How to identify your transferable skills.
Transferable skills are one of the most valuable things you can identify before you start your job search or build your career plan. If you know your transferable skills, you can access jobs that no one else can and you can work almost anywhere - gaining access to what we call the “hidden job market.”
Yet almost everyone struggles with identifying them. They just freeze when someone asks what their transferable skills are or they answer with characteristic traits like adaptability, perception, or reliability. But these are traits, not skills.
Transferable skills tend to be things you are either naturally gifted in or that you had to work hard to sharpen over several years. They are almost always verbs. Things like: creating, innovating, analyzing, and coaching could all be transferable skills.
Here are four tips for flushing out your transferable skills:
Don’t overthink them. Keep it simple stupid.
Claim the highest level of skill you legitimately can. Don’t set yourself up to fail, but this is not the time for modesty either. And remember, transferable skills are hierarchical.
Skills typically work together or build upon one another. If you list one, you most likely can claim several others beneath that skill or that complement it.
Don’t confuse skills with traits and knowledge bases.
Transferable skills almost always revolve around people, data/information, and things/processes.
Looking for verbs to get you going?
Leadership Skills
assessed
developed
coordinated
directed
executed
founded
hired
implemented
managed
oversaw
recruited
supervised
led
motivated
persuaded
connected
Mentor Skills
adapted
coached
conducted
educated
explained
encouraged
inspired
instructed
trained
Technical Skills
built
improved
discovered
implemented
repaired
solved
controlled
expedited
constructed
set-up
Data Skills
innovated
created
designed
synthesized
organized
computed
compared
observed
compiled
Are the big career sites duping you?