Transferable skills: definition & examples

If you're starting to look for a job, you will have no doubt heard about transferable skills. But what exactly are they? In this article, we explain why they are so important, and we give you lots of transferable skills examples for you to include in your CV, or mention when you get an interview. Remember, employers want to find the most suitable person for their role, so it is important to show them how your skills can be a benefit to their company.

• What are transferable skills?
• Examples of Transferable Skills
• Why are transferable skills important?
• How to identify your transferable skills
• How to include transferable skills in a CV
• How to talk about transferable skills in job interviews
• To sum up

What are transferable skills?

Simply put, transferable skills are, as the name suggests, skills that can be transferred from one job to another. This means that they are skills with wide applications in a lot of different roles. They can even be transferred between roles in vastly different fields.

Transferable skills can be either hard or soft skills. Hard skills are measurable skills which are usually technical. For example, this can include knowing specialist software, a foreign language, or having media skills. It's usually easy to measure hard skills in terms of competency, or by qualification. Soft skills are harder to measure but they are just as important. Soft skills include communication, interpersonal relationships, and how you approach tasks.

Transferable skills are vital when you are looking at changing industry because they mean that you can hit the ground running. For jexample, having good organisational skills will help you in almost any job and it can help make those busy first weeks easier. These skills are also very important to employers, as it means there is less that they have to teach you, so make sure to include them on your CV.

Examples of Transferable Skills

Looking for examples of transferable skills that employers want? Of course, there are lots of transferable skills out there, but the ones listed below are useful in almost every industry.

1. Commercial awareness
2. Reliability
3. Organisational skills
4. Communication skills
5. Decision making skills
6. Emotional awareness
7. Initiative
8. Digital skills
9. Problem-solving skills
10. Team working
11. Innovation
12. Adaptability
13. Self-management
14. Leadership skills
15. Project management skills
16. Software
17. Foreign languages
18. Copywriting

Let's look at these in more detail and break down what subskills you find within each category.

1. Commercial awareness

Commercial awareness means having an understanding of how industries and businesses operate. This means you can analyse how events in the world might impact your sector. This can be broken down further into general commercial awareness, which includes how clients compare companies and pick where to spend their money. Industry-specific awareness is more in-depth and includes:

• Economic awareness
• Legal knowledge of markets
• Psychology of commerce
• Market analysis

2. Reliability

This means being a dependable and trustworthy employee that your employer can rely on to arrive on time, handle clients and customers with respect, and do work to the best of your ability. This encompasses skills such as:

• Punctuality
• Meeting deadlines
• Good work ethic
• Honesty
• Integrity

3. Organisational skills

This helps you stay on top of all your work tasks and is vital in a fast-paced environment. This also means keeping all your paperwork in check and not losing information that others might need. Being able to stay organised is important to make sure that you are up-to-date with everything that needs to be done, and includes skills such as:

• Planning
• Time management
• Self-responsibility
• Attention to detail

4. Communication skills

Whether it's written communication or verbal communication, being able to share ideas and information with others is important. Having good communication can help projects run more smoothly, avoid issues or misunderstandings and help when dealing with clients or customers. This includes:

• Writing
• Speaking
• Active listening
• Confidence
• Awareness of others

5. Decision-making skills

Many people can be struck by indecision or fear of making a choice, which can halt projects in their tracks. Having good decision-making means that you can analyse possible paths forward and pick one that you feel will work best. This also means standing behind a choice that you make and accepting the consequences of your decisions, especially when they involve other people. This includes:

• Situational analysis
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Confidence

6. Emotional awareness

While it might not seem like something that is an obvious choice for workplace skills, emotional awareness and empathy are helpful for making sure that a work environment is healthy and productive. It can also help solve problems in a way that suits everyone's needs and build great relationships with clients, customers, suppliers and partners. This includes:

• Listening skills
• Curiosity
• Negotiation and mediation
• Being open-minded

7. Initiative

Taking the initiative is important, whatever level you are at in a company. Having the initiative and drive to solve problems or complete tasks without constant supervision is a highly sought-after skill for employees to have. This can also help show how committed you are to your job and company, and it can be a great way to show your suitability for a more advanced role. This includes:

• Self-motivation
• Keenness
• Setting goals
• Monitoring your own progress
• Creative thinking

8. Digital skills

With so many jobs needing computers and other technology, digital skills are important. As well as knowing how to use the basic functions of a computer, it is good if you know how to adapt to new technology and learn new programs. Digital skills include:

• User applications
• Troubleshooting
• Website use
• Basic web security

9. Problem-solving skills

There are always new challenges in the workplace. From clients having problems with what they've had delivered, to logistics issues, to deadlines that are tighter than originally thought. Problem-solving is figuring out how to overcome all of these issues while keeping the company running smoothly. This means you need the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• Analysis
• Resilience
• Keeping calm under pressure

10. Team working

Working with others is inevitable in almost every job. This makes teamwork very important, from communicating well with others to delegating tasks properly according to people's strengths. This includes:

• Interpersonal communication
• Strength analysis
• Self-awareness
• Conflict resolution

11. Innovation

Staying ahead means innovating and coming up with new ways to approach problems or finding new ways to work to increase productivity. Innovation is also important in any industry where you work with designing or creating anything. Everything from the daily routine of meetings to new projects can be improved with the right innovations. Skills for innovation include:

• Creative thinking
• Analysis
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Flexibility

12. Adaptability

Things are rarely stable in any workplace. It's entirely possible that goals, deadlines, teams and projects can change at very little notice. This means that it is vital to adapt to whatever new working situations come up. Adaptability is also very helpful if you change to a different type of role or even a different industry. Skills here include:

