Transferable skills are essential abilities that should be in your resume to improve your odds of landing that job with your potential employers. Chances are you already possess such skills, and adding them to your resume should be of utmost importance.
Also known as portable abilities, transferable skills that can be ‘transferred’ from one job to another. Essentially, they are those skills that can be across multiple job industries.
If you are applying for a new job, it would be best to include such skills in your resume under a separate section. Not sure which abilities you should have in your cv? The article below will help you understand more about transferable skills and how you can list them in your resume.
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What are Transferable Skills
Transferable skills are any abilities that you possess and are useful across a host of different industries. You could have acquired such skills during your education and work experience, including internships. Some examples of portable abilities include;
- Communication abilities such as listening, email writing, public speaking, and oral communication, customer service.
- Management abilities, such as supervision, writing reports, staff recruitment, organization, and training.
- Technical skills, also known as information technology, include computer competencies, necessary abilities such as installing or using software, and basic programs such as word and excel.
- Research and planning include skills such as problem-solving, setting goals, examining various needs and requirements, and data management.
- Interpersonal abilities and human relations include sympathy, cooperation, assertiveness, respect, and offering support to others.
- Organization skills include coordination, managing groups, leading, multitasking, effective time management, and coordinating tasks, to mention a few.
Such abilities are not limited to the ones listed above. They could also include soft skills. Soft skills are highly demanded, with 97% of all employers stating that they were more critical than other abilities. So, it would be in your best interest to develop soft skills or list them down in your resume to impress the hiring managers.
Nonetheless, it would be best if you identified your transferable skills and included them in your resume. According to many studies, most people will have at least three different careers in their lives, picking up different transferable skills. It is up to you to figure out what these skill abilities are and use them to land your dream job.
Should You Include Transferable Skills in Your Resume?
Portable abilities help you market yourself to the hiring manager(s). But this doesn’t mean that they should appear in every job application you send. It is critical to identify which abilities employers are looking for and include them in your resume.
Remember, recruiters are spending less time going through applications. On average, managers spend about 6 to 30 seconds reading a resume. So, it would be in your best interests to list down all information relating to the job and discard information that is not.
With that said, you should add transferable skills if you are new to the job industry. For instance, recent college graduates who have little to no job experience could benefit from adding portable abilities.
Many people tend to think that lack of experience is the determining factor in securing a job. This is not always the case, as employers are also looking for employees with great potential. In this case, it would be beneficial for you to demonstrate the necessary transferable skills that you have already developed.
How to Write Transferable Skills on Your Resume
Many candidates opt to use a resume builder to produce a resume tailored to their needs or requirements. There are many perks of having someone write my resume for me; you get to save on time. Writing a resume could take you anywhere between a few days to several weeks.
Secondly, such services are professional and usually done by people who know what employers are looking for in a cv. As a result, you will have a well-drafted resume that increases your odds of landing that job.
A study showed that 68% of candidates who applied for a job secured it after 90 days with a professionally written resume. The success of your job application rests with your ability to submit a professional resume. However, if that is not an option, then you should take your time to draft a proper resume.
You can add these skills to both the resume and cover letter. Remember that there are differences between the cover letter and the resume. On your resume, you have several options. But first, analyze the job description. This will help you get a better understanding of the abilities that you’ll need.
To do this, you could start with the keywords. If you don’t use specific words, phrases, or codes in your resume, it might never pass the screening phase. If an employer mentions specific words in their job advertisement or job description, it is fair to assume that those are the set of skills they are interested in.
First, you could put them down underneath the summary section. The summary section is often at the top of the resume. Simply add ‘bullet’ points and title the section ‘core qualifications’ or ‘Skills.’ You could also add this information to the resume summary as part of the abilities that guided experience in a certain job post.
Secondly, you could add transferable ski8lls on your cover letter. Here you’d want to focus on the job description and choose the relevant qualities and qualifications. In the same way, indicate how these abilities made it possible for you to work competently in a given job post.
Transferable Skills During the Interview
If you get shortlisted for an interview, you could use this opportunity to highlight your transferable skills. It would be best to answer the questions demonstrating your abilities. Remember to ‘show’ not ‘tell’ during the interview. Provide stories that detail the prowess of your transferable skills.
Conclusion
The job application process is often frustrating and challenging for most individuals. However, that doesn’t have to be your case. Whether you are planning on joining the workforce in a new industry or you are merely looking for a better job, listing down your portable abilities significantly puts you at a slight advantage with potential employers.
Failure to list them down only reduces your opportunity to impress recruiters. Remember, such skills also point out to an extensive work experience which employers are always looking for. Be confident in your own abilities, and don’t miss a chance to impress those interviewing you.
So, what are you waiting for? Include them in your cv, and they might just tip the scales in your favor and land you that job.
