The personal profile is the most important part
When changing careers the personal profile matters more than in any other CV. This is where you explain why you are making the change and what you are bringing with you. A recruiter who sees that you have spent ten years in a different industry wants to understand the logic behind the switch. Give them that explanation upfront.
Write about where you are going, not just where you have been. And be specific about why you are applying for that particular job or role, not just "seeking a new challenge".
Example - teacher moving into UX design
"I have worked as a secondary school teacher for six years and completed a UX design course in 2025. Teaching taught me to listen to user needs, communicate complex material clearly, and iterate based on feedback. These are skills I now want to apply in product development. I am looking for a junior UX role where I can grow and contribute from day one."
That is honest, it explains the change, and it shows the person understands the connection between the old and the new.
Identify your transferable skills
Transferable skills are things you learned in one context that work in another. Most people underestimate how many they have.
Skills that tend to carry across industries:
- Project management and driving things to completion
- Communicating with different types of stakeholders
- Data analysis and making decisions based on it
- Managing customers, clients, or students with varying needs
- Writing clearly and in a structured way
- Budget and resource responsibility
- Leading or coordinating a team toward a goal
Go through your work history and identify concrete examples of each skill you want to highlight. Those are the examples that should appear in your CV and that you should be ready to talk about in an interview.
Consider leading with a skills section
When changing careers, a skills-forward structure can work well. Instead of leading straight into work history, open with a short summary of your transferable skills after the personal profile. This way a recruiter sees your capabilities before they see that you came from a different industry.
It is not about hiding your background. It is about framing what you bring before the context of where you were.
How to write about your previous experience
You should not try to hide that you worked in a different industry. It is visible anyway and it would look odd to try to avoid it. What you can do is control which aspects of each role you highlight.
For each previous position: write the bullet points that are most relevant to the new role. An accountant applying for a business analyst role highlights the analysis part of their accounting work, not the day-to-day bookkeeping.
New training and certifications
If you have taken a course, qualification, or certification to make the switch, place it high and make it visible. It is concrete evidence that you have made an active decision and invested in it. That carries a lot of weight.
Side projects and personal work
Have you been working on something in your own time related to the new field? A portfolio, an open source contribution, a freelance project, something you built yourself? Include it. It shows engagement beyond the obligatory.
What to avoid
- A generic personal profile. "Seeking a new challenge in a stimulating environment" says nothing. Be specific about what you are looking for and why.
- Apologising for your career change. You do not need to be defensive. Present it as an active choice, not something you are having to deal with.
- Listing all previous experience without selecting. Include what is relevant to the new role. What you leave out is an active decision, not a gap.
Tip: Write a tailored cover letter for each application. When making a career change it is almost essential. Your CV shows what you have done. The letter explains why it is relevant to them.
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