Communication skills
Workplaces rely on communication for things to run smoothly, so skills you have here will be a benefit to
them. These skills can be used communicating within your team or company, as well as externally – for
example, to customers.
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Listening: not only taking on what’s communicated to you but also interpreting and understanding it.
Writing: this isn’t necessarily creative writing; it’s any kind of interaction that involves the written word,
such as reports, emails, letters, sales materials and articles.
Face-to-face: communicating in person, including facilitating meetings, interviewing, persuading,
negotiating, expressing ideas plus speaking in public or to groups.
People skills
These are the skills that help you interact and get along with others – including co-workers, customers and
clients. People skills are very valuable to organisations especially as they place growing importance on team
culture and performance. Here are just a few examples.
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Co-operation: being able to collaborate, work well with others and effectively contribute to projects or
tasks.
Empathy: putting yourself in someone else’s shoes to try and understand or relate to them.
Patience: the ability to handle trying situations, repeat processes when necessary, take time to make
thoughtful decisions, accept delays or persevere.
Flexibility: willingness to adapt to a new situation or change approach when needed.
Leadership skills
Effective leaders can motivate their team and make decisions, which are things almost any successful business
needs.
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Prioritisation and delegation: being able to step back from the coalface and decide what needs to be done
first, and determining which jobs are necessary and who can best handle them.
Critical thinking and problem solving: looking at problems, analysing them and coming up with
solutions.
Coaching, mentoring and feedback: supporting and encouraging people to achieve goals, helping them
work through roadblocks, plus providing feedback and information on performance.
This isn’t a complete list of all the transferable skills out there – you may be able to come up with more that
apply to you.
Identifying these skills and using them as selling points in your applications and online profiles will help you
to stand out. List these transferable skills throughout your career history in your resume and make mention of
them in your cover letter.
It’s also important to think of how you can show examples of specific ways you’ve used these transferable
skills so you can talk about them to potential employers – for example, in an interview setting. Our Practice
Interview Builder can help you prepare responses to common interview questions and boost your confidence.