Career Change Cover Letter – the Secret Weapon of a Midlife Career Change Job Applicant

It takes a fair bit of courage to make a career change at any time during one’s working life; that is especially true if a lot of study, time and expense have gone into that current career. However, to make such a career change in what some would call midlife takes even more courage; perhaps so much courage that the majority of people who consider taking the plunge never in fact do so.

There are some, though, who will find the courage and make that midlife career change; or at least, will make the attempt to do so. They face a big challenge from several viewpoints:

1. Friends, peers and family may see them as reckless and raise objections rather than offer the justified support.

2. It is inevitable that twinges of self doubt will surface at least occasionally in the job application process.

3. When they get around to submitting job applications and resumes, there will be resistance from many hiring managers who will fear hiring someone who has no track record in the particular career for which they are advertising a vacancy.

With a positive approach and determination those objections can all be overcome; indeed, they often are overcome, as people do actually make midlife career changes every day. But what is midlife as far as a career is concerned? For most people and employers, a work span is about 35, 40 or 45 years; say from 20-25 up to 60-65 years. That makes midlife so far as a working life s concerned as anything from the age of 40 to 45, but 35 and 50 would still be considered “midlife” by many employers.

That is all academic; what matters is the attitude of the potential employers, who may well see anyone over 30 as a bit on the old side. It is up to the one making the career change to convince the hiring manager that they are best suited to the job vacancy. That means making a big impression to get an interview, or even past the initial sifting of applications, most of which will be discarded without as much as a look at the resumes.

The secret to getting through the initial sifting of applications, so that your resume not only gets read but gets read thoroughly and with enthusiasm, is to compile a career change cover letter that stands out from the crowd. If you are not able to do think your chances of getting your resume read and being invited to interview are virtually nil, unless that is nobody else wants the job for which you are applying.