I was a paralegal for 12 years and after two lay offs and many temporary positions I decided to follow my passion and go back to school for computers. I am done with classes and have earned an associates degree in computer networking.

I think people see my resume with all of my law firm experience and think they are intimidated by how much I probably expecting to be paid for an entry level position in IT. How do I express that on my resume. That I realize that I have changed or am changing careers and don't expect what I was making as a paralegal. I realize and am very humble that I will have to start at $9.00 - $15.00 an hour as an entry level help desk technician or desktop support technician.

Any suggestions?

Reply by Peter Fisher

If you are committed to this change you must 'play down' your paralegal experience and focus on the IT career you want.

You need to write career change resume which is a very specific tool, quite unlike a 'normal' resume so you must approach it's creation differently.

Here are some resume writing and layout tips to make sure that this new style resume is up to the job of getting you to interview where you can tell them very clearly why you want to change and what your expectations are..

Now, because the aim of this document is very different from that of a normal chronological resume, in other words the aim is to help you move into a different career, then the recent paralegal career history becomes less important than the IT skills you have since developed.

These skills must be presented in a way that supports your career objective, so starting at the top:

Under your name, address and contact details you MUST add a targeted, job-specific career objective statement. This is a clear statement of intent, so spell it out by saying exactly what job you are pursuing. This way there is no confusion about what you want to do from the start of the resume.

Next on your career change resume it is best to add a bulleted skills section. This is a short list that helps hiring managers quickly see that you have the requisite skills for the job. Only include those skills that are directly relevant to the new job and leave out any that you may have but are unrelated to your new objective.

Write a personal profile summary. Focus clearly on the skills and qualifications that are required for the new job. Get as much information about the intended role as you can so that you can understand the depth and level of skills and personal attributes needed. When you are clear weave your own qualifications into the personal profile statement of your career change resume.

Remember any experience that is relevant, regardless of where it comes from such as volunteering or even hobby work, can add significantly to your presentation and thus increase your chances of getting the role you want.

Many jobs, although different on the surface, have common skills requirements and these core skills are also your most transferable skills. For example you may include: communication skills, project management skills, customer service delivery, and excellent organizational skills as these would apply to so many jobs.

The most important part of this though is not to just claim the skill but to provide evidence to substantiate the claim, quantify your resume results wherever possible.

Stick to these tips for your career change resume and you will be very pleased with the outcome of your efforts.