Did you know about these important transferable skills for your resume?
Olivia Attwood
Certified Professional Resume Writer ● Career Coach ● Executive Resume Writer ● MBA, BEng, CPRW, CPCC
If you are considering a career shift, you are in for some real challenges up ahead. However, with a strong resume, you can eliminate about half of these obstacles.
The reason many career changers struggle to find a good opportunity is that they fail to create a winning resume that highlights their best transferable skills. If you are writing your career change resume right now, consider adding these transferable skills to your skillset:
1. Written communication
Written communication is an important skill for a professional. If you are transitioning into an academic or writing role, you will need this skill to be displayed prominently in your resume. If the new industry is something like education or publishing, your resume is sure to get noticed by a hiring manager.
2. Critical thinking
Critical thinkers are valuable for all kinds of organizations. Listing your critical thinking skills on your resume shows employers that you are great at making good decisions. Highlight how you have provided excellent solutions for your employer by critically analyzing a problematic situation before.
3. Leadership
Leadership skills are important for any job. Even if you are applying for a non-management role, hiring managers are on the search for candidates who show potential. What better way to prove you have tons of potential than to list your leadership accomplishments on your resume?
4. Coding
Coding is an essential skill for a number of jobs. Even if you are transitioning into a new role that isn’t directly related to software development, coding skills on your resume can give you an edge over the other candidates.
5. Collaboration
You will have to work with multiple teams in your career. When you are shifting careers, the teams will be even more diverse than what you are used to. If you have excellent teamwork skills, this is the best time to show them off on your resume.
6. Creativity
Creative solutions help businesses thrive. Are you a creative individual who always comes up with fresh ideas? Do you think out of the box? Bring out your creativity on your resume by listing your patents or your innovative solutions.
7. Time management
Are you good at delivering projects on time? Do you help teams accomplish tasks within deadlines? Then, you have excellent time management skills. Let your resume portray your time management skills.
8. Customer service
Most jobs involve dealing with clients. If you are applying for a client-facing role, a strong background in customer service is sure to win over potential employers. Your resume needs to show potential employers how you have excelled at dealing with client issues and managing client relationships in the past.
9. Data management
Data is an asset to any business. In this digital age, almost every business deals with a lot of data. If you can research, gather, understand, and translate important data related to your industry, your resume should reflect that. Bring out examples of where you have analyzed complex data sets for previous employers on your resume.