I am in career transition.  I currently work in government but want to transition back into the private sector.  I am an older worker (49 yrs).  I don't know whether or not to include dates, how many years to go back on my resume, etc. I recently completed a biotech certification.  It is an immersion program for the lay person who does not have a science or technical background. My goal is to secure a sales/sales support position in the biotech or healthcare fields since I have many years of sales/customer service related experience. Please review and critique thank you. Sorry about any formatting issues. Improving and acquiring more computer and technical skills is also one of my goals.  I am not very saavy with social media and using it for my job search and networking.

Can't advise on sales or bio-services, and I'm guessing your computer skills are beyond what GFCLearnFree.org offers, but go look into it anyway.

Hi AquariusTravel,

Thanks for posting your resume! As far as how many years of experience to include on your resume, there's no "right" answer -- it depends on what positions you've held earlier in your career and how relevant they are to your current goal. Keep in mind that employers care most about your recent work history, so the last 10-15 years should be the focus. You can include your earlier positions, but you don't have to provide much detail.

Here are a few ways you can improve your resume:

- Edit the Job Objective so that it's short and sweet. So many people say they want a "challenging" and "rewarding" position that it's lost its meaning. You can even change it to a headline, like this:

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Career Goal: Biotech Sales Position
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- Change the format. I suggest using a "combination" resume instead of your current functional format. You can keep most of the content, just move the bullets from the functional categories to the correct employer. Keep it in reverse chronological format.

- Emphasize transferable skills. It will be very important to include skills and accomplishments that are relevant to your sales goal, especially for your current position. You have "trainer" in your job title, and training is often very important in the biotech sales field. Think about daily work tasks as well as job accomplishments that a biotech company would find desirable. You mentioned overseas work as well as TESOL experience -- do you have bilingual skills? If so, include that in the resume.

- Show that you're immersed in biotech. The Life Science certificate program is excellent. If you haven't done so already, start networking with people in the industry (LinkedIn is a great start - there are many biotech and pharma sales groups you can join). Read industry publications and stay up-to-date on biotech advances, products, laws, regulations, etc. Your resume can state that you are passionate about the field and keep yourself updated on changes in the industry.

Wishing you good luck with your career transition!

Thank you so much Kim for the helpful tips and advice. 

RaidenSim,

Your suggestions are very much appreciated and extremely useful.  Thank you very much for the critique.