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Transferable Skills To Include In Your CV

By Ruoro Kairu 

What will lead an employer to choose your CV over others?

When an employer is reviewing your application, they’re matching you against the other applicants. In the end, only the top and most promising candidates get shortlisted.

If you want to make the cut, you must show the value you’ll add if employed.

One of the ways you can achieve this is by showing your transferable skills.

What are transferable skills and how can they help you when you’re writing your CV?

What are transferable skills?

These skills, also known as portable skills, are a set of skills and abilities, which can be applied to a wide range of different jobs and industries. Transferable skills are developed over time.

Why are portable skills important?

Most employers have a keen interest in your transferable skills. Why is this?

“Transferable skills show you’d be a good fit for the team and company. They also demonstrate what you (as a candidate), can bring to the role. Finally, transferable skills give us an indication of how much you’ve learned from previous positions & experiences.” Says one employer.

What are some of the most desirable portable skills in the job market today?

1. Communication

This skill involves the ability to pass a message to a colleague, your supervisor or a client. There are various mediums you can use to effectively communicate, most notably through writing and speaking.

Effective communication skills also help you know when and how to ask questions, how to read and control body language, and how to customize your message for different audiences.

In the job market, employers value effective communicators for their ability to work with others to get work done.

2. Organization

A well-organized employee has a strong, neat structure in their workspace, tasks, and relationships.

Organized employees typically meet deadlines, communicate with others on time and follow instructions well.

Employers can trust organized workers to meet deadlines, take notes and ensure work is completed efficiently.

3. Adaptability

Adaptability skills are used to continue working towards goals even as teams, projects, the management or products change.

Employers hire flexible candidates who can quickly learn new skills and processes to ensure work is done quickly, efficiently and with a positive attitude.

How do you highlight your transferable skills?

You can include your transferable skills on your CV, cover letter and during the interview.

Go through the job description carefully to identify which of your transferable skills are most relevant to the position you’re applying to.

Listing portable skills on your CV

On your CV, there are several options when deciding where to include key transferable skills. You can list transferable skills on your resume in the profile summary, previous experience, and the key skills and competencies.

Profile summary

While writing your profile summary, include your most valuable, relevant transferable skill.

For example, if you have strong communication skills, you can say; “Determined project manager with 5 years’ experience using strong communication skills to complete successful end-to-end projects with several teams.”

Previous experience

In your employment history section, identify which skills you used to be successful in previous roles. Instead of simply listing your job duties, you should select 2-3 of your most relevant accomplishments. You likely used several different skills to achieve those goals, so you don’t need to state the transferable skill directly.

Finally, soft skills can give you an edge when you’re applying to a job. Have a list of your strongest transferable skills and see how you can fit them in your CV.

Need help crafting an expert CV that will get you interviews? Talk to the CV Writing Professionals today.