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If you’re in the job market today or seeking a career advancement, it’s more important than ever to identify and capitalize on transferrable skills.

In this blog, we’ll explore this topic and share resources on what this can mean for you as you look for a new employment or to find growth in your current workplace.

Essentially, transferrable skills are attributes that you use in your job now or have in past roles that can be transported to a related position or even a different industry or position altogether. Considering these types of skills will be key as you update your resume and cover letter and prepare for interviews.

Employers want to know what makes you stand out from others, particularly if they have to decide between two highly qualified candidates. Focusing on transferrable skills can broaden your mindset on what kinds of duties you can take on and even what work you most enjoy doing.

Some examples are:

• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Organization and time management
• Written and oral communication skills
• Research, analysis and numeracy abilities
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Relationship building and dealing with people
• Problem solving

They can also be hard skills that are more tangible such as technology capabilities or competency in speaking multiple languages.

This first resource is very timely. It’s a recent article containing a video that’s particularly useful for anyone looking for a job as a result of COVID-19: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/transferable-skills

You’ll find many more examples of transferrable skills in the resources below and how to identify them.

Now of course, it’s crucial that you have strong examples of how you have put these transferrable skills to use. It’s not enough to say … I work well as part of a team. You’ll need to illustrate how your ability to collaborate with colleagues resulted in a success for your organization.

As with any statement you make about your abilities and abilities, having strong examples is key.

A good way of determining what transferrable skills will be important for you to highlight is reviewing recent job postings of interest. Don’t overlook experiences from past volunteer roles or your educational background.

At The Work Place in Grande Prairie, we can help you identify your transferrable skills and offer job seekers a variety of other services at no charge.

While our physical office is closed, we continue to operate virtually to provide services to clients.

One-to-one employment counselling services and workshops are available via phone, email or video-based technologies such as Zoom.

Staff can help unemployed and underemployed individuals assess how they can address career decision making, including new skills and training they may want to consider.

Enquiries can be made by calling 780-539-5477. One of our Employment Coaches will be happy to provide you information on our services. You can also email us at info@gpworkplace.ca. Our website is www.gpworkplace.ca

Check out these articles for more guidance:

Transferable Skills: A Job Seeker’s Guide | The Muse

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/transferable-skills.html

https://pwp.vpl.ca/siic/job-search-resources/transferable-skills/

https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/transferable-skills/

https://www.livecareer.com/resources/resumes/basics/transferable-skills-set

https://www.resumecoach.com/transferable-skills-resume/

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/transferable-skills-list-525490

If you’re seeking employment now, best wishes for your success. We look forward to helping you with your resume, cover letter or by providing any of our services or resources that can help you land that opportunity.

Writing resumes can be difficult. Most people aren’t comfortable promoting themselves and yet when you’re competing with many others for a position, it’s essential to take the stress out of preparing one of your most important job search tools.

Maureen McCann, a career strategist in Victoria, B.C., who operates Promotion Career Solutions, says a few minor tweaks can make a significant difference in how successful your resume is in landing interviews.

In a recent LinkedIn post, she outlines these keys:

✔ Be specific. Tell a story that proves your value.

✔ Organize your content so it is easy to follow and easy to understand.

✔ Give quantifiable results. Use data; give the reader context.

✔ Tailor the resume to the #job. Every. Single. Time.

✔ Use active language to describe what you do. Use words like Strengthened, Revitalized, Modernized, Accelerated (to name a few).

Here’s a link featuring further advice from Maureen on resume preparation: http://www.mypromotion.ca/2018/06/how-to-clean-up-your-resume-this-weekend/

In a recent forbes.com article, another job search specialist we routinely reference, Adrienne Tom, was profiled following a recent survey she conducted on challenges people have with writing resumes.

The president and chief executive resume strategist at Career Impressions in Calgary, had 2,431 responses. Adrienne provides tips to each of the challenges in the article. The difficulties survey participants cited point to some essential issues of resume preparation. Top concerns are in brackets.

Respondents were concerned with adding the right key words (39 per cent), writing about achievements (29 per cent), worrying about applicant tracking systems (25 per cent), and keeping to a certain length (15 per cent).

Here’s the article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2020/07/15/hardest-part-of-resume-writing-quiz-results-and-tips/#757e798e6262

Adrienne is featured along with some other job search experts discussing resume preparation in this article: https://www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com/health-news/job-coach-adrienne-tom-reveals-10-steps-to-writing-the-perfect-resume/

At The Work Place in Grande Prairie, we continue to be here for you during these challenging economic times. While our physical office is closed, we remain OPEN and operating virtually to assist job seekers. One-to-one employment counselling services and workshops are available via phone, email or video-based consultation via technology such as Zoom, Skype and FaceTime.

Staff can help unemployed and underemployed individuals assess, at no charge, how they can address career decision making, including new skills and training they may want to consider.

Enquiries can be made by calling 780-539-5477. Catherine, our Employment Advisor, will be happy to provide you information on our services. You can also email us at info@gpworkplace.ca. Our website is www.gpworkplace.ca

Here are some other resources discussing resume preparation:

https://www.randstad.ca/job-seeker/career-resources/resume-tips/downloadable-the-ultimate-resume-writing-guide/

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/what-to-include-on-a-resume

This article, directed at career consultants, acknowledges that there is varying advice on resume preparation and how to address this: https://careerprocanada.ca/resume-writing-contradictions-and-challenges/

Ultimately, it’s important to tailor your resume to the details of the job ad and go from there. Focusing on how this key job search document can help you put your best food forward is important in standing out from the crowd.

If you’re currently seeking employment, we extend best wishes. If our team can assist in your efforts, we welcome you to contact us.