Putting Your Transferrable Skills to Work

Hard vs. Soft Transferrable Skills

When it comes to transferrable skills, it is important to understand what that term means, how to identify them, and most importantly, how to put them to work. They are those valuable skills you have gained through your years of education, work experience, AND, non-work, or life experience. There are typically 2 types of work-related skills, hard and soft.

Hard transferrable skills include things like experience with computers and various platforms, second or even third language skills, a management background, and nowadays, any type of social media proficiency. Hard skills typically stem from so type of formal education or hands-on experience.

Soft transferrable skills do not necessarily rely on formal training. Many times, we develop these skills simply by living our daily lives. For example, written and verbal communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, and organizational skills can grow from running a household or raising a family. However, employers put a high value on these types of skills, so they should not be overlooked.

Transferrable Skills + Career Change

Whether hard or soft, these skills are a major benefit for the career changer. They help to establish your marketability and show your value to a potential employer. Therefore, it is crucial to include these skills on your resume and talk about them during interviews. 

Promoting your transferable skills is increasingly more important when seeking a career change or returning to the workforce. If your skillset is not ideal for the job, your transferable skills may help push you above the competition. After all, recruiters and potential employers are not your enemies. They are simply seeking well-rounded candidates they can feel confident in.

How to Identify Your Transferrable Skills

So, how do you identify your transferrable skills? This question is easier to answer when it comes to hard skills. You may have degrees, certificates, or experience in certain areas, all of which should be on your resume. However, soft skills are much harder to identify because we often don’t translate what we do daily as a skill.

One way to determine these skills is to ask someone you work with or a friend to identify the things they see in you in terms of your work ethic. Your work ethic can include your character, cooperation, productivity, teamwork, or communication. Each of these can be compared to a realistic transferrable skill that potential employers are looking for.

Another way to find out what your skills are is to take a skills assessment test. My personal favorite is the Competency Test produced by 123Test, and no, I’m not getting paid to say that. I just think it is one of the most comprehensive tests I’ve found so far. Similar skills assessment tests can be found on many of the job search sites you may be using.

The most important thing to remember is that not all transferrable skills stem from education. Be sure to include your life experience in there.

Putting Your Skills to Work

Now that you have identified your hard and soft transferrable skills, and taken an assessment, put those skills to work. List them on your resume and have a copy of them in front of you during phone/video interviews. Put your networking hat on, and tell everyone you know about what you can do. 

Transferrable skills are your marketing tools for the career change you are seeking. They send a clear message about you, and can even help give you some confidence. Show recruiters and potential employers what you can bring to the table…then bring it!

Visit the She Works For It Private Facebook Group for more information on changing careers, returning to the workforce, and assessing your skills.