Transferable skills

Transferable functional skills are those you can apply in a variety of situations. Recognizing skills you possess and identifying ones you would like to develop help your career planning in several ways. You can research professions that will allow you to use your skills in a rewarding way, create a plan for developing desired skills, and tell networking contacts and potential employers how your skills will fit with your target profession and organization.

Listed below are activities that represent a wide range of skills.

Leadership and Management

  • Making decisions
  • Delegating responsibilities
  • Raising funds
  • Mediating between people
  • Training others
  • Conducting meetings
  • Supervising employees
  • Developing plans
  • Building teams
  • Seeing the big picture
  • Evaluating performance
  • Identifying potential in others

Analytical

  • Compiling statistics
  • Comprehending ideas
  • Coordinating schedules
  • Gathering information
  • Following the stock market
  • Improving efficiency
  • Writing reports
  • Thinking logically
  • Using scientific methods
  • Prioritizing tasks
  • Interpreting information
  • Investigating problems
  • Drafting reports
  • Maintaining accurate records
  • Summarizing information
  • Drafting budgets
  • Evaluating costs/benefits
  • Meeting tight deadlines
  • Using math to solve problems
  • Synthesizing data

Communication

  • Editing
  • Teaching
  • Talking with people
  • Writing proposals
  • Selling products
  • Conducting interviews
  • Speaking to groups
  • Promoting events

Physical/Technical

  • Assembling things
  • Inspecting physical objects
  • Writing computer programs
  • Working with animals
  • Designing an audio system
  • Repairing electronics
  • Operating equipment
  • Competing physically
  • Estimating physical space

Creative

  • Brainstorming
  • Taking photos
  • Arranging furniture
  • Preparing food
  • Drawing/painting
  • Graphic Design
  • Entertaining people
  • Writing creatively
  • Performing music
  • Designing websites

Relational

  • Interacting with people
  • Working with children
  • Listening actively
  • Persuading others
  • Confronting others
  • Motivating others
  • Understanding other cultures
  • Resolving conflicts

Self-Management Skills

Self-management skills relate to how you respond to situations, how you interact with others, and how you relate to your environment. They are transferable because they can be developed and demonstrated in all areas of life. Employers will prioritize candidates with proven self-management skills that fit the job and organization. Below are a variety of self-management skills.

  • Adaptability
  • Ambition
  • Assertiveness
  • Attention to detail
  • Balance
  • Calm
  • Consistency
  • Cooperation
  • Courageousness
  • Courteousness
  • Creativity
  • Curiosity
  • Decisiveness
  • Effectiveness
  • Efficiency
  • Empathy
  • Energy
  • Enthusiasm
  • Expressiveness
  • Extroversion
  • Fairness
  • Flexibility
  • Friendliness
  • Frugality
  • Generosity
  • Gentleness
  • Helpfulness
  • Imagination
  • Independence
  • Industriousness
  • Intelligence
  • Intentionality
  • Kindness
  • Logic
  • Loyalty
  • Open-mindedness
  • Organization
  • Originality
  • Patience
  • Perception
  • Persistence
  • Persuasiveness
  • Poise
  • Positivity
  • Practicality
  • Precision
  • Proactivity
  • Professionality
  • Productivity
  • Punctuality
  • Purpose
  • Quickness
  • Rationality
  • Reflectiveness
  • Reliability
  • Responsibility
  • Responsiveness
  • Sensitivity
  • Sincerity
  • Stability
  • Tact
  • Tenacity
  • Thoughtfulness
  • Tolerance
  • Toughness
  • Trustworthiness
  • Truthfulness
  • Understanding
  • Versatility
  • Virtuosity
  • Warmth