What Transferable Skills Are Employers Really Looking For?

Transferable skills — also commonly known as "soft skills" — are intangible skills such as one’s ability to communicate clearly with others, teamwork and even decision-making, among other skills picked up during previous roles or experiences.

When filling out a job application or crafting a strong resume, most candidates know to list their relevant qualifications and experiences first. While it is critical to include tangible accomplishments, it is equally important to communicate to employers about your soft skills.

While it can be difficult to articulate these talents into professional words on your resume, it is important that you understand which transferable skills your potential employer may be looking for so you can communicate your ability to fill their needs.

What Soft Skills are Employers Looking For?

Communication Skills

Whether you're planning to work in human resources, sales or finance, being effective at interpersonal communication is a key transferable skill for almost every position. Being able to share your ideas, explain procedures to clients or troubleshoot issues with colleagues requires strong communication skills.

If you're able to articulate ideas and adapt your speech to suit all audiences, share this ability with recruiters and potential hiring managers — either through a well-crafted resume or an expressive and well-spoken interview. You can also share examples of a time where you utilized your communication skills with colleagues, perhaps when providing feedback or when working on a shared project. Providing these examples during your interview will show how your abilities can transfer to a new work environment.

Leadership Skills

Leadership goes beyond theoretical training in this area. Employers are often seeking proof that you can be a leader on your team and a role model to fellow employees. You can still share your skills in this area even if you haven’t held any official leadership titles. Instead, share instances when you utilized your leadership skills to influence a positive outcome or motivated colleagues to success from within the ranks.

Adaptability

Most employers rely on fast-paced and innovative ideas to stay at the top of their field. This means recruiters will be on the lookout for candidates who can adapt to industry-leading developments. A simple way of expressing this ability to an employer involves sharing a time when you went above and beyond at work, supported a colleague who needed it, or felt challenged but managed to rise above the obstacle and learned new skills along the way.

It’s important to not underestimate the value of your soft skills. Your transferrable skills can help you make an argument for why you would make a good fit even if you don't have experience with the industry you’re applying for roles in. Employers want candidates who utilize their leadership skills, are effective communicators and are easily adaptable, so highlighting experiences that speak to that can give you a leg up in interviews.

If you want more tips on how to hone your leadership qualities or “sell” your transferable skills to a potential employer, check out our Aston Carter’s career advice section for more career content.

*This article was originally developed by Aston Carter EMEA and adapted for Aston Carter North America.