𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬

𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬

💡Transferable skills go wherever you go.

💡They are skills you can take from one job to the next, or one industry to another.

💡They don’t come with a special title.

💡Transferrable skills are the skills you look for when planning to change careers or industries.

💡They are sometimes called core competencies, soft skills, or hard or technical skills.

Making a career change does not always mean you should go back to school. You should review job descriptions from the industry you want to target and take note of the skills they are looking for. Ask yourself if you have ever used any of those skills and in what situations. You might discover that you have lots of transferrable skills to include in your resume, cover letter and in your networking conversations.

Here is a short list of transferrable skills that may remind you of when you actually used them:

𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Adapt and respond to changing conditions or priorities.

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Take personal ownership and responsibility for quality of work. Demonstrate reliability and integrity.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Present, write clearly and concisely, persuade or influence others, negotiate.

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: Implement decisions, delegate responsibilities, make timely decisions even when information is unclear.

𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Keep an open mind to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking. Solicit and use feedback from multiple cultural perspectives. Work on diversity issues.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Motivate and inspire, manage groups, serve as a role model to others, engage or influence others.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: Develop multiple solutions and consider the pros and cons of each.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: Collaborate with others. Build strong, positive working relationships with team members and coworkers.

𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲: Adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies. Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity.

Want to learn how to identify your transferrable skills? Here are some ways to do so:

Find two job descriptions in your target industry. Choose the skills that you know you have, then write examples of how you used them.

Answer the following questions then make a note of the skills you used in each situation:

✅Was there a time when you did much more than what was on your job description?

✅Who are some of the people you admire and what are the qualities you admire in them? Do you have any of those qualities?

✅What special problem did you solve for your company? How did you do it?

✅Were you asked to lead or be part of a special project?

✅Did you receive any rewards or special recognition? What for?

Now that you are aware of what transferrable skills are, you are ready to explore a career change and even apply for a job you thought was out of reach.