Are you making a career change? Maybe from one industry to another, or from one function to another. You’re probably excited, but at the same time, that little voice creeps in: How do I make my resume make sense to someone in a completely different world?
I’ve been there. In 2008, I was trying to break into industry from academia, right in the middle of a global financial crisis. I went to every job fair, handed out resumes to every recruiter I could find, but all I heard was:
“Well… you don’t have industry experience.”
Although it was true that I didn’t have direct industry experience, looking back, one of the biggest reasons I heard that response was because of my resume.
A resume is your message to introduce who you are and why you might be exactly the candidate they’ve been looking for, especially to someone who has never met you. It should make them feel you’re the right person for the role. Back then, I didn’t understand that at all. Instead, I handed out a seven-page CV crammed with everything I had ever done: my full education history, a long publication list, exhaustive skill inventories, every conference talk I’d ever given.
If I saw that kind of resume now, I’d pass. I would think, This candidate isn’t ready for industry at all. And now I understand exactly why recruiters felt that way.
It took me years to really learn what I was doing wrong and how to fix it. Here’s what I wish I had known then.
1. Speak Their Language
My first mistake was the seven-page CV. In the tech industry I was trying to enter, a one-page resume was the norm. That alone was a red flag that I didn’t understand how things worked in their world.
But it’s not just about length, it’s about language. Different fields use different words for similar work. One of my clients, who was moving from consulting to product operations, discovered that much of the actual work was the same, but the terminology was different. Once she replaced consulting jargon with product ops terminology, her resume immediately felt familiar and relevant to hiring managers.
Even if what you’ve done is exactly the same as what they do, you need to say it in their words. That choice of language signals that you understand their work and that you’ve done your homework.
2. Identify Your Transferable Skills
When you’re changing industries, it’s easy to assume your previous experience doesn’t count in the new context. But that’s rarely true. The skills you’ve built, such as problem solving, leadership, technical know-how, and communication, don’t disappear just because you’re pivoting. You just need to see them clearly.
From my physics background, here’s what I eventually realized:
- Analyzing experimental data → a strong foundation in problem-solving, statistics, and coding.
- Writing peer-reviewed journals → research, writing, and persuasive communication.
- Presenting at conferences → public speaking and technical presentation skills.
- Leading a research group → leadership, coordination, and project management.
The key is to start by mapping everything you’ve done to the core skills that matter in your new field before you even think about how to phrase them.
3. Translate Them Into Industry Keywords
Once you’ve identified your transferable skills, the next step is to express them in the language your new industry uses and in the exact keywords that will grab attention.
For example, I learned that “physics analysis” was meaningless to a hiring manager in tech, but “statistical analysis and coding in Python” was instantly recognizable.
- “Presented at international physics conferences” became “delivered technical presentations to audiences of 200+.”
- “Led a particle physics research group” became “managed cross-functional teams to deliver complex projects on tight deadlines.”
If you skip this step, you force the recruiter or hiring manager to mentally translate your background into their terms, and the truth is, most won’t take the time. Make the connection obvious.
4. Highlight Your Unique Strengths
Beyond the core skills, you bring something that most people in your target field won’t have. That unique edge often comes directly from your previous career, and it can set you apart if you present it the right way.
For example, I never knew my knowledge in hardware and Linux systems was useful in tech. It was just part of my work as an experimental physicist, so I didn’t think to include it. Those skills were rarely listed in job descriptions for data science roles, but in interviews, they became a surprising bonus.
If you’re not sure what your hidden strengths are, talk to people who understand both your current field and your target one. Informational interviews and networking can help you see yourself through the eyes of someone who knows what would stand out.
5. Show Your Passion
When I interview candidates making the jump from academia, the biggest red flag isn’t the lack of industry experience, it’s the lack of genuine excitement about the work. If your main motivation is “I want a higher-paying job,” that’s exactly what will come across. To a hiring manager, that suggests you might not truly care about the role or the company’s mission, and that you’re simply looking for a paycheck.
Hiring managers want people who are eager to contribute, curious about the challenges, and genuinely interested in the work. That enthusiasm can be the deciding factor between two equally qualified candidates.
So in your resume, and in interviews, make it clear why you’re making this pivot, what you’ve done to prepare, and what excites you about the problems you’ll get to solve.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, your resume is a message to someone who doesn’t know you at all. Picture that person sitting with your resume in hand. What do they want? What worries do they have about hiring someone from outside their industry?
Knowing that, decide what you want them to understand about you and present it in a way they can grasp immediately, without having to do any mental translation.
That’s when your resume stops being just a record of your past and becomes a bridge to your future.
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