Making a big career change can be difficult, and the hardest part is finding a good place to start. Since your resume is often the first thing an employer sees, we called upon LinkedIn expert Blair Decembrele to give us her top 3 tips to ensuring that you grab the hiring manager’s attention–and are one step closer to scoring your dream job.
1. Take Stock of Your Transferable Skills
Think your current position’s title doesn’t reflect your worth? Here’s some good news: almost 90% of professionals feel that skills are more important than job titles. Meaning, it’s more important to emphasize what you can do, rather than what your previous role was called. How do you know which skills to emphasize? Resume Assistant provides the top abilities other professionals in your desired role and industry have, as well as job requirements from real job postings. You can then think about how your skills can be transferred to the role you want, and tailor your resume and LinkedIn profile accordingly.
2. Don’t Neglect Volunteer Experience
According to a recent LinkedIn study, almost 90% of professionals say success isn’t just about what you accomplish, it’s about what you inspire others to do. Highlighting your volunteer experience on both your LinkedIn profile and resume are great ways to round out your professional identity, and 41% of recruiters consider volunteer experience equally as valuable as paid experience when evaluating candidates. Doing good while also helping you stand out to a hiring manager? That’s a win-win in our book. 
3. Make Sure Recruiters Can Find You
When looking for a new opportunity, it’s important to make it as easy as possible for recruiters or hiring managers to find you. One way you can do this is connecting with companies to let them know that you’re interested in working there. Even if they don’t have an open position when you reach out, they will likely keep you top of mind when something opens up. Another way to let recruiters know that you’re looking for a new opportunity is by turning on Open Candidates in Resume Assistant. This feature on LinkedIn not only quietly signals to recruiters that you’re open to new opportunities, but also makes you twice as likely to hear from them.
*Edited by Molly West and Alexandra Pierson