Unlock the Power of Transferrable Skills – Eat Your Career

Most professionals have heard of transferrable skills and vaguely know what they are, but few know how to truly build and leverage them for career advancement. Let’s change that!

What Are Transferrable Skills?

Transferrable skills are competencies that can be applied across various jobs, industries, and roles. Unlike technical skills, which may be specific to a certain job or field, transferrable skills are broadly applicable. They may be learned in one role but applied (in the future) in another.

Some common examples of transferrable skills include things like communication, leadership, problem-solving, adaptability, and critical thinking.

Why Are Transferrable Skills Beneficial?

Transferrable skills are not only necessary for your current success; they also help position you for success in the future. Whether you’re seeking a promotion, attempting to transition to a new field, or just interested in expanding opportunities in your current role, transferrable skills can help propel you to the next level. Here are some of their most important benefits:

• Career Mobility and Employability: Transferrable skills give you greater versatility and flexibility as a professional, making it easier to pivot to new opportunities or take on new responsibilities where you are. They indicate an ability to adapt to different types of work, making you a more attractive job candidate.
• Long-Term Career Growth: Transferrable skills transcend job titles and industries and help equip you to handle a diverse range of professional challenges no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
• Enhanced Performance: Transferrable skills make up the engine that runs beneath your professional success. Your ability to be productive, build relationships, and handle all manner of difficulty all rely on your transferrable skills.

How to Identify Your Transferrable Skills

Almost every experienced professional already possesses a wide range of transferrable skills. However, it can be hard to identify them.

Start by reviewing your work experience and assessing your various responsibilities, projects, and tasks. Try to break them down into the broader (non-technical) skills required.

For example, Jon, is a sous-chef. While his job primarily involves food preparation, Jon is also responsible for making sure the entire kitchen runs smoothly. Aside from the technical skills required, like working with kitchen equipment and handling food, Jon’s work has also given him a variety of transferrable skills like communication, organization, teamwork, decision-making under pressure, and leadership. Should Jon choose to transition to another field of work at some point in the future, he could leverage these skills in many different fields, including those not related to food service.

If part of your job is to complete expense reports, for example, that’s a job-specific skill. But the transferrable skills required to do that task may include attention to detail, problem solving, mathematical proficiency, critical thinking, and more. These transferrable skills may be applied to a number of different tasks (beyond expense reporting) in the future.

How to Develop Transferrable Skills

Simply by virtue of doing your job, you are developing transferrable skills. However, you can build them even further by doing the following:

• Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses: Conduct a self-assessment to recognize which transferrable skills you already have and where you may have some gaps to fill. Consider gathering feedback from supervisors, peers, or mentors who may have valuable insights to share.
• Seek Out New Experiences: Take on projects or roles that require different skills. Volunteering, mentoring, or joining cross-functional teams can help you develop abilities that may not be a focus in your current role.
• Invest in Training and Development: Participate in training sessions that can help build and refine transferrable skills. While the learning may not be directly tied to the specific current tasks of your job, it has broad application, and the skills you develop can be tailored to enhance your performance with a variety of tasks, both now and in the future.

How to Leverage Transferrable Skills in Your Career

Once you’ve identified and developed your transferrable skills, use them strategically by doing the following:

• Highlight them on your resume: Make sure your resume emphasizes these skills, backed up by specific examples, and connect them to the role you are seeking. Even if you don’t have specific experience doing the work, your transferrable skills offer proof that you are still qualified. These skills help prospective employers to see how your existing experience translates to the new role.
• Apply them to new tasks and projects: Use your transferrable skills to take on new responsibilities and stretch assignments in your current role. Again, even without direct experience, you can have confidence in your abilities based on your past experience in other areas.

Transferrable skills are an important asset for all professionals. By recognizing their value, actively developing them, and leveraging them strategically, you can position yourself for success now and in the future. Whether you’re navigating a career change or simply striving to excel in your current role, transferrable skills provide the flexibility and foundation you need to thrive.