Transferable Job Skills

Have you ever worked collaboratively with a team to produce a measurable result, or stood in front of a group of your colleagues and higher-ups to present on an initiative your department had been working on, or even launched a social media campaign to raise awareness regarding the issues your community was facing?

The skills you applied to these scenarios are called Transferable Skills and they are soft skills that we all possess and use in our day to day lives that employers recognize as being key in successful employees.

As you grow within a company or organization, you gain various skills that help you fulfill the tasks and responsibilities that are expected of you. You also gain various skills from participating in hobbies and extra-curricular activities like volunteering or playing golf with your buddies on the weekends.

Transferable skills are the skills you possess that can be used regardless of what position or industry you are in. These skills can be transferred or moved from one position to another. These skills are also what employers seek in strong candidates. 

Some examples of transferable job skills are:

• Communication Skills 

This skill involves conveying information to others through speaking, writing or in another medium. Someone who has strong communication skills knows how to interpret body language, how to handle people in many contexts, and when or how to ask questions.

• Critical Thinking

This skill involves thinking clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. Someone who has critical thinking skills knows how to engage in reflective and independent thinking.

• Creativity

This skill involves developing new ideas that they can bring to life. Someone who is creative work with their ideas and produce tangible results.

• Teamwork

This skill involves working with your fellow employees in all kinds of situations. Empathy and maturity are being shown if you have this skill. Someone who knows the essence of teamwork can help other team members to achieve goals effectively and efficiently. 

• Leadership

This skill involves dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and inspire to act towards a common goal. Someone who has leadership skills not only knows how to lead but also knows how to listen. They practice accountability and they serve as a good example to those they lead.

• Multitasking

Multitasking encompasses organization and time management skills. This skill works to keep things in order and effectively manage various tasks and deadlines.

Identifying and utilizing your transferable skills is one of the keys to landing your dream job. 

So, how do you utilize your transferable job skills within your job search? You can integrate them within your resume, cover letter and convey them during an interview, but not as standalone skills. You don’t just tell your prospective employer that you have transferable skills. You show it by giving examples of how you applied your transferable skills in your previous work experience to get results. 

This could be showing them how you used your creativity to come up with a new social media campaign, or how through your leadership your team was able to get results. You can also share situations that tested your critical thinking or teamwork skills. These essential but sometimes forgotten skills can help you stand out among job applicants. 

What transferable skills do you possess? Let me know in the comments. 

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