Transferable skills

Believe it or not everybody and that means you has lots of transferable skills. Skills that have been acquired that can be used in a career that you feel passionate about. However, most people aren’t aware of their transferable skills and how they can be used in other careers.

Identifying your transferable skills

Have a look through different job adverts and a lot of skills employers are asking for are similar even for completely different jobs. Good communication skills, presentation skills, supervisory skills and organisational skills to name but a few. Print off some job adverts you are interested in and Tick of skills on them that you have. This will showyou have many of the skills needed in the jobs you would like to apply for and it will highlight some of the skills you lack. You can therefore start making steps to acquiring the skills you haven't got yet.

Take a notepad everywhere with you for a week and write down the skills you use at work, home and elsewhere.

Ask people around you what they think your transferable skills are. They may come up with skills that are second nature to you and you didn’t even realise you had.

Don’t sell yourself short. People who succeed in their chosen careers can take the skills they have and apply them to different situations. You can do the same.

What Colour is Your Parachute is a job hunting classic and has some excellent exercises to help you identify your transferable skills and has lots of practical advice for people embarking on a career change.

These exercises will help build your confidence in showing you that you have many transferable skills that you can use in your chosen career.

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