparation for the new career you want to enter, make that stand out on your CV. It helps demonstrate your commitment.

Review what the new role requires very carefully and focus on this
Your job is to show how well you match their requirements so look at the job description and person specification very carefully. Use their keywords when you are talking about your skills and experience and make sure you show how good a match you are for their needs.

Brief your referees
Make sure you prepare your referees in advance. Show them the details of the job you are now applying for and point out the key skills that you are trying to build on in your new role. This will help them to write a targeted reference for you that will help convince your future employer.

Above all, it is important that you approach your new career with a strong sense of self belief. If you have done your homework in planning your career change, you should be clear about the relevance of your strengths and skills. Make sure you present yourself confidently – if you don't believe in your ability to do the job, you can't expect them to!

Clearly there is more to perfecting your CV or resume than I have mentioned here. If you'd like more detailed help, then take a look at my new ebook, The CV & Resume Workbook. It is on Special Offer at just £6.99 to my 5 Minute Career Coach subscribers for the month of April.

Your Top Career Change Question

This is a new section in the 5 Minute Career Coach, giving you the opportunity to ask a specific question you may have about changing career. I will do my best to answer the questions that come up either here in the 5 Minute Career Coach or on the How To Change Careers website.

So what is your biggest question or concern about changing careers?

If you'd like to ask a question about changing careers, just click this link and fill in the form to submit your question via the How To Change Careers website.

Career Change Tip from Cherry, Your Career Change Guide

I had some feedback from a 5 Minute Career Coach reader recently who said she had been self employed in the past and had enjoyed it but had given it up as she was 'rubbish at marketing herself'. Because of this, she was now exploring other employment ideas again, but perhaps with limited enthusiasm.

This really struck me as it seemed that the self employment option was really where she wanted to be, but was being written off because of one aspect which had been a challenge last time she tried it.

My question to her would be 'what could you do to ensure that you market yourself more effectively next time? Who could help you? What sources of information and advice could you use?'

Marketing is a skill like may others that we can all learn and develop. For some, it may always feel a bit of a stretch, but that does not make it impossible.

Are you writing off your career dream at a stroke with '...but I am rubbish at that'?

Recommended Resources

This month I am unashamedly promoting my own new ebook.

The CV & Resume Workbook
Your 12 Step Action Guide to Making Winning Applications

The CV and Resume Workbook


I am making this available at a SPECIAL OFFER price of just £6.99, just to the members of my 5 Minute Career Coach Community. This offer will only be open for the month of April. After the end of the month you will still be able to buy the book, but at the full price of £10.99.

To access your special offer edition, go to the Special Offer page of my website

So what do you get when you buy this ebook?

The CV & Resume Workbook is a practical tool to help you improve your CV or resume. It contains over 100 pages of tips, strategies and exercises for you to try. It is built round a 12 Step Action Guide which walks you through the process of putting your CV or resume together, including...

  • Finding out exactly what the recruiter wants

  • Identifying what you have to offer

  • Being clear about how you match the recruiters' needs

  • Working out which style of resume will be right for you

  • Deciding which sections to use to promote yourself effectively

  • Discovering how to write convincingly about what you have to offer

  • Designing the visual appearance of your CV

You will also get a Toolkit of exercises and worksheets that you can refer back to again and again whenever you are updating your CV.

Click here to read more


And as an extra bonus

I am delighted to say that Nick Williams, author of The Work We Were Born To Do and founder of the Inspired Entrepreneur's Club, has agreed that I can give away one of his ebooks – Power Tools For The Possible Dream – as a bonus when you buy The CV & Resume Workbook.

I have recommended Nick's work in the past and have no hesitation in doing so again, so do take the opportunity to grab one of his inspirational ebooks.

It is also well worth becoming a member of the Inspired Entrepreneur's Club - even if you are not based in the UK - as you get free recordings of the speakers at his events and access to free monthly teleseminars with Nick. You also get big discounts on his other products like the Passions Into Profits online course and his book The 12 Principles of the Work We Were Born To Do.

Non-UK Members can get SILVER membership of the Inspired Entrepreneur's Club for just £4.99 per month (about $7.40)

Special Offer from Nick:
Every year Nick gives away 100 trial memberships for just £1 (about $1.48) which will give you immediate access to all free and reduced price member benefits. So check out the details here . It's got to be worth it for only £1!

More recommendations
If you would like to see more recommendations for books and similar resources, follow the link to the Career Change Books page of the How To Change Careers website. Do keep popping back to it as I am adding to it all the time.

And if there are books and resources that have inspired you and that you would like to recommend, there is a place for you to do so on that page.

Comments and Feedback

I want to be sure that both this newsletter and the How To Change Careers website are focused on YOU.

The best way I can do this is by asking for your comments and feedback:

  • What do you enjoy and find most helpful about the 5 Minute Career Coach?

  • What suggestions do you have for improvements to the 5 Minute Career Coach?

Do let me know what you think. You can post your feedback here.

Useful Links

Read more articles about career change on the How To Change Careers website

Contact me with any queries or questions

Read my ezine articles

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