Transferable skills
Transferable skills are abilities you can use in a different role or setting from the one where you developed them.
Communication, planning and problem-solving are common examples, but a useful application goes beyond naming them. Explain what you did, the situation you handled and how that experience relates to the new job. Skills can come from paid work, study, volunteering or caring responsibilities. England's National Careers Service encourages people to identify skills across these parts of their lives.
Start with the duties of the job you want. A hospitality worker who organised shifts may have relevant scheduling experience for an operations role; someone who explained technical problems to customers may have experience useful in training. The work will still have differences. Be clear about what you can already do and where you need to learn a tool, subject or procedure. A specific example helps an employer judge how much transfers.
Example
A volunteer treasurer applying for an administration role describes reconciling receipts, keeping records and explaining spending to a committee, while acknowledging unfamiliar software.
What to check
- Match each skill to a target duty.
- Give an example of using it.
- Identify knowledge or qualifications you still need.