5 Tips to Highlight Your Transferable Skills in Resume

An impressive resume not only highlights your stellar achievements in your previous jobs. It should also convey your skills that will allow you to go beyond the technical requirements of the position you are applying for. If you are looking for work opportunities outside your current career track, these soft skills will help you take that leap, highlight your transferable skills in resume.

Thinking of making that career move? Learn how to maximize transferable skills, why they are important, and how to build your resume around them to get the attention of recruiters here in Singapore.

Why transferable skills matter

Also called soft skills, transferable skills refer to a set of abilities that go beyond the actual requirements of a specific job position. Effective collaboration, time management, and leadership skills, for instance, are part of the core skills you can use in almost any role and career level. These are the skills you may already have; you need only to hone them.

Career coach Nicole Grainger-Marsh says that we all develop skills that can add value to new roles. "For instance, if you're a team leader now, then you will have developed skills such as management, team leadership, mentoring—skills that are not limited by the sector that you're in," she explains. Even fresh graduates have soft skills, such as digital know-how, empathy, and other abilities they have learned in school which they can bring to their first job.

Make the most of your transferable skills

Transferable skills demonstrate how you can adapt and take on any task. If you are confident about these skills, do not hesitate to highlight them in your resume.

Find out how you can create a resume that will draw attention to these skills.

5 tips on highlighting transferable skills in your professional resume

1. List down your transferable skills

Identify your strengths, list them down, and let your potential employers know about them. Here's a handy guide to help you get started.

2. Make it relevant

Show recruiters that you have the skills required for the role. Find out what the role or industry requires, Grainger-Marsh advises. From there, create your skills list and match it with what the role needs.

3. Mention actual achievements

Aside from checking all the other elements in your resume (profile, educational background, work experience, and so on), do not forget to draw attention to your transferable skills. Create a section that enumerates these and describe how you have applied them to achieve results. You can also list these soft skills under each role you've previously taken on.

Natalie Rogers, Specialist Contracting Consultant at Six Degrees, advises to get descriptive when showcasing your transferable skills. This will help recruiters decide if you are a good fit for a similar role. If you've had experience managing a team and the role you are applying for requires leadership, it pays to expound on that specific skill.
4. Emphasize how your personality fits the role

Aside from the right skills, more companies these days are also looking for the right personality fit, relates Grainger-Marsh. When checking job ads, pay attention to the personality traits the position requires. Do they need someone who can collaborate effectively, or do they prefer independent workers? These traits can make up for technical skills that you have yet to acquire.

Being proactive, flexible, and adaptable are a few personality traits that will always be relevant, adds Grainger-Marsh. Include these in your resume if you have them.

5. Trust your abilities

While you may be entering new roles, remember that hiring managers do not just focus on experience. According to Rogers, it's possible to move to a different industry if you have the right combination of relevant skills and personality traits. Grainger-Marsh agrees: "If you demonstrate the skills, aptitude and, most importantly, the cultural fit and attitude that will bring success, employers will often respond

In resume writing, it's a must to include all the outstanding details on your background and experience. But equally important are your transferable skills, which can take you from being a run-of-the-mill candidate to a promising hire.

Get closer to finding #JobsThatMatter when you update your JobStreet profile to include your transferable skills. To get hired faster, remember to add the hashtag #WorkNow. Get more job-hunting tips when you visit the Career Resources Hub.
At JobStreet, we believe in bringing you #JobsThatMatter. As a Career Partner, we are committed to helping all jobseekers find passion and purpose in every career choice. And as the number 1 Talent Partner in Asia, we connect employers with the right candidates who truly make a positive and lasting impact on the organisation.

Discover Jobs That Matter. Visit JobStreet today.

About SEEK Asia

SEEK Asia, a combination of two leading brandsJobStreetandJobsDB, is the leading job portal and Asia's preferred destination for candidates and hirers. SEEK Asia's presence span across 7 countries namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. SEEK Asia is part of the Australian Securities Exchange-listed SEEK Limited Company, the world's largest job portal by market capitalisation. SEEK Asia attracts over 400 million visits a year.

About SEEK Limited

SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprising a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. SEEK has a global presence (including Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South-East Asia, Brazil and Mexico), with exposure to over 2.9 billion people and approximately 27 per cent of global GDP. SEEK makes a positive contribution to people's lives on a global scale. SEEK is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is a top 100 company and has been listed in the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies by Forbes.