How transferable skills can help you in your career development

Have you ever heard that women only apply for a job if they think they meet 100% of the job criteria, while men apply if they meet about 60% of the requirements?

This outcome is often used as evidence that women should work on their confidence. But, research shows that when women didn’t apply, their barrier wasn’t a lack of confidence about the job itself:

“The women believed they needed the qualifications to be hired in the first place. They didn’t see the hiring process as one where a creative approach could overcome not having the experiences and skills outlined in the job qualifications”.

Play a different game

Women stick more to the guidelines and follow the process more ‘by-the book’ than men do. This is probably a negative effect of gender stereotyping. For example, the focus on being “a good girl” at school, or in other words follow the rules, has become an invisible career barrier.

Maybe you’ve been in such a situation yourself?

For next time know that you can play a different game.

You may not have all of the requested skills. But, your transferable skills may be in line with the desired skills.

Play a different game career development

Transferable skills

Transferable skills are all the things you’re good at, that you can use in every job, no matter the company or industry.

These transferable skills are attractive to hiring managers, because they signal that you’re likely to make a positive contribution from day one. So, especially if you’re changing careers, these skills are super helpful in making that switch.

Here are 10 examples of transferable skills:

  • Analytical Reasoning
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Data analysis
  • Empathy
  • Leadership
  • Project management
  • Problem solving
  • Time management

Which transferable skills do you have?

Transferable skills career development

If you’re ready for a next step, make sure you bring them up in the conversations you have and illustrate them with some powerful examples. And of course, highlight them in your resume and cover letter.

No matter which career move you’d like to make, your transferable skills will help you to play a different game and grow professionally.

Go for it!
Eefke

PS: Are you ready for a next career move and curious what coaching could bring you? I offer every woman a free ‘chemistry session’ of one hour. In this session you can share what you’d love to achieve, I’ll tell you more about how I work and we do some coaching so you can experience for yourself if I’m the right coach for you. Of course, this session is both confidential and entirely free of obligation.