Say the move in your summary
Name the role you are moving into and the experience that carries over. A reader should not have to guess why your past titles fit.
FREE RESUME TEMPLATE · DOCX AND PDF
Career change resume template
Skills and new-field projects come before your past roles, so the reader sees the move you are making before the job titles you are leaving.
Free, no account needed. Every placeholder is in [square brackets]; nothing in the file is a real person, employer or result.
[Your Name]
[Target job title in your new field]
[Email address] [Phone number] [LinkedIn or portfolio URL] [City, Country]
Summary
[Two or three sentences: the role you are moving into, the experience from your current field that carries over, and the training or projects that show you can do the new work]
Skills
[Transferable skill the new role asks for] [Skill from training in the new field] [Tool used in the new field that you have practised] [Second transferable skill] [Domain knowledge from your current field]
Projects
[Project in the new field], [Course, volunteer role or personal project][Month Year] – [Month Year]
- [What you did and the tools you used]
- [Outcome you can verify]
Professional Experience
[Current or most recent job title], [Employer name, City][Month Year] – Present
- [Achievement that shows a skill the new role needs, with a number you can verify]
- [Responsibility that carries over to the new role]
- [Cross-team work, training or process you can document]
[Previous Job Title], [Previous employer, City][Month Year] – [Month Year]
- [Most relevant achievement from this role]
Education
[Degree and subject][Year]
[University or college, City]
Certifications
[Course or certification for the new field][Year]
[Issuing organization]
Why this layout is ATS-friendly
- One column, no tables or text boxes. Text is read top to bottom in the order you see it; dates sit on a right-aligned tab stop, not in a table.
- Standard headings. Summary, Skills, Projects, Professional Experience, Education, Certifications: names applicant tracking systems and recruiters already look for.
- Real text, not images. Every word, including your name and contact details, is selectable text in the body of the page, not in a header, footer or graphic.
- Common fonts. The DOCX uses Calibri, which Word and Google Docs both offer. The PDF embeds Noto Sans with selectable text.
Applicant tracking systems differ by employer, so no template can promise how a particular one reads your resume. This layout avoids the features that most often cause trouble. Once you have filled it in, you can check it against a job description with the free ATS resume checker.
What to change for career changers
Name transferable skills the new field’s way
If the new field calls it “stakeholder management” and you did it as a teacher or engineer, use that wording, but only for work you really did.
Put training and projects before past roles
Courses, certifications, volunteer work and personal projects in the new field show you have already started. Projects sit above experience in this template for that reason.
Keep your real job titles
Never rename a past job. Choose the bullets under it that show the transferable work instead.
Keep your dates
Hiding dates rarely helps. A clear timeline with a clear reason for the change reads better than gaps.
Planning a specific move? Read the evidence-based plans for QA to business analyst and developer to product manager.
How to use it in Word or Google Docs
- Word: download the DOCX and open it. Replace every placeholder in [square brackets], then delete any section that does not apply to you.
- Google Docs: download the DOCX, then in Google Docs choose File → Open → Upload and select the file. Google Docs converts it into a document you can edit; check the spacing once it opens.
- Before you send it: search the document for “[” to catch any placeholder you missed, then save it as a PDF or DOCX, whichever the employer asks for. In Google Docs use File → Download.
The files are free to download and use; no account is needed. US Letter paper size (switch to A4 in Word under Layout → Size, or in Google Docs under File → Page setup).
Rather fill it from your confirmed facts?
ROLIVA’s Resume Studio uses this same single-column layout. Upload your current resume, review and confirm each fact it finds, then build a version for a specific role. Only facts you have confirmed are used, and nothing is added for you.
Build it from my confirmed factsHow Resume Studio works