Transferable skills can make you really stand out to employers, even if you don’t have specific experience in their industry. If you don’t have any previous work experience, these can also be gained from hobbies, voluntary work or even playing sport. If you can normally get out of doing the dishes, you’ve inadvertently been practising your influencing skills!
You are likely to have a whole set of valuable skills you can take with you from one job to another.
It’s worth knowing what skills are most wanted by employers so you can highlight them in upcoming job applications. Take a look at some of the top skills employers are looking for (according to the 2019 survey on LinkedIn’s website):
1. Creativity
Whether you come up with a new, inventive idea or find a solution to a difficult problem, thinking outside of the box and displaying creativity can make a real difference in many jobs.
2. People Skills
Convincing others and listening well are really valuable, particularly in customer service and sales jobs.
Working as a team not only drives greater productivity for the business, but it also builds healthy and supportive relationships to make it a great place to work.
3. Adaptability
Being adaptable means you are able to respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, and other processes at work. It’s a good way to show you’re flexible and eager to learn.
4. Leadership
Being someone who can coach, empower and support those around you is a great skill in the workplace. It helps you get the best out of the team you are working in.
5. Time management
Being able to monitor your workload and meet deadlines is an important skill in any job, and it helps you make the most of your time to accomplish more in shorter periods.
When you next apply for a job, start by making a list of all the ways you’ve built up transferable skills, and explain how you have used them in your CV or job application. You might just find a new career is closer than you think.
Make sure to consider applying for jobs in critical industries which are expanding right now such as logistics, food retail, and agriculture. Many vacancies require little or no experience with training on the job.
The interactive checker on the National Careers Service website can also help you consider jobs or careers that could fit your transferable skills and if you’re looking to brush up some digital or numeracy skills, then check out the free online bite-sized courses on the Skills Toolkit website.
LinkedIn and Microsoft are offering free online learning for a range of jobs in demand – including programmers, IT support, design and customer representatives. For more information visit LinkedIn’s website.
The Google Digital Garage website has lots of courses to help you develop your career skills, including CV writing, project management and wellbeing.
Find out from the National Careers Service how to recognise transferable skills and listen to practical examples of how they could also be used in a job.
Find out more
The Department for Education’s Skills for Life website can help you find new learning opportunities and qualifications to support your job search.