The Transferable Skills You Didn’t Know You Had
At some point in our lives, most of us have thought about choosing a different career. I started my career in content creation as a journalist and then as an editor before pivoting to running the business as a publisher and then CEO. Later I jumped off the executive cliff for a board portfolio career.
Halfway through my media career, I almost decided to take on a law degree with a view to exploring media law. Instead, I enrolled in an MBA and pursued the business of media. Since then, I have realised that business and leadership skills are mostly transferable across sectors.
At each of my career pivots, I determined which of my skills I could transfer to the next stage of my career. Take my media career. Of course, I developed interviewing and writing skills, but I also became skilled in managing stakeholders, leading and motivating teams, strategy development and execution, portfolio management and more.
My rule of thumb is to know where you want to head before working out how to get there. You don’t need to be exact, you just need to know the general region. For example, when I knew that I wanted to pursue a board career, I didn’t fixate on a particular board but rather, I looked at the general skills of a non-executive director.
If you want to identify your most transferable skills, this is how to do it.
Write a list of the skills that you have developed in your career. A way to think about this is to write a list of your activities in a typical work week. If you meet with clients, for example, what skills are required to be effective at that activity? I did this exercise with my sons when they were creating CVs for the first time. One of them had worked in a cafe. As well as being able to make a great coffee, he had developed skills in leadership, teamwork, customer service and problem solving.
What do you need to be successful in your chosen next career? I find it helpful to Google job ads for the type of role you are interested in. See what skills are listed as requirements for that job and write them down. It might also be helpful to speak to someone who is in a role similar to the one that you aspire to, and ask them what skills are essential for the role.
Compare your list of skills to the list of skills that are required. If managing a team is a requirement and you have managed a team previously in your career then that skill is transferable, even if you are looking at a different sector. If there are important gaps in your skills, then that is the area in which you need to focus your skill development. Then you will be all set to make that next big move. Consider whether additional education or training may help.
Don’t forget to evaluate yourself for high-level skills such as communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. These are skills that are attractive to every sector and most of us have developed them to a degree, regardless of our jobs.
Write down examples of how you have applied your transferable skills. The examples need to be detailed enough to demonstrate just how transferable your skills will be. This information should be reflected in your CV and in any job applications you complete.
Once you know you have what it takes, it’s time to back yourself and actively seek your next career. Good luck!
Words_ Marina Go
Photo_ Allec Gomes/Unsplash