How do I identify my transferable skills?
Or how a job change differs from a career change
I asked ChatGPT what the first 10 questions are that career changers ask. Number TWO on the list was - surprisingly? - about transferable skills
I’m currently in a pivot in my business. This is why my inspiration for these posts comes squarely from ChatGPT.
UNLESS - of course - YOU tell me what YOUR burning questions are about career change!
Next week: What industries are currently hiring?
What questions would YOU like answering in this newsletter?
So, let’s talk about transferable skills
I once went to this International Women’s Day event.
I was sat next to a woman. As we got talking she told me that she worked for a well-known chain of shops.
She was - I believe - a buyer. She made sure that the right goods were on the right shelves in the right shops at the right time.
She had been there for a while, was highly regarded, had climbed the ladder, but was unhappy. More than that, she was STUCK. She FELT stuck.
Why? Because she felt that her skills were specific. So specific and technical that she would never be able to move from ‘her’ chain of shops anywhere else. She believed she was chained (ha!) to that shop.
Transferable skills? She didn’t think she had them. A career change? Therefore not on the cards.
So I get it, this question. I get why you ask it. At the same time I’m also bemused. Why? I’ll tell you.
What are transferable skills?
But let’s start here: because what ARE transferable skills?
Transferable skills are those skills that you can use in ANY job or career. Which is incredibly useful if you want to move to another job, or if you’re contemplating a career change.
Your transferable skills have most likely developed in your work, but might also be developed in your personal life or voluntary work or caring duties.
The more varied your work is and the more you work with or within different departments, with different ideas, with different people, the more varied the experience (and the skills) you gain will be.
Technical skills
Remember my example with the lady who worked as a buyer?
I have no doubt that she had a raft of so-called technical skills. She probably knew how to operate the business-specific IT systems. She knew the business processes of the company inside out and knew how to navigate her way around those. She probably had specific technical knowledge of HOW buyers buy, what customers (THEIR customers) wanted and of the markets buyers operate in. She might have done some buyer-specific courses to help her do her job and had a whole raft of certificates and qualifications to her name.
These TECHNICAL skills are useful, yes, in the company you work in. And if you were to move into a similar job they would be very useful there as well.
But.
They’re also the ones that go out of date quickly. That regularly need to be updated. That are industry or job specific.
Technical skills are immensely important in LOTS of jobs. But are most definitely not the ONLY skills you’ve got.
Non-technical (transferable) skills
A while back I had a rant against the use of the term ‘soft’ skills. There’s no such thing, I said.
In fact, I called those so-called ‘soft skills’ LEADERSHIP skills.
Sticking with the lady from the well-known high street chain, I bet that - as part of her job - she had picked up a whole lot of those skills too:
Communications - Communicating with her managers, customers, suppliers, colleagues and teams would give her a varied skill set, enabling her to talk to lots of different people and communicating clearly to get the job done.
Reliability - Building trust amongst her co-workers, customers and suppliers, so that they know they can rely on her to deliver
Organisation - Being able to organise her work so that she can meet deadlines.
Collaboration - The ability to work together with others to get projects organised and delivered, including communicating clearly and openly, building relationships and listening to others’ input.
Solving problems - I bet her day doesn’t always go smoothly. So the ability to solve problems when they occur is vital!
Relationship building. Creating trust. Being authentic. Communicating concisely, authentically, honestly, openly, transparently. Team building. Efficiency. Decision-making. Conflict resolution. Empathy. Coaching.
I could go on, but you get what I mean. When I pointed these non-technical, ‘soft’ (grrr) skills out to her, she looked at me as if I was from Mars.
My point is: we can get so wound up in our view of the world and of our (higher?) regard for technical skills (or the diploma or certificate to PROVE that you’ve got these skills) that we forget about these HIGHLY desirable and HUGELY effective transferable skills.
Looking inward - first
In my very first paragraph I pointed out that I was surprised that this question - about transferable skills - came out as number TWO on the list of most-asked questions when it comes to changing careers.
But on second thought, it probably isn’t that surprising.
You see, changing your CAREER is different from changing JOBS.
But often we approach it the same way.
What do you do when you change jobs? Let me take a guess. You look around the job boards, talk to recruiters, figure out which company you’d like to work for, fire up your network, update and tailor your CV and LinkedIn profile to the job you want, you apply and off you go!
In other words, when you change jobs you look OUTSIDE for the answer.
No wonder then that you take the same approach when it comes to changing your career.
And don’t get me wrong, as part of changing your career you WILL look outside at one point: to get inspired, to get curious, to get information, to see what’s possible and finally to get a job.
But NOT BEFORE you get clear on what you WANT first.
Which is something you might not have considered for a LONG time. And - quite frankly - isn’t something we’re used to doing. Maybe even have forgotten the art of.
Growth mindset
I’m going to make a statement here: skills are just skills.
In other words: skills can be LEARNED. ANY skill can be learned.
If you believe this too, then you have embraced a Growth Mindset. A growth mindset is when you believe that you can grow your abilities, talents and - yes - skills, through dedication and hard work, learning and persistence.
If you embrace a growth mindset in your career change journey you will see that - as opposed to finding a job - the order of events is more like this:
Do an inventory of your current strengths and skills (looking inward)
Find out what you WANT (looking inward)
Clarify what skills you NEED (looking outward)
If there’s a gap between your current skills and the required skills resolve to learn new skills
This is a HUGELY simplified way of saying this: when you and I work together in my Career Freedom programme the focus will be on YOU first.
THIS is your opportunity to create a career which makes best use of your existing STRENGTHS.
Once you’ve determined what you WANT to do, you can determine the SKILLS you need to develop to get there.
Identifying your transferable skills
So, let’s get down to the ‘how’ of identifying your transferable skills.
Make a list
Make a list of all the jobs you’ve had, voluntary positions you’ve held, work you’ve done, and identify what SKILLS you’ve had to use to do your work and achieve your goals.
Identify your STRENGTHS
The difference between skills and strengths? Is in how much you LOVE doing that particular thing.
You might - because of your current job - be very proficient in doing one thing, but absolutely HATE it. That’s a skill, not a strength. And not a skill you’d like to build the next - AWESOME! - steps in your career on. (Or do as little of as you can get away with. Am I right?)
Similarly you might do something, effortlessly, without you even noticing yourself doing it. There might be something people always come to you for (advice? moral support? ideas?). Make sure to include these strengths in the list!
Go on informational interviews
Have you identified what career you’d like to move into - but don’t know what skills and strengths you need?
Go and find out! In the Career Freedom coaching programme this is a KEY element of you ‘testing’ your career ideas: hold informational interviews.
(‘What even ARE informational interviews?’ I can hear you say? Read my article here).
There is no better source of information than talking to someone who has done this before. They might be able to tell you what skills are required, what the job involves, how THEY got there and *might* even be able to tell you about opportunities coming up!
Check competencies
Once you’ve identified your strengths and skills AND have figured out what career you’d like to change into, there are some ways in which you can ‘tailor’ the skills and strengths to highlight in your CV and LinkedIn profile.
A simple way to do this is to check job descriptions and anticipate the competency-based interview questions you might get.
You can even use ChatGPT to provide you with some examples of competencies that give you some clue to what will be asked for (here is a question I asked ChatGPT):
Learning new skills
Did I mention the growth mindset? Yes, yes I did.
Once you identify a career you’d like to move into - but don’t (yet) have the required skills - then THIS is what you do: you start learning them.
Some of your new skills can be learned by doing a course, a programme or even embarking on a study.
Some of your new skills might have to come from working in an environment where you can learn those skills by doing. Which might mean that you might want to find ways of volunteering to do different things at work or in a voluntary capacity (project management skills, relationship building) or doing things DIFFERENTLY at work (building trust, reliability, emotional intelligence).
And some skills you’re going to have to learn ONCE you’re in the new job (like when you set up your own side-hustle or business).
Conclusion
Transferable skills ARE important - and you probably have more than you know.
But crucially:
I believe that you are able to develop ANY skills if you set your mind to it.
What’s more important is that you determine what you WANT first, based on your STRENGTHS and your VISION for your career (and life).
Before finding out how to bring out your transferable skills on CV/resumes and LinkedIn profiles to land your dream job.
CLARITY on your career direction BEFORE creating a STRATEGY on how to get there.
That’s what I’m saying.
Until next time!
Tineke X
P.S. I’ve JUST started a next round of the LIFE-CHANGING, impactful mental fitness Positive Intelligence GROUP programme, the last one of 2024. Have you missed it? Express your interest for the NEXT round here:
P.S.2. Are you on a crossroads in your career? Do YOU want to get clear on your career direction? Be supported in making THAT a reality?
With my Career Freedom coaching programme that’s EXACTLY what we’ll be doing!
Want to know more? Book a free call in which we can discuss YOUR specific situation and you can ask me all your questions:
And now for something a bit FUN!
Doodle YOUR Journey
Have you EVER had trouble telling someone your career story? Do you feel that talking about your accomplishments is like bragging? Do you just not feel confident talking about yourself?
You're not alone. Even the most accomplished, successful women I talk to in my Visual Coaching sessions stumble when I ask them about the things they feel PROUD of or they're GREAT at.
THAT's what we'll be changing with my Doodle YOUR Journey workshop!
In one FUN afternoon you will:
Learn to draw some basic icons that you can use in YOUR 'Visual Bio'
Practise talking about your strengths and achievements, without feeling 'icky' about it
Use a fun template to chart YOUR career journey
Meet like-minded, creative women
Have FUN
AND take away a GREAT reminder of a GREAT career (so far)!
Come and join us in a joyful celebration of YOUR career for this truly one-off opportunity at this price.
Saturday 30 November 2024 at 2 pm UK time
Cost: £49
Other things of interest:
Books
Read the latest book review here: Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale
Article
Why Gen X women are primed to leave corporate for entrepreneurship
The Art of Persuasion hasn’t changed in 2000 years
🔴🟡🟠
Tineke Tammes is a Career & Creativity Coach and supports professional women in making successful transitions to careers of Freedom, Flexibility and Fulfilment! Besides that she is also a lifelong feminist, part-time portrait artist, never-only-read-one-book-at-any-time reader, and obsessive doodler.
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Thank you for this Tineke. You have described and explained something I 'knew' but had never articulated with much clarity. I will be going back to this one regularly I think 😀