Applying for a job is more than just ensuring you have the required academic background or technical knowledge. With so many people switching careers or jumping industries, having strong transferable skills can be a great asset to your career. Not only would you be a greatly sought-after candidate, but it will also help you to be agile and flexible in adapting to new careers.
While there are tons of transferable skills out there, we want to highlight these five important transferable skills. We will also share examples of how you can highlight these skills on your resume to help you in your future job applications.
#1 Strong verbal and written communication skills
Regardless of what industry you’re in, chances are that you will use a lot of communication skills in your day-to-day job. This may be internal communication (within your company) or external communication (with clients, customers, stakeholders, etc). You may also be tasked with writing tasks, such as writing reports, emails, presentations, and more.
Therefore, you need to be able to showcase strong verbal and written communication skills. Examples of these are as follows:
- Facilitated group discussions among 6 team members for our final-year project.
- Negotiated contract renewals with 10+ external vendors and partners, resulting in a 15% cost reduction.
- Produced monthly reports to analyze sales trends and presented them to the senior management team.
- Delivered monthly group training for approximately 20+ new staff on the organization’s IT and software.
#2 Leadership skills
Having strong leadership skills does not necessarily always mean being a leader of a team. It also involves your ability to influence, motivate, and guide others towards achieving a common goal. This can be demonstrated through your extracurricular activities or work experiences, such as:
- Led a group of 40 university student volunteers on a 2-week volunteer expedition to the Orang Asli community in Pekan, Pahang.
- Mentored new staff and interns during their first few weeks in the role, helping them to adjust to the workplace and teaching them the procedures and processes.
- Assisted the professor in conducting lectures and led weekly discussion workshops for approximately 30-40 third-year university students.
#3 Time management skills
No matter your role, having effective time management is key. In the workplace, you’ll be dealing with different projects at the same time, each with different deadlines. Good time management skills can greatly impact your productivity. Therefore, employers look for people who know how to prioritize tasks and manage their time well. Examples of this can be:
- Created and managed strict project timelines to ensure that the project was completed on schedule.
- Effectively balanced time between academic responsibilities as a university student while working part-time by keeping track of commitments and deadlines and completing assignments ahead of schedule.
- Utilized software such as Trello and Asana to manage the project’s deliverables and track progress.
#4 Teamwork skills
For most organizations, collaboration is the key to success. You need to be able to showcase your ability to work alongside other colleagues. Other related skills to teamwork include delegation, conflict management, and collaborative work.
- Collaborated with other student affairs departments to plan orientation activities for over 300 new students.
- Worked alongside 7 other team members to organize a weeklong fundraiser to raise over RM4,600 for a charity.
- Participated in the company-wide family day event, where I collaborated with colleagues from various other departments to plan and organize a 3-day-2-night retreat for over 2,500 staff from 10+ branches across Malaysia.
#5 Problem-solving skills.
In any given job, having strong problem-solving skills can go a long way. Your ability to analyze complex situations, identify areas of improvement, and propose solutions can bring value to the organizations. In this case, you can highlight examples such as:
- Developed a new checklist to streamline the new registration processes, effectively reducing the waiting time and improving customer feedback.
- Handled over 100+ customer calls and emails daily and strive to provide excellent customer service skills by attending to their problems within the 5-minute timeframe.
- Planned and implemented a new marketing campaign to promote the new product, effectively resulting in 4.2% more engagements and a 12% increase in sales.
Highlighting your transferable skills in your resume.
As you edit and improve your resume, ensure that you have taken the necessary steps to incorporate these skills in your work experiences. And if you are looking for an affordable resume review package, do let us know!