The ultimate formula for utilizing your transferable skills

Tried and tested - the transferable skills method.

But first, a personal story.

My very first job was at McDonalds - yep, that was me at the ripe age of 13. I worked there for 17 years and got ‘poached’ from there to work in the local chemist and then I got poached from there to work in the local jewellery store. This was very nice for my ego and especially at such a young age and always felt it was because I was nice. As it turns out, it was a little bit more than that - it was because I had fantastic customer service skills and I was eager to please every single customer I came across (this was actually my thinking when I worked).

If someone had said to me back then ‘you have great customer service skills, you should work in a role that supports that’ I would have said HELLO NO - I wanna be the boss! BUT… If someone has said to me ‘you have really good customer service skills you should look for a career that encompasses building relationships, networking, team work, communication’ - I would have taken that on board.

My story here… illustrates my transferable skills that I had without even realising. It leads me to the bigger picture.

How do you extract your transferable skills and utilize them for the greater good. To support your career direction (we all want to do well in our job and the best way to start is to use our natural skills and talents and then grow and build from there), confidence (nothing more confident then having the inner knowing that this is actually your unique strength), to win roles (you have the passion, you have the talent, you have the ability to present yourself in that way = powerful).

Sound great? Read on if you're eager to know how?

This process is going to outline how to recognise what those skills are, where they came from and how to define them so they are meaningful and support your career.

Step 1 - Know where they came from. Think back to your early days - when you started working up until now.

What came naturally to you that you?
What did people comment on?
What did you simply enjoy doing (may not even realise you enjoyed it)?

Get specific about the exact roles you did and what areas you did well in. This is no time to be modest, be real, be true.

Step 2 - Have specific examples you can refer to. List the traits and skills you have then back them up with actual examples and achievement statements. Do this for every single example. This gives you evidence that the skills you have are real and true and supportive. It also is key for when you are applying for roles and demonstrating your abilities.

Step 3 - Highlight the common themes. See any patterns? What has come up for you? Any Ah Ha moments? Realisations that you are actually good at a particular area? Keep asking, go deeper, get to the core.

Step 4 - From all the above steps pick 3 - 5 that are key for you. Can use the below list to assist in defining them according to language used in the market / job application process and it also helps to clarify it.

communication
team work
problem solving
initiative
planning and organising
decision making
self-management.

Step 5 - Own them. Pin them up, practice reading them, add them to the key skills section on your resume. Because - these are your key skills that can be transferred from job to job with examples and evidence.

Doing this process now will: