Sample Career Change Resume

A functional resume is good way to stress your skills when you haven't had a lot of paying jobs that show your strengths because you can choose the headings that best capture your unique skill set and then stress the skills you've acquired from a variety of experiences. You should choose three or four skill categories, and then have at least three, but preferably four, examples of the work you did in those skill categories. After the skills section, you must still do a brief chronological listing of the jobs/experiences from which you gained the skills. And you should consider adding a Qualifications Summary, where before you describe your skills experience, you stress five or six key abilities/characteristics that you want to "jump out" at the reviewer.

Additionally, a functional resume is particularly good if you want to change careers, because you can stress skills and strengths that would not normally be associated with your particular job(s), and reviewers will not have a pre-conceived notion about your abilities based on your job title(s). And again, you can include volunteer experiences.

Below is a sample functional resume for a person desiring to change careers.

Ashley Coburn
541 West Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 942-6437

OBJECTIVE

To obtain a position in a floral shop that utilizes my unique blend of floral knowledge, customer service, and public relations experience

SKILLS

Florist Knowledge and Experience

Received certification in Basic Floral Design, Floral Design/Arranging, and Entertaining with Flowers
Designed live-flower table centerpieces for a variety of large and small weddings and business functions
Decorated church with live-flower and plant arrangements for church holidays and special events
Marketed and operated free-lance dried flower business

Customer Service

Fielded Help Desk calls, providing step-by-step assistance in resolving problems
Chaired Process Improvement Team to improve customer satisfaction division-wide
Served as liaison to customer, meeting weekly to review status
Responded to phoned and written inquiries about floral matters

Public Relations

Increased Flower League membership over 200% in two years
Wrote monthly column for community newsletter and press releases for local Flower League chapter
Conducted yearly open house for showcasing Flower League chapter
Solicited donations from local businesses for annual Flower League auction prizes

EXPERIENCE

1992 - present		Flower League chapter (President, 1995 - present)
1990 - present		Owner - Ashley's Flowers
1989 - present		Computer Systems Resources: Advanced Computer Engineer, 1996 - present Computer Engineer, 1993-1996 Computer Engineer Associate, 1990 - 1992

EDUCATION

B.A. with High Honors, James Madison University; Harrisonburg, VA

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