Here's how you can effectively showcase transferable skills when changing careers within Education.

Consider what you do every day as an educator: lesson plans, teaching students, grading papers, meeting with parents, meeting with administration, recording accommodations the list goes on. Now break those down into language that non-educators use for their jobs. Lesson plans = project planning & management. Teaching students = management & training. Grading papers = assessing project success & adjusting future training. Meeting with parents & admin = Meeting with stakeholders about success of project participants. Providing accommodations = providing diverse experience for participants. Recording accommodations, attendance, & grades = keep accurate records of client interactions.

One thing I found helpful is identifying your skills as an essential point for recognizing opportunities and understanding the needs of others. By pinpointing your strengths, you can better position yourself to offer valuable support and solutions to the challenges they face. This self-awareness not only enhances your ability to contribute meaningfully but also helps you align your efforts with the demands of different situations, making you a more effective and resourceful professional.

Effective communication is more than a luxury; it is a necessity. If you cannot provide a key talking point to all stakeholders who will influence or be influenced at introductory, moderate, and advanced levels, you are selling yourself short. My promise to myself was that I would master 'targeted speech,' which refers to tailoring my communication by scanning internal and external stakeholders and learning their language. This' wordplay 'involves using language creatively and strategically for effectiveness and trust. These skills have become my secret weapon, allowing me to teach in diverse preschool, elementary, high school, undergrad, graduate, and vocational student populations through many communication forms across America.

The online world is everyone monetizing teaching. Every influencer is actually a teacher, they just get paid more. paid professional teachers might not last if we don't adapt to the scalability of the internet. I use online resources, as do many others, and why wouldn't we? we want to maximize the students time and efficiency, and our efforts, and use the best resources. We will become gatekeepers and guides, so our job is to interpret and evaluate resources, and perhaps create them too.

Taking time to compare previous experiences to potential job roles, tailoring your resume and cover letter by aligning key words and phrases is critical. Additionally, identifying tidying the transferable skills - for example listening, empowering, and data driven decision making - can get you into the interview “hot seat.” ??

Adaptability is indeed crucial in education due to the rapid evolution of teaching methods and educational technologies. Ability to learn new systems and adapt to changing environments has been a significant asset throughout my career. For instance, in a previous role, I successfully adopted a new Learning Management System (LMS) that was implemented to streamline course management and student interactions. Despite initial challenges, I quickly familiarized myself with the system through self-guided learning and training sessions.

I would use what I have learned from a previous job and try to implement it in my new job. It may take time but it's worth it.

Past performance as a professional is great, and should be highlighted, but also make sure to share that you are a lifelong learner who seeks out new knowledge, skills, and abilities. How can you start? Do some research. Read articles and books on various topics, take free courses (Coursera is great for this), attend workshops. Showing that you have a growth mindset will go a long way.

As career experts, influencers, and resume sites teach, specifics are necessary. While showcasing situations where you successfully applied transferrable skills, can you mention the number of stakeholders you or your project affected? Was there a rate of success or adoption that you can highlight? Can you frame that project on your resume as a micro-story?

One thing that I have found that is helpful is to share your passion of being a life long learner and your ability to gain the necessary skills to adapt. In addition, share of those transferable skills that can be used in this space, and highlighting your previous accomplishments with those skills.

This one is very important in my opinion too. If you have a creative mind and you can showcase your transferable skills, which is considered as passion in my opinion. And obviously passion for any job is the most important one.

Of everything, this is the most important in my opinion. School leaders will see your experience as a great plus, however, they inherently will be asking themselves: “Why does this person want to teach, now?” Get your elevator speech ready Make sure it’s filled with moments WHY you decided to pursue teaching and share an example of that moment in your cover letter, first then bring it up OR another example when you get an interview. Good luck!

If, at a certain point in your career, you want to give back, teach, and coach, becoming an educator falls under the category of following your passions. Teaching can be very rewarding and stimulating if you have the right mindset going into it, and draining and challenging if you don't. The ability to clearly articulate to yourself and school administrators why you want to teach is very important.

When possible, identify someone in your current district or agency to shadow or ask to be a mentor to you. Showing initiative in this way demonstrates commitment to learning something new and motivation to better understand the role. Knowing what the job truly is before applying when an opening is available allows you to speak to the transferable skills.

It is critical in interviews to respond as if you’ve already done the job and have the experience. You’ll still need to connect the dots between current experiences and what the new position entails but be confident!

In my interviews, I always try to highlight my past experiences to the best of my abilities. Example: During my time at Hope Learning Academy, I have learned that behaviors from students are their way of communicating.

Interview preparation is essential. Make sure you check out the company website and conduct a Google search. Look at the job listing and write down the skills and qualifications they are looking for. For each one of those, brainstorm examples and anecdotes to illustrate the ways that they apply to you and your experience. And finally, prepare yourself for the question, "Why do you want to work here?" Be as specific as possible in explaining how the company and their goals/values align with your own. Focus on them in your answer, not yourself.

To those who want to get into the education field, be prepared for everything and try to build relationships with those who can be your best supporters when things go wrong.

Teaching is a job that requires presence and constant interpersonal communication with students and colleagues. If you are considering switching to teaching from the service industry, those skills are transferable. However, if you are an IT professional, for example, spending that much time with people might present a challenge. Make sure you are a "people person" before making the career move.