Transferable skills are skills that individuals pick up during their education (undergraduate and graduate), internships or coops, and employment setting. Transferrable skills include such things as communication, problem solving, leadership, etc. These skills are not industry or higher education specific, instead they can be transferred easily from one job to the next.
New graduates holding a master’s, professional or doctoral degree need to make sure that they list on their resume and/or vita, the transferrable skills they have developed. It is a way, especially for a new graduate, to market him/herself and let the future employer know what skills beyond their graduate education they have developed and will bring into the new job.
There are a variety of transferrable skills such as:
Communication
- Speaking skills
- Listening skills
- Writing skills
- Editing
- Persuasion
- Group facilitation
- Etc.
Research
- Problem identification
- Data collection
- Evaluation strategies
- Data analysis and interpretation
- Grant Writing
- Etc.
Leadership
- Multitasking
- Problem solving
- Time management
- Conflict management
- Decision making
- Teamwork
- Change agent/initiating change
- Budget management
- Strategic planning
- Goal setting
There are many more transferrable skills, as well as different categories of transferrable skills. Learn more about these different skills, the ones that are more general and those that are more specialized.