When Changing Careers, Highlight Transferable S****s

[bholas]

A significant challenge career changers face is preparing a winning resume. After all, it's arduous enough when you have ample related experience. Writing this crucial document becomes even more painstaking when you're looking to take a completely new career direction.


Your saving grace: Transferable s****s.


What Are Transferable S****s?
Career expert Richard Nelson Bolles pioneered the idea of transferable s****s in his perennial bestseller What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers. According to Bolles, we are all born with s****s we take from job to job. These transferable s****s can be broken down into three categories: people (communicating, teaching, coaching and supervising), data (record keeping, researching, translating and compiling data) and things (operating computers/equipment, assembling and repairing).


If you take the time to identify your transferable s****s, you can convince employers that you have the core s****s necessary to excel in your new career choice.


Where to Find Transferable S****s

• Job Ads: Search for your target job on Monster, and review the s****s it requires. You may not possess all of them, but look for s****s that are somehow related to those you developed via another career, hobby or educational pursuit.
  
  For example, a teacher making the transition to sales might find that presentation, organizational and interpersonal s****s are desirable for salespeople. She could then highlight her experience giving daily group presentations, creating and launching educational programs, and building team morale. All of these are examples of transferable s****s you may overlook, because they come easily to you.
• Occupational Information Network (O*NET): This site provides a keyword search tool that lists job s****s based on career field. Search the list for those of your s****s you can transfer to your new industry, and check out this list of all-purpose s****s.
• Industry Networking: Speak with workers in your desired field, read trade publications, study employer Web sites, network at industry events and connect with industry associations to learn which s****s are important. Once you have a good understanding of desirable s****s, you'll know which ones to emphasize.

Identify Your Transferable S****s
Career coach Christine Edick works closely with her career-change clients to identify transferable s****s. In one exercise, she asks them to create a chart of old job s****s, new job s****s and transferable s****s. "Most clients find that they have at least 50 percent of transferable s****s needed for their new job," she says. The following chart can help you map your transferable s****s:


Old Job S****s S****s Required for New Job Transferable? Related Accomplishments S**** #1 Yes/No S**** #2 Yes/No S**** #3 Yes/No S**** #4 Yes/No S**** #5 Yes/No S**** #6 Yes/No S**** #7 Yes/No S**** #8 Yes/No
Show Your Transferable S****s
Demonstrate you're qualified for your career change by prominently displaying your transferable s****s on your resume. "Showcasing transferable s****s upfront helps the human reader see the keywords they are looking for, and then they can look to other parts of the resume for more details," Edick says.


Your transferable s****s may be included as a key s****s list within your qualifications summary. You can lead with a statement like, "Highlights of my related s****s include:" followed by a bulleted list of your transferable s****s. When creating your Monster resume, you can use the S****s section in the Monster Resume Builder to list s****s.


Back up your transferable s****s by including examples of how you successfully used the s****s in another career field or other experience. Edick uses the CAR (challenge, actions, results) approach by asking her clients:

• Challenge: What were some of the challenges you faced?
• Actions: What actions did you take to overcome the challenges?
• Results: What were the results of your work?

"That way, career changers build confidence that the basic s****s they developed in one career transfer to a new career," Edick says. The CAR stories can be added to a key accomplishments section to demonstrate previous success using these transferable s****s.

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