When you’re ready to move up the career ladder, things usually go well when you’re in the same field. You can demonstrate the knowledge you know to those who are interested in promoting or hiring you.

However, changing careers is another matter; Marketing your skills to switch to another industry can be difficult. You may be afraid that employers will only glance at your resume before tossing it aside.

There are actually ways to make hiring managers see the relevance of your skills, believe it or not, and much of it has to do with what you tell them on your resume. To illustrate, consider the case of Jay Jones, a fictional candidate who has a career in sales as his goal even though his current position does not reflect this goal. His existing resume looks like this:

GOAL: Seeking a senior sales role that utilizes my prospecting and closing skills.

WORK HISTORY

Front Range Golf, operations assistant, 2007-present

-Managed customer service, payroll and accounting for the premier golf community.

ABC Company, Sales Associate, Denver, Colorado, 2005-2007

-Cultivated a new account base, with a 50% increase in new business, by networking at community events.

-Named to the President’s Club for sales achieved through new account growth.

-Consulted with customers to determine the best product to fit their requirements.

XYZ Corporation, Sales Assistant, Westminster, Colorado, 1997-2005

-Increased revenue by 10% with effective consultative selling strategies targeting commercial accounts.

-Closed the highest percentage of corporate sales from online prospecting activities.

Here are my recommendations for your resume, given your goal of a new sales position:

1 – Do not use a functional format.

Many people will tell you to use a functional resume, as this is the supposedly proven method for a career change.

I have some unfortunate news for anyone trying this idea: it won’t work. Functional formats are often viewed with suspicion by employers, as they are used by candidates who are trying to downplay some facet of their professional history.

A functional resume, which conveys your accomplishments within functional or skill categories, typically saves your work history for last and then presents each job as a single line. Jay’s resume would look like this if he used a functional format:

GOAL: Seeking a senior sales role that utilizes my prospecting and closing skills.

SALES LEADERSHIP

-Increased revenue by 10% with effective consultative selling strategies targeting commercial accounts.

-Closed the highest percentage of corporate sales from online prospecting activities.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

-Cultivated a new account base, with a 50% increase in new business, by networking at community events.

-Named to the President’s Club for sales achieved through new account growth.

BENEFITS SELLING STRATEGIES

-Consulted with customers to determine the best product to fit their requirements.

WORK HISTORY

Front Range Golf, operations assistant, 2007-present

ABC Company, Sales Associate, Denver, Colorado, 2005-2007

XYZ Corporation, Sales Assistant, Westminster, Colorado, 1997-2005

Clearly, this format makes linking achievements to each job quite difficult. The result? An employer may skip this resume entirely, instead attempting to interpret Jay’s actual experience.

2 – Add an Achievements section.

Since the content on the first page of a resume grabs the reader’s attention and intrigues, this type of format puts the most interesting information first, without resorting to a functional format. The Achievements section can provide compelling facts about you and your RELEVANT qualifications, while satisfying the employer’s need to know what you’ve done on each job.

Now, let’s see how Jay would use this strategy:

GOAL: Seeking a senior sales role that utilizes my prospecting and closing skills.

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

-Increased revenue by 10% with effective consultative selling strategies targeting commercial accounts.

-Cultivated a new account base, with a 50% increase in new business, by networking at community events.

-Named to the President’s Club for sales achieved through new account growth.

WORK HISTORY

Front Range Golf, operations assistant, 2007-present

-Managed customer service, payroll and accounting for the premier golf community.

ABC Company, Sales Associate, Denver, Colorado, 2005-2007

-Consulted with customers to determine the best product to fit their requirements.

XYZ Corporation, Sales Assistant, Westminster, Colorado, 1997-2005

-Closed the highest percentage of corporate sales from online prospecting activities.

3 – Delete the objective and put your personal brand in a Profile.

Too often, job seekers follow the advice of yesteryear, where they were encouraged to add a mission statement. In today’s hiring market, you may have already discovered that the objective of a resume simply isn’t enough.

Smart professionals will add a profile that reflects their personal brand and true capabilities, and the profiles that get the most attention will include information that sets you apart, such as military background, a graduate degree, and special skills. Don’t forget to make your end goal very clear to the reader, in this case, a sales role.

Jay’s final resume would read:

PROFESSIONAL SALES

Articulate and intensely motivated sales representative offering strong sales aptitude and excellent closing skills, with an exceptional track record of account growth. Talent to build strong client relationships that generate profitability and create a generous referral fee. Recent MBA graduate with ability to build rapport with decision makers.

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

-Increased revenue by 10% with effective consultative selling strategies targeting commercial accounts.

-Cultivated a new account base, with a 50% increase in new business, by networking at community events.

-Named to the President’s Club for sales achieved through new account growth.

WORK HISTORY

Front Range Golf, operations assistant, 2007-present

-Managed customer service and food sales within the premier golf community.

ABC Company, Sales Associate, Denver, Colorado, 2005-2007

-Consulted with customers to determine the best product to fit their requirements.

XYZ Corporation, Sales Assistant, Westminster, Colorado, 1997-2005

-Closed the highest percentage of corporate sales from online prospecting activities.

As you can see, Jay can now promote himself for a position that differs substantially from his current position, all through the use of a strong profile, achievements section, and classic reverse chronological resume format. This approach can also work well for professionals whose experience in the desired role is fairly thin, but who want to make the most of these skills.

If you intend to show an employer how qualified you really are, without a current job to prove it, consider modifying the style of your resume so that hiring managers focus on your most relevant credentials.