Your CV, not your background, is often the biggest barrier in a career change.
Relevance is everything. Recruiters won’t connect the dots for you. You must clearly show how your past experience supports your new career.
A tailored, skills-focused CV is mandatory for career changers.
Transferable skills must be at the forefront.
Did you know that the average person is expected to change careers five to seven times in their working life? However, changing careers also comes with its unique challenges. While many candidates struggle to land jobs, the margin for career changers is even smaller. But do you know what is interesting? It is rarely a lack of skills that holds them back.
It is the CV.
Every career changer has the same challenge, and that is proving they belong in a new industry. And while you might have the skills, passion, and motivation, none of that matters if your CV fails to communicate your value effectively.
Switching careers also doesn’t mean starting from zero, and unfortunately, that is what the CVs of most career changers do.
That is why we’re going to reveal in subsequent paragraphs the most common CV mistakes career changers make so you can avoid them.
Making the CV too long to compensate for a lack of direct experience
Hiding Employment Gaps
Overexplaining the Career Change
Listing Every Job You've Ever Had
Failing to Use Keywords from the New Industry
Hoping Recruiters Will Connect the Dots
Not Showing Progressive Skill Development
Creating Separate Relevant and Other Experience Sections
Using Language That Signals Uncertainty
Not Tailoring Each Application
Focusing too much on job duties instead of relevant achievements
Ignoring Transferable Skills
Using an Outdated CV Format
Having an Unprofessional Email
Not including a Professional Summary
1. Making the CV too long to compensate for a lack of direct experience
More pages won't hide your lack of direct experience. It just annoys recruiters. Keep your CV to 2 pages maximum.
2. Hiding Employment Gaps
Don't leave blank spaces on your CV. Gaps look worse when unexplained. If you took time off to study, relocate, or care for family, briefly state it.
View How to Explain Employment Gaps
3. Overexplaining the Career Change
While you should acknowledge your transition, your CV isn't the place for your life story. Save the detailed explanation of your career journey for your cover letter and interviews.
4. Listing Every Job You've Ever Had
This is a common mistake career changers make. That job from 7 years ago isn't relevant. Focus on the last few years and only include earlier roles if they're directly relevant to your target position.
5. Failing to Use Keywords from the New Industry
Applicant tracking systems are usually used by recruiters and they scan for specific keywords. If the job posting mentions "agile methodology" three times and you have that experience but call it something else, you might get filtered out.
View How to Create an ATS-Friendly CV
6. Hoping Recruiters Will Connect the Dots
Don't make recruiters go through your entire work history to find out what is important. If you're transitioning from teaching to project management, your CV should show it clearly.
7. Not Showing Progressive Skill Development
Relevant certifications, courses, or degrees in your target field are gold. They show you've invested in making the transition successfully. Regrettably, the CV of most career changers lacks it.
8. Creating Separate Relevant and Other Experience Sections
We have seen some career changers make this mistake over and over again. This tells employers you don't think your experience is good enough. Instead, combine everything into one section and describe all your jobs in ways that relate to your new career.
9. Using Language That Signals Uncertainty
Words like "responsible for" are generic and do not sound convincing. Your CV needs strong power words such as, optimised, launched, designed, and transformed.
View 100+ Power Words to Make Your Resume Stand Out
10. Not Tailoring Each Application
Sending the same CV to every job is the fastest way to get rejected. As a career changer, you must customise each CV to emphasise the most relevant skills and experiences for that specific role and company. You can use MyJobMag CV Pilot to achieve this within seconds.
11. Focusing too much on job duties instead of relevant achievements
Your CV should show results, not just responsibilities. Show the impact you made. Instead of "Managed a team," write "Led a team that exceeded targets by 40%”.
12. Ignoring Transferable Skills
You have more relevant experience than you think. Leadership, communication, problem-solving, budget management, and analytical skills transfer across industries. Make these explicit rather than buried somewhere in your CV.
13. Using an Outdated CV Format
This is another mistake we see too often. Your outdated CV highlighting 10 years in finance won't help you land a marketing role. The world has changed, and if you are not using a modern format, recruiters will likely sideline you.
Try MyJob CV Builder now.
14. Having an Unprofessional Email
This applies to career changers as much as it does to every job seeker. Your email address is often the first thing recruiters see, so if it's unprofessional, it is likely to cost you. Email addresses like [email protected] or [email protected] should never be used.
15. Not Including a Professional Summary
Professional summaries highlight what you offer and why you're transitioning. This makes them far more valuable for you as a career changer.
View How to Write a Good CV in South Africa
Your previous experience isn't a liability. It's proof you can learn and adapt. The key is framing it correctly. Highlight transferable skills and show your progressive development in the new field. Don’t forget to also tailor every application using CV Pilot.
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