Are Transferable Skills Important
As the job market continues to tighten, having a competitive edge over other job seekers is key. When transferable skills are used correctly, they can help you differentiate from your peers. Sadly, the way most job seekers write and talk about transferable skills has recruiters and hiring managers tuning them out. In this article, we break down:
what a real transferable skill looks like,
how much transferable skills really matter,
how to identify the transferable skills you should discuss,
how to write transferable skills in your resume, and
how to talk about transferable skills in an interview
What is a transferable skill?
Most people feel paralyzed when they hear the words “transferable skills.” This fear stems from a misunderstanding of what the words mean and it’s shared by recruiters, hiring managers, and “resume-writing experts.”
Many people confuse transferable skills with traits. Many “experts” call them soft skills as well and include things such as high energy, attention to detail, determination, working well under pressure, dependability, and creativity. These are not transferable skills. These are traits. Traits describe the manner in which you perform a skill. They are not a skill themselves.
True transferable skills are not industry or technical knowledge-based. They are not tied to a particular job, responsibility, or task. For example, if you were a financial analyst, you may possess the technical skill of building financial models. A transferable skill you may possess would be synthesizing data. And a trait you may possess might be attention-to-detail. In this instance, your technical skill is knowledge-based and specific to the type of work you do. Your transferable skill of synthesizing data, however, transcends any industry or job function. And the trait of attention to detail is the manner in which you may perform both technical and transferable skills.
Transferable skills can be divided into categories
Transferable skills can be divided into 3 categories which Sidney Fine developed in conjunction with a project for the U.S. Department of Labor. Transferable skills are what you can do with people, information, and things. For example, you may be able to negotiate with people, analyze data, or set up portfolios. Thinking about transferable skills in categories will help you identify yours.
Transferable skills are hierarchical
Within each category of transferable skills, there is complexity. Staying with our financial analyst example, a first-year analyst may only be able to compare data. A second-year analyst may be able to analyze that data. A third-year analyst may be able to synthesize that data. Comparing data is very simple; whereas, synthesizing data is much more complex and requires a higher degree of transferable skill.
Unlike traits, transferable skills are developed over time in a similar manner to technical skills. Increasing your transferable skills will also eliminate the competition you face during a job transition. You’ll want to claim the highest level of skill you can.
Why are transferable skills important?
Everyone who is qualified for a job possesses the same technical skills. In order to successfully make a job transition or career change you will have to do three things: resonate with employers, differentiate from your peers, and substantiate your claims. Transferable skills can give you the edge you need to get noticed and differentiate. Where you may hold the same technical skills as your peers applying for the role, your unique background comes with a unique set of transferable skills.
For example, all things being equal, an employer may find it more attractive to hire a manager who can mentor team members over a manager who only has the transferable skill level of supervising. There is a difference. Supervising is lower on the hierarchy of transferable skills.
Transferable skills may also help you compensate in areas where you lack technical skills. You won’t want to ignore these in your resume and in your interviews.
How to identify your transferable skills
In an Optim Resume survey of nearly 500 professionals, we found that ninety-five percent of professionals don’t know their transferable skills. To identify your transferable skill start by writing down situations you’ve encountered in your professional and advocational life. Write down:
the goal you wanted to accomplish
the obstacles and challenges you faced
the step-by-step process you took to accomplish the goal
the measurable outcome or results you realized
Now you can analyze each situation for any transferable skills with people, information, or things. Keep track of how often the same transferable skills are involved in each of your situations and this will help you rank them.
Should you include technical skills or transferable skills on your resume?
In a recent Optim study that surveyed recruiters, nearly every recruiter said they never search for transferable skills or traits when scanning resumes. So if you’re losing sleep over having an ATS-optimized resume with transferable skills, you can sleep tight tonight. However, a majority of recruiters and hiring managers stated that they prefer to see transferable skills illustrated in a resume.
Following the resume advice of cramming transferable skills or traits into a core competencies section appears to be a losing strategy based on this most recent study. Yet a majority of the resumes seen by our resume writers have this section with these skills and traits. You may want to consider using this real estate for something else and not wasting space based on outdated resume practices.
We like to think that the reason so many resumes have these irrelevant buzzwords is that job descriptions are often littered with them as well. Identifying essential skills from a job description can be helpful, but don’t copy the poorly written job description into your resume. It won’t resonate with your audience. Instead, look for ways to show off your transferable skills. Specificity breeds clarity and clarity win job interviews.
Instead of writing that you are an excellent negotiator or that you can negotiate deals. Try writing about the size of deals you’ve negotiated or how much additional money you’ve made or saved a company because of your negotiation abilities.
If you want to convey your oral communication skills, instead of writing that you are an excellent communicator in a skills section, you could write about how you spoke with 40 clients per day and sold something to 40% of them in a one-call close.
If you’re changing careers, a cover letter can also be a great place to highlight your transferable skills and traits, but make sure you don’t repeat what is in your resume. Regurgitating your resume into a cover letter will waste your time and won’t impress the employer.
Showing off transferable skills during your interview and beyond
The importance of transferable skills doesn’t end with a resume and cover letter. These are skills you will want to continue to reinforce throughout the hiring process. Similar to your resume, success will happen when you illustrate these skills. It’s not enough to tell someone you have them. Treat every interaction as an opportunity to show them off.
If you are good at researching, how well did you research the company before the interview? Were you able to show off those research skills during the interview?
If you are good with oral communication, how well did you communicate concise messages in your interview? Did you show executive presence? If you can’t hold your own in the interview, then how will you hold your own presenting to the board of directors next month when they hire you?
Do you have good negotiation skills? Did you ask smart follow-up questions based on what was being said in the interview? Did you dig to find points of collaboration and similar interests?
Do you have great follow-up abilities? Did you send a thank you letter after the interview?
Seize every opportunity during the interview to show off your transferable skills. Actions will speak louder than words and they will be your key to getting hired with transferable skills.
In Summary:
Transferable skills are different from traits and technical skills
Knowing your transferable skills is key to differentiating yourself from other job seekers
Transferable skills can be categorized and are hierarchical
Writing transferable skills in a core competencies section of your resume is a waste of valuable real estate
Finding ways to show off your transferable skills will go further than simply stating you have them
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