Position yourself to be competitive

While you should address your transferable skills in your cover letter, your resume is the real meat of your application. The better you position yourself as a competitive candidate, the more likely you’ll get a chance to show them what you’re made of in an interview. This is particularly true when you are applying for a job in which you have little or no experience.

Summarize all your experience:

• Think of your resume as a marketing piece
• If you use your resume to tell only your career history, rather than your range of capabilities, the likelihood of getting a call back without related experience is slim.
• Write a dynamite Title or Objective
• If you don’t include an objective on your resume, and have unrelated experience,
  you might come across as unfocused or undecided about what you want to do.
  A well summarized title or a clear objective will definitely get attention.
• List your education higher up on your resume
• If you studied something relevant to what you’re applying for, and don’t have related experience, your education should be listed just under your title or objective.
  Consider listing your education higher up if you have an advanced degree (MS, PhD, etc.).
  Even if it’s completely unrelated it shows that you have excellent resiliency, perseverance, and commitment.
• Include a Profile or Highlights section after your Title/Objective
  and/or Education section
• This is a perfect place to put a spotlight on your most relevant transferable skills. List your best accomplishments and most related experience that you have to offer.
• Use a functional rather than a chronological resume
• With a functional resume, you can emphasize your experience and your skills. You can strategically list each experience in the order of the job description. This bit of subliminal guidance can really pay off and make your resume stand out from others.
• Remember to include skills and experience you have obtained from
  non-paying jobs
• Being a member of PTA or managing your son’s baseball team are both examples of experience that requires excellent leadership and organization. Any skills obtained from volunteering, traveling or hobbies are important life-learned skills that can help
  show your aptitude.
• Include your strongest interpersonal skills
• Regardless of how different the job is from what you have been doing, interpersonal skills you have developed from prior positions are essential for every job. Make sure to include the skills most relevant to the position, such as time-management for a project manager position, or confidentiality for an HR position.
• After completing your resume, make sure to look it over in the eyes
  of the hiring manager
• Would you hire yourself? If there is something lacking that you can’t work into your resume, try to address it in your cover letter.