• Flexibility
• Quick-thinking
• Creativity
• Resilience

13. Self-management

Employers ideally look for workers who can complete their tasks with minimal management, as this frees up team leaders and managers to handle other matters. This means that workers need to be able to manage their own workload and identify when they need to get help or advice. This includes:

• Time management
• Self-assessment
• Confidence
• Self-motivation

14. Leadership skills

Leadership is important to help guide teams towards completing projects and meeting goals. Leadership is one of the most transferable skills for management and higher roles in any field, as it is applicable to every industry, but it is worth remembering that you can show leadership skills outside of a managerial role, for example within projects, where you might help co-workers all communicate well with one another. Skills for this include:

• Team building
• Interpersonal communication
• Motivation
• Conflict resolution

15. Project management skills

While it has a lot of overlap with leadership, project management does differ. This means focusing on the implementation and success of the project, rather than the team of workers. Focusing on the project means having more focus on the practicalities of planning. However, you will probably find that project management and leadership skills go hand-in-hand. Skills here include:

• Planning
• Goal setting
• Progress assessment

16. Software

This is a hard skill that is transferable. A lot of advanced software is industry-specific, but you can still gain valuable transferable skills from knowing some basic software and how to learn new ones. Take it a step further and learn how to build and code software. For example:

• Programming languages
• Software knowledge
• Advanced troubleshooting

17. Foreign languages and other languages

Foreign languages are useful in any field where companies could work with people outside their immediate area. With global communication so much easier than it used to be, knowing foreign languages can be a huge asset. Consider also other languages, such as BSL. Key skills for languages include:

• Fluency in one or more languages
• Linguistics
• Sign language

18. Copywriting

As well as knowing how to handle written communication, copywriting is a useful skill to have. This means knowing how to write in different styles for different purposes and audiences, tailoring the writing to each one. This includes:

• Writing
• Editing
• Journalism
• Marketing writing

Why are transferable skills important?

Transferable skills are important because they are needed for almost every job role and educational course. Just as time management can help when students are revising or working on assignments, it can be useful for workers who are handling a lot of different clients. This means that learning and building your transferable skills early is beneficial for your studies and will help you down the line when applying for jobs.

Employers are often more likely to hire candidates who have good transferable skills. This is because employees with strong transferable skills can hit the ground running and get on with a lot of basic activities without needing much training. Skills such as communication and innovation also help make employees more likely to be productive and part of a good workplace environment in the long run.

How to identify your transferable skills

Unsure what transferable skills you have? There are plenty of different ways to identify your unique set of skills. This is an important step, as many people don't have a good assessment of what skills they have. Doing a self-assessment will help you to know which skills to add to your CV and highlight in a job interview. Here are some ways to identify your transferable skills:

• Self-analysis - This might seem obvious, but it's important to do. Sit down and think about what you do on a weekly or monthly basis and think about what skills this takes. Be sure to think outside the box as well. Don't just think about your job or educational roles, but also think about social activities too. If you run a hobby group, for example, this takes a lot of organisational skills.
• Reverse-search your job - Whether you've been working or in education, you can look up the skills that someone in this field would be expected to have. The chances are that a lot of these skills will apply to you, helping you figure out what you are good at.
• Ask others - We rarely have an accurate image of ourselves. This is why it can be very helpful to ask others what skills they think we have. You'll probably be surprised by how skilled your friends, colleagues and family think you are.
• Online assessments - There are a lot of assessments available online that help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. This is great to not only show what you should put on your CV but also show you where you need to improve.
• Compare against a list - It's easy to draw a blank if you are asked to simply rattle off all the skills you think you have. Instead, start with a list — like our list above — and ask yourself if you have each of those skills. You can even write down something that shows you have each skill, which helps with writing your CV and cover letters.

How to include transferable skills in a CV

Wondering how to write a CV to include your transferable skills? There are plenty of options to make sure that your transferable skills are mentioned. The most obvious way is to include them in your skills section, which is usually a bullet-pointed list. Prioritise the skills that the employer is looking for, which you can usually find in the job description.

You can also include skills in your educational and employment histories. This helps gives your skills a good grounding in real-world applications and shows how you got them. You can also highlight the most important skills in the cover letter.

How to talk about transferable skills in job interviews

It can be hard to know how to talk about skills in interviews. Here are our top ways to highlight them in an interview situation:

• Know your skills beforehand - If you've used the tips above, hopefully, you have identified your skills and have a transferable skills list. It's important to know what skills you have so that you don't end up struggling to think up an answer on the spot. You should also think about how your skills can relate to the job you are applying for.
• Check the job description beforehand - Most employers will put a list of skills they want from applicants in the job description. This makes it very easy to know what skills to focus on in the interview. If they don't simply list skills, read through the job listing and figure out what skills someone would need to be successful at the job.
• Provide evidence - Don't just say you have a certain skill and leave it at that. Always back this up with evidence. For example, if you say you are good at time management, talk about how you handled multiple assignments from multiple classes on top of part-time work. Or to demonstrate motivation, talk about how you started a business yourself.
• Turn open-ended questions towards skills - If you are worried that you haven't had a chance to mention a skill yet, you can always fit it in by thinking about how the questions apply to skills. For example, if the interviewer asks about what you would do to tackle a certain project, you can bring up your past experience and the skills you have gained from that.

To sum up

Transferable skills are important because they are career skills that can be applied to almost any job role. This means that candidates with good transferable skills are more likely to find better job offers.

These are often soft skills, which are about how you think and interact with others, for example, problem-solving.  Some hard skills are transferable too, such as knowing multiple languages. It's worth identifying your transferable skills to help you write your CV and consider how to bring them up in an interview to be as prepared as possible.