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Identify transferable skills By Rebecca Blaho Transferable skills, sometimes known as core skills, are those skills that, once learned, prove valuable in all aspects of life. Everyone has a number of these skills, which are not unique to any one person or profession. They are developed through course work, jobs, internships, volunteering or experience. Management, administrative, communication, research and interpersonal skills are five basic categories under which all transferable skills fall. Arguably, the six most important skills are communicating effectively, working well in a team, problem-solving, using initiative, and being well-organized and adaptable. The entire list of transferable skills would be nearly impossible to print. But by taking a look at one’s list of activities — whether those are part-time jobs, extracurricular activities or hobbies — a person can determine their specific skills. It is important for a person to recognize his or her strongest transferable skills in order to include them on a résumé, for example. Transferable skills are highly marketable because they’re needed for a wide variety of jobs and can be transferred from one task, job or workplace to another. They show what a person can bring to a job beyond their past work experience. Transferable skills also act as a foundation upon which other more complex skills can be built. Transferable skills empower people to use and effectively apply the specific knowledge developed through a college education. Transferable skills enable a person to perform different tasks or professional roles from those for which they have been educated. These skills are mutually supportive; in other words, they lean on each other. It’s not hard to pinpoint where an individual’s skills are strongest. Simply asking close friends, family members, professors or co-workers could quickly identify a number of skills. A quick perusal of job advertisements will also provide a list of transferable skills that perspective employers seek. There are even quizzes are the Internet, which can be found by doing a quick search for “transferable skills,” geared toward helping people determine exactly which skills are their strongest. Continued learning is an important part of anyone’s career and everyday life. For this reason it is important for people to identify which specific skills they have and to continue not only to strengthen those but to develop new ones. |
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