How to sell your transferable skills

Have you recently found yourself in the job market? Searching for a new job can be a testing time where your confidence and self-assurance is pushed. While the retail industry is quiet at the moment you may need to look for a role within a new industry. Not all hope is lost, there are many transferable skills you will have picked up on throughout your career that can cross over into a new opportunity. 

Step 1: Reflect - ask yourself what your transferable skills are?
Evaluate your recent roles and ask yourself what you loved doing. For example, you may have been a store manager and the highlight of your day was ensuring all the displays were visually appealing, this highlights a transferable skill of attention to detail. You may regularly opt to stay later in the evening to make sure that everything is arranged perfectly for opening the next day. This shows that you are forward-thinking and organised. 

Some other transferable skills to think about:

• Communication - both written and verbal
• Leadership - ability to manage a team or projects
• Teamwork -  working with various stakeholders to drive success
• Numeracy - dealing with numbers or finance
• Technology - competency with systems and processes
   

Step 2: Relate - how can these apply to a new role?
Spend time working on answers to common interview questions that relate back to the skills you identified while you were reflecting. Use these as selling points to showcase the value you added to your previous role.  You can also talk to how they can be adapted to meet the needs of the business and the position you’re applying for. You may not have the direct experience required however, your transferable skills are the foundation needed to get started. 

Applying for a job based only on transferable skills can be challenging, there may be knock backs along the way - don’t let these deter you! Take control, be confident and ensure you’re prepared to sell yourself and your transferable skills.