We’ve all heard the words ‘transferable skills’ and on the face of it, it seems pretty clear what the term means.
And yet one of the most common things people tell me is that they don’t know what their transferable skills are, or how they can help them make a change in their career. If this is you, read on…
What are transferable skills?
Transferable skills are skills that can be applied across various jobs and industries, allowing you to adapt to new roles and environments effectively. These skills are often grouped into hard skills and soft skills, although I prefer the terms technical skills and behavioural skills.
Technical skills include things like project management, data analysis, accounting, etc.
Behavioural skills include things like communication, teamwork, adaptability, etc (and there’s nothing ‘soft’ about these skills!)
Your skills are developed through experiences such as work, education, volunteering, or hobbies.
Why are transferable skills important in a career change?
With the rapidly changing nature of work transferable skills have become increasingly important, and employers may prioritise them above technical knowledge and experience because they provide a foundation that supports career flexibility and resilience.
You’ll usually see them stated in job adverts under headings of ‘Essential skills’ or ‘Desirable skills’.
Knowing, and being able to articulate your transferable skills and how you use them to achieve what’s needed, is crucial to demonstrate your value in any role.
How do I identify my transferable skills?
Your transferable ‘hard’ skills are probably the easier ones to identify. Think about WHAT you do, that you can do in another role. They are often connected with technical knowledge and may even be part of your job title. For example:
HR Recruitment Manager: your transferable skills include managing recruitment for an organisation.
Head of Marketing: your transferable skills include marketing and leading a marketing department.
Your transferable ‘soft’ skills are usually about HOW you work and you may need to think about these more. Breaking it down into steps can help.
Step 1:
Think about what you enjoy about your work and identify some specific examples. For example: “I really enjoyed leading the change project to implement our new learning strategy.”
Step 2:
Identify more specifically what you did:
“I spoke with Directors, managers and employees in different business functions to understand what they needed. I then presented my findings to the HR Directors to get their views. There were different views and I had to understand the common themes, potential obstacles and the opportunities. Then I had to balance everything against the strategic goals and the L&D budget. Once I had the agreement of HR and Business Directors I had to communicate the change to our employees and field their questions and concerns. Finally I led the project team to implement the change, working across different functions.
Step 3:
Get even more specific, breaking down what you did:
I asked questions that enabled me to get to the heart of what people needed from a Learning & Development function.
I listened to what people said so I could understand their feelings about the change, their concerns and the opportunities they could see.
I made sure I understood the organisations goals and the budget available for the change and the future team.
I analysed a lot of information and created a concise summary of the key points, aligned against strategic goals, to present to Directors for consideration. I delivered a presentation and a data pack for people with different communication styles / input preferences.
I led the project team to ensure all parts of the change happened when and how they needed to, to deliver the project on budget, on time and to the desired quality. This involved setting their goals, checking progress, giving feedback, providing development.
I kept all stakeholders up to date with progress, responding to questions, challenges and feedback throughout.
I worked with the organisations Internal Communications team to ensure all employees understood the changes and the benefits.
Step 4:
Identify the skills you used to achieve this. Skills from the above example include:
Consulting, Collaboration, Stakeholder engagement, Communication, Problem-solving, Strategic awareness, Leading change, Project management, Leading a team.
Step 5:
Create Challenge, Action, Result (CAR) statements for each skill:
Challenge: What was the business problem you needed to solve?
Action: What did you do?
Results: Quantify and / or qualify, linking back to the problem.
How do I use my transferable skills to find my new job?
Research your target career / role to understand the skills needed and how they are used. You can do this by reviewing job ads, talking with recruiters and talking with people already in that role.
Identify your achievements that used these skills. Create CAR statements to enable you to demonstrate how you use your skills effectively. Make these as relevant as possible to your desired role, for example is ‘Communication’ more about speaking, writing, presenting, influencing, etc?
Create a ‘master CV’ full of CAR statements for the skills you want to showcase.
When you find a role you want to apply for, use your master CV to create a tailored CV for that role.
Creating your CV to showcase your transferable skills
Consider the most useful style of CV – a ‘reverse chronological’ or a ‘skills / functional, style.
The skills / functional style can be really useful if you’re looking to do something quite different, because page 1 will focus on your skills and achievements relevant to the role rather than your career history which will be on page 2.
If using the reverse chronological style, add a Skills section that matches the needs of the role.
Use the exact terms from the job ad - for example Stakeholder management / Stakeholder engagement / Stakeholder relationships. This will enable your CV to get through the Applicant Tracking System screening.
If you’ve got an interview it’s because the hiring manager liked your CV and wants to learn more about you, and your skills and achievements.
Ensure you can confidently talk about how you've successfully applied these skills in different situations and the results you achieved.
Explain how these skills and your experiences will enable you to make an immediate impact in the new role.
Demonstrate your ability to adapt and learn quickly in new environments.
How to talk about your transferable skills in interviews
Making a career change can feel daunting; gaining clarity about your transferable skills and how you use them can bring you career change success.
If you’d like some help to identify your transferable skills book a Focus session (30, 60 or 90 minutes), or my Career Change Success programme for even more insight, support and resources.
Hi, I'm Karen Felton, your Strengths and Career change coach.
I love enabling people to understand their strengths and values, so they know what they want to do in their career and in their life and can find work that makes them happy.
When you understand your strengths and values, everything becomes clear and you can take your next steps with renewed confidence.
© 2020 by StrengthsCoachingOnline