EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

Employers believe that if someone else has paid you to do the job, you’re more likely to be good at it. That’s why transferable skills from your past work and formal education can help you market yourself for a new job. But what if you can do the job, even though you’ve never taken a class or been hired to do it? Until you offer proof from other sources, you will appear unqualified. So let’s expand our definition of transferable skills.

When employers hire you, they get all of your knowledge and experience, regardless of where you gained it. Your unpaid experience could translate into skills employers need, so don’t limit yourself. We’ve coached people who got their best proof from their hobbies, volunteer experience, or everyday life. At sixteen, Gordon was more experienced in car repair than most adults. He had helped his uncle overhaul more than a dozen engines and had done two all by himself—just never as an employee. Luke could create a very impressive website in a couple of nights, and had done it numerous times. He even designed one for a friend’s band with videos and music downloads, and another for his mom’s consulting business with an e-store and e-zine. Delia was one of the last managers downsized by a large telecommunications company that had laid off hundreds of workers. She decided to change fields and reinvent herself using her paid and unpaid transferable skills. Her new goal was to manage career services for an educational institution. She reworked her résumé, chose fresh references, and crafted her good answer about her transferable skills:

I have more than ten years’ experience successfully managing a department. As a manager, I have always been active in helping my staff develop their careers, both within the company and as they move on. I was also involved in the employment transition services offered to my staff when they were laid off. For several years I’ve also volunteered as an employment coach for people with significant barriers. I think you’ll find that my solid work history in the private sector, proven leadership skills, job coaching experience, and passion for the field will serve the college and your students well.

Within four months she had started as career services director at a technical school.

If you limit your proof to paid work and formal education, the employer may never see the talents you could bring. Jason wanted to be an assistant manager in a restaurant. He’d been a cook and a waiter, but never a manager. He believed his life experience and natural talent were enough, so we identified the employer’s top needs for the job he wanted, and set out to prove that Jason could meet them. Need by need, we asked him, “Why do you think you can do this? When have you done it before?” Many of his answers came from a single experience: taking over as coach of a community baseball team that had been last in the league for two years. As coach, he revamped practices, corrected mistakes, taught new skills, brought in new talent, and motivated the defeated players. Within a year, he took the team from last to second in the league. He was a great manager! We just had to present it so the employer could connect the skills he used with the team to the skills needed to be an assistant restaurant manager.

Let’s look at how you can pull transferable skills and develop powerful Facts, Credible References, Demonstration, and Stories from less traditional sources. Let’s start with Facts and Credible References. Here are ten sources of transferable skills you may not have thought you could use, as well as a sample Fact for each, how the skill could be verified, and who could act as a Credible Reference for it. Remember, people are credible because of their expertise, firsthand knowledge of your skill, or relationship with the employer you wish to work for.

• Volunteer Experience. I have painted the exterior of more than a dozen houses. What my customers appreciate most is that I work fast, but I am always careful, and clean up after myself. Provide a list of “happy customers,” even if they are neighbors and the elderly shut-ins for whom you did the work for free. Others who could vouch for you include another volunteer, an employee of the organization you volunteer for, or a public official who admires your efforts.

• Internship or Trial Work Experience. I have experience with most office technology, including computers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, video conferencing, LCD projectors, multi-line phones, and teleconferencing. The fact that you learned it all during a brief internship or work trial does not need to be mentioned until you are asked in an interview. If you gained a mentor through the experience (someone who is an expert in the field, who has chosen to guide you in your career), your mentor can vouch for your skills and will often give you access to his or her contacts.

• Daily Life. I have 2 years’ experience caring for an elderly man with Alzheimer’s. The employer doesn’t need to know until the interview that the elderly man is your grandfather, and a reference from your grandfather’s doctor can verify your skills. To verify skills pulled from your daily life, consider who has seen you use the needed skills, like another parent on the PTA who can vouch for your organizational skills and ability to get the job done, or the plumber who plumbed your new bathroom and noticed how skillfully you had tiled the floor.

• Hobbies. I have been restoring furniture for 10 years. Here’s a picture of my work. Pictures or samples of your work can prove the quality of your skills. Whether your hobby is fixing cars or computers, you can have “customers” you served or someone who shares your hobby testify to your skill.

• Natural Ability. Animals seem to know I am their friend and easily trust me. I’d be happy to volunteer a few days to show you what I mean. What comes easily to you? What do others ask you to do? You may not think of these as skills, but they are. They are your natural skills.

• Education. I have completed 6 units of Early Childhood Development. If you haven’t completed your degree or your degree isn’t relevant to the work you are pursuing, you can still highlight related courses, plus relevant seminars sponsored by past employers. Fellow students who are employed in the field or instructors who are impressed with your industry knowledge, skill, or performance could vouch for you.

• Self-Taught. I have built 6 computers from parts and have upgraded more than 24, receiving nothing but praise from customers. Self-taught skills can often be proven by taking a test, using the skill in front of employers, showing samples of your work, or having “customers” (often friends and family) vouch for the quality of your work.

Transferable skills can even be pulled from experiences that normally shouldn’t be mentioned in an interview. If you, like the people in the examples below, have valuable transferable skills from these nontraditional sources, you can use them. Just be sure to share them in ways that don’t raise additional concerns.

• Community Service or Welfare Program. I created a plan that increased day care attendance by 15%, earning the company more than $30,000 a year. The director of the day care center wrote a letter of recommendation verifying the contribution. In the interview, Shaundra explained she had been a volunteer, but not that it had been a government-mandated program.

• Prison Experience. I have 4 years’ experience working in a very busy industrial kitchen. Bo didn’t state that it all happened while he was an inmate, because he crafted a good answer for the interview.

• Residential/Treatment Program. I have 10 months’ experience doing deliveries and pickups in this city, and always completed my routes on time. Matt didn’t share that the skills were gained as part of his work therapy program. He used his work therapy supervisor, not his counselor, as a work reference.

Now that you’ve seen how to pull Facts and Credible References from less traditional sources, let’s look at how you can draw Demonstration and Stories from them. The great thing about Demonstration is that it doesn’t matter where you gained the skill or quality you are demonstrating, just that