Field guide
Resumes for a career change in Australia
A career change resume has one job: explain why your existing experience is useful in the new field, without pretending you have already done the new work.
What this work looks like
The reader's first question is "why are they applying for this?". Answer it in your opening lines.
Your old job titles may mean nothing in the new field; the tasks underneath them often do.
Any study or short course you have started is worth listing with its actual status.
Some fields require credentials before you can be considered — check before you apply.
Roles people commonly apply for
- Moving from trades into supervision or safety
- Moving from hospitality or retail into administration
- Moving from care work into health administration
- Moving from driving or logistics into operations
- Returning to work after time away
What to put in your resume
- Open with two or three plain lines saying what you are moving into and why.
- Translate duties into the new field's language — but only tasks you genuinely performed.
- List study honestly: "enrolled", "in progress", "completed 2024".
- Do not hide your previous field. It reads as evasive and it always comes up.
Confirm these for yourself
We never add a ticket, clearance or qualification to your resume unless you have entered it yourself. These are the ones worth checking before you apply.
- Whether the new field requires a licence, registration or clearance you do not yet hold
- Whether your qualification is recognised for the role
- Whether an entry-level role is a more realistic starting point
- Whether a short course would remove the main barrier
Skills that carry across
- Supervising and training people
- Budgets, stock or cash responsibility
- Scheduling and planning
- Customer and stakeholder relationships
- Safety and compliance habits
Other guides
FIFO and roster work
Fly-in fly-out and drive-in drive-out applications: tickets, medicals and roster fit.
Mining and resources
Operations, trades, support and administration on and around resource sites.
Trades
Qualified tradespeople, apprentices and trades assistants.
Construction
Site-based work from labouring to supervision.