Making a career switch can be difficult, especially when you have many years of experience under your belt in your current job or field. However, it’s certainly not impossible. In fact, as a Miami employment agency, we’ve seen many individuals do it in the past.
That said, in order to get noticed and get interviews, it’s extremely important that you highlight your transferable skills in your cover letter and resume. Transferable skills are those skills you have gained in previous positions that can be transferred or applied to a new position.
So how do you determine which skills are transferable? And how you do sell them to a potential employer? Here are some tips.
Evaluate past positions.
Don’t look at your job titles, look at your past positions and evaluate what your responsibilities were in each position. In essence, you want to dissect each and every job and determine what it is you really did. For instance, if you were the manager of a restaurant in your last position, then you probably had to deal with complaints from customers and staff. As a result, you may have developed strong problem-solving skills and communication abilities – and those are skills that can certainly be transferred to industries outside hospitality.
To help jump start your thought process, here are some other examples of transferable skills:
• Supervised employees
• Gave presentations
• Organized special events
• Negotiated contracts
• Multi-tasked
• Handled bookkeeping or finances
• Trained staff
• Conducted research
• Analyzed data
• Assessed the work of others
• Led a team
Illustrate how your transferable skills will benefit the employer.
The next step is to show the potential employer how those skills will help you to succeed in the position. Essentially, you need to convince the employer of the value you can offer them. Here’s an example:
“After researching your company and studying the job description thoroughly, I feel confident that I have the transferable skills to succeed in an organization like yours. For instance, in my last position…”
You get the picture.
The bottom line is that, regardless of the industry, every employer is looking for employees who can help them serve customers better, solve problems, or save them time and/or money. If you can illustrate how you can help an employer do those things, then you should be well on your way to landing an interview – and changing careers.
If you need some additional help in your job search, please contact Future Force. As a leading Miami employment agency, we work with some of the top companies in the area and can help you find a job that’s a great fit for you.