Transitioning from military to civilian while recovering from bone cancer

Adrienne C. on May 3, 2014

Job Search, Resume Building and Writing

Hi, I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma while in the military. While it was a blessing in disquise to avoid all the exspenses I am now faced with my transition becoming a lot harder. I am limited with what I can do now since I had the cancer in my leg. I had to change my carrer goal from being a nurse to an accountant. Prior to joining the military I had already begun college with the concentration of pre-nursing. Since that is no longer possible and I am now applying to do bookkeeping/accounting which I have some experience with since it was a part of my job while in the military. I am not sure if it looks bad on my resume that I went to school for pre-nursing while applying for an accounting job. I am planning on attending school again but until I get my degree I am not sure how this will effect me in the mean time. Should I explain this in my resume or how do I make this look better?


2 Comments

Image of Sarah Goodell

Sarah Goodell

May 12, 2014

Cancer and Careers Staff Comment:

Hi Adrienne,

Thanks for writing to us and apologies for the delayed response. I have sent your question to our career coaches who will be in touch soon with their advice. In the meantime, I would recommend checking out our Job Search Toolkit (which can be downloaded or ordered for free here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new) as there is a lot of information in there about resume writing and career change.

Best,

Sarah, Cancer and Careers Associate Manager of Programs

Image of Julie Jansen

Julie Jansen

May 13, 2014

Career Coach Comment:

Hi Adrienne, 

I truly understand your concern about the perception people may have about your change of career direction however I assure you that most people won't think twice about it. People change their majors all the time in school and as long as you have a solid explanation for why you are now pursuing accounting (you found it rewarding in the military, etc.) you should not raise any red flags. 

I suggest that you also send your resume to Cancer and Careers for a review of your resume so I can make suggestions about how to strengthen it for applying for accounting jobs. I hope this answers your question, however if it doesn't please write back again. 

Take care, 

Julie

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