How to Discuss and Apply Transferable Skills
Often times, we have skills that can be applied to other jobs, and we know that, but how do we communicate and apply those transferable skills? This reminds of the time that I entered in a cross country ski half marathon in the arctic circle in Finland. Fun fact, I had never cross country skied before.... but I knew that I had a lot of transferable skills.
So, here's my basic format of conversation and application that I want you to use in your interviews today:
First, Talk about the skill in relation to the job for which you're interviewing.
See, in the arctic circle, I knew on a high level that cross country skiing required balance, endurance, ability to ski, and agility. This idea can be applied in your job search as well.
For example, if you are applying for a job in HR and you are new grad coming from a student government background, talk about how this job in HR benefits requires a person to be very detail oriented and customer service focused while handling a lot moving parts from a lot of people.
So, first talk about the skills directly related to the job.
Then, tell a story including the transferable skill.
In the arctic circle, I knew that I was a division I cross country athlete, that I was a solid in-line skater, and I grew up downhill skiing. I thought of the times that I ran a half marathons and the weeks that I spent skiing throughout my life.
In your interview, (let's stick to the new grad that was involved in student government) you could say, "This reminds me of my experience as the student government treasurer at my university. I handled the requests and accounts totaling $10,000 split between 32 different clubs and organizations. There were a lot of people and a lot of moving parts that required me to keep track of a lot of various details and relationships."
So, first talk about the skills directly related to the job.
Then, tell a story including the transferable skill.
After that, include a lesson, skill, or approach that you used to be successful in that skill.
In the arctic circle, I thought of how in downhill skiing, I balanced on my skis and embraced the gliding movements, I thought of cross country and focused on my posture and breathing.
In your interview, you could point out that you developed a system where you prioritized your time schedule to meet a balance to build a connection with the students and provide excellent customer service and allow quiet time to do concentrated detailed work.
So, first talk about the skills directly related to the job.
Then, Tell a story including the transferable skill.
After that, include a lesson, skill, or approach that you used to be successful in that skill.
Finally, Apply that skill to the new job.
In Finland, I took my lessons of breathing, posture, gliding on skies, using my poles and endurance mindset to compete in a cross country half marathon.
You could say that, as an HR professional at The Pathwayz Group, I would continue to be intentional in my time management to create a personal connection with employees and also be diligent to stay radically focused on detail oriented work to better ensure accuracy and correct work.
Often times, we have transferable skills but may not know how to convey those skills to a new job. So, here's what I want you to do:
So, first talk about the skills directly related to the job.
Then, Tell a story including the transferable skill.
After that, Include a lesson, skill, or approach that you used to be successful in that skill.
Finally, Apply that skill to the new job.
Knowing how to apply transferable skills is one way that we can be more successful and perform at a higher level within your team. In your job hunt, knowing how to convey your transferable skills can help you in your job hunt. In Finland, I had never cross country skied before, but I utilized my transferable skills to be successful and truly finish the race.
So here's what I want you to do, utilize this format to convey and apply your transferable skills with confidence today!