Most Australians change direction and detour off the career highway at some stage during their working lives. Career changes are becoming more frequent these days, particularly with advances in technology, a deficit of jobs and employment dissatisfaction.

Every time you switch careers and take onboard a new change you face the inevitable prospect of having no experience under your belt. Employers generally like work experience, so the biggest challenge entering a new field is how to promote yourself in your resume while disguising the fact you have no experience.

If you’ve had a dramatic career change, consider using a skills-based or functional type of resume. You may wish to include a career objective in your resume to advise the recruiter of your career intentions and clarify your future career goals.

Here are some useful tips to help you survive the change of lanes:

*Participating in networking activities. Join associations and industry groups to network with professionals and key contacts in the industry. They’ve travelled down the same path in the past and may offer you a few pointers on how to make roads into the industry. *Make sure you’re enthusiastic, friendly and give off positive signals; you may even score a job in the process. Don’t forget to list the association or industry group in your resume.
*Finding a mentor. Look for someone with knowledge and experience in the industry. Mentors are like road maps; they guide you to where you want to go and highlight the best route to travel. They also know people!
*Highlighting your transferable skills. Skills can be grouped into three main categories: Technical, people-related and transferable. Technical skills are job-related skills that are specific to a particular occupation or profession. For example, to be an auditor you need audit skills, an architectural technician requires drafting skills and so on. People-related skills refers to your personal attributes, qualities or character traits such as being honest, loyal, reliable, enthusiastic and self-motivated. Transferable skills are generic skills you’ve acquired in the past that can be applied to any job. ‘Communication’, ‘problem solving’ and ‘interpersonal’ skills are all examples of transferable skills that are used in lots of different industries — journalism, sales, administration, HR, retail, public relations...the list goes on and on.

Stop and think about any transferable skills you’ve acquired through volunteer work, paid employment, parenting, study, hobbies and sports that could be applied to your new career. For example, if you’re transitioning from a teaching job into the human resources profession (training), you may draw attention to the fact you were teaching students, planning lessons and developing resources. Training, planning and communication skills are all important in a HR role. Similarly, if you’re wishing to enter the events management field and have been working in administration, highlight your experience coordinating the staff Christmas party for 100 staff and arranging business forums and conferences. Again, you’re matching the skills you have to the new career field.

So how do you go about recognising and developing a list of your transferable skills?

Here’s how:

1. Make a list of all transferable skills you’ve acquired through study, hobbies, sports and paid and unpaid employment.
2. Find out what skills are required for the job you’re applying for. You can do this by scanning the advertisement or skimming the job description for clues.
3. Tick off any transferable skills that match to the job.
4. Select skill headings that relate to the job, then create a skills-based resume or functional format resume.

Here are some additional things you can do to impress a recruiter:

*Undertake some voluntary work. If the market you’re entering is low demand but saturated with a high number of qualified candidates with direct experience in the field, you may need to do some work experience in the area for a temporary period of time. Unpaid work will give you some basic skills and knowledge to put in your resume.
*Compose a cover letter outlining the reasons for your move. Design a well-constructed cover letter that delves into your motives for changing careers. Recruiters then have an idea of your background and motivations. Keep this succinct and straight to the point and try not to waffle.

Excerpted with permission of the publisherJohn Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd from Australian Resumes for Dummies, Copyright 2008 by Amanda McCarthy. Avaliable from all good booksellers from RRP $39.95