How to Highlight Your Transferable Skills on a Resume When Entering A New Field!

Interested in transitioning into new career? No matter if you are a recent graduate, or a mid to late career professional, entering a new industry can seem very intimidating. How do you compete with others who have more relevant experience? What skills do you have that will make you stand out? Where do you start? Feeling overwhelmed or stressed about a major career change is common. The skills on a resume can help you position yourself as the right person for the job.

In order to even get in the door of a company for an interview, you must have a compelling resume. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, your resume must have the right keywords to get past technology screening software known as Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATS. Once you’ve got that covered, you can address your previous work history. A main challenge of people going through a career transition involves presenting their professional experience, so that it showcases their transferable skills on a resume, in alignment with a position they’re applying for. Here are some tips on how to highlight your transferable skills in your resume!

Identify What Your Transferable Skills Are

Transferable skills are your talents and abilities that can be applied to a new position. These are more general skills that are necessary in a variety of jobs. List your most desirable transferable skills that are important in the industry you are looking to break into. Some suggestions to consider are:

• Research
• Analysis
• Data analysis
• Problem solving
• Communication (written and verbal)
• Time management
• Planning
• Strategizing
• Team management
• Project management
• Presenting
• Conflict resolution
• Collaboration
• Training

What can you think of that wasn’t listed here?

Find Examples from Your Past Job Roles and Duties

Now that you know which transferable skills you possess, think about specific examples from your past when you utilized them. Were they a significant part of your roles in a previous position? Were they included as part of your core job duties? List out these examples and look for places to insert these skills in a resume. An obvious place would be in the job description for each relevant position. Focus the majority of previous job descriptions on the transferable skills in resume that you determined correspond with the position.

Include Accomplishments That Emphasize the Transferable Skills

At this point, think about which transferable skills you’d consider yourself extremely proficient in and that you would most like to showcase. Make a list of your past accomplishments that showcase your knowledge, mastery, and/or success with a skill. You can also include instances where you were part of a team that was responsible for a desired result. Remember, team project and work can be just as meaningful as a solo accomplishments in many instances. Find unique ways to incorporate these accomplishments along with skills on a resume.

The highly technical nature of jobs can cause you to feel intimidated or uncertain about your odds of landing a position within a new industry. Working on your resume, by adding transferable skills is the first step towards securing an interview. First, identify which transferable skills you have that are relevant to your job targets, so you can include them as skills on a resume. Then, list out examples of duties you had within your previous roles where you utilized the skills. Finally, incorporating accomplishments and achievements associated with the transferable skills, on a resume can help you set yourself apart. We’ve also provided additional suggestions on how to effectively tweak your resume for a job in the past. What are your top five transferable skills?

At Fly High Coaching, our goal is to help you soar to your full potential! We can help you identify key skills and how to put these skills on a resume.  Reach out to us today to get started on your resume makeover. Do you already have an interview scheduled? Check out our Ace the Interview Guide to make sure you’re prepared!