How to Handle Being Over-Qualified on Resume for a Career Change

Question
I was laid off in September from my job of seven years as a news editor, a path I am not interested in continuing. I have an Associate of Arts degree in graphic design, however I don't want to seek a job in that field as it's very competitive and prone to layoffs at this time.

I see this as an opportunity to start a path to a new career. How can I structure my resume for an internship or entry-level job in a new career field without looking over-qualified?

Answer
First, you need to decide what new career you want to pursue. Once you know that, you'll be ready to write your resume. For the sake of this answer, let's say you want to become a political lobbyist for an environmental group. For that objective, I suggest you create a combination resume.

In your job objective statement, do not use the term "entry-level;" simply say "A position." (For example: A position in environmental advocacy.) Doing this will help decrease the disparity between the elevated job title you held most recently and the new one you seek.

In your Summary of Qualifications section, emphasize the transferable skills you bring to the new position. For example:

• Eager to bring my writing and media relations skills to the political arena as an environmental advocate.
  

Under your most recent job title (News Editor) in the body of your combination resume, create two headings that support your job objective (for example: Communications and Environmental Issues). Under each of those headings, write achievement statements that are relevant to your job objective. These statements should not speak about management or leadership, as you don't expect to land a management job in your new career. Instead, refer to your experiences as being part of a team, or speak about projects you did independently. In other words, instead of:

• Managed a team of eight editors and four production staff to publish daily newspaper with circulation of 200,000.

Write something less management-like and more relevant to your new job, for example:

• As news team member, wrote pieces on wide range to topics including rain forests, glacier meltdowns, and carbon emissions.

Under Education, mention your AA degree, and any classwork that's particularly relevant to your job objective.

Good luck with your career shift!

No Job Objective on Resume

I'm always snooping around for good ideas to create a better resume. Here's one from Maureen Nelson, Senior Career Counselor at the Oakland Private Industry Council:

Use an occupational title at the top of the resume instead of a job objective statement.

For years I've advocated that established professionals use their professional title in place of a job objective statement (see my article, Job Objective Statement). Maureen's suggestion takes it a step further, saying this is a good idea for blue, pink, green... all color collar jobs.

For instance, instead of:

Jose Ruiz
Job Objective: Seeking a position as a plumber's assistant

Maureen contends the following will make a better impression on an employer:

Jose Ruiz
Plumber's Assistant

Likewise, a job seeker could state her general area of work:

Mary Johnson
Clerical Support

This approach is helpful in two ways:

1. It makes a powerful presentation to the hiring manager, which may increase the chance of winning a job interview and influence how much pay is offered.

2. It boosts the job seeker's self-esteem. Just looking at the resume, he can feel proud that he's a such-and-such worker, not just a wannabe.

Thank you, Maureen, for offering this advice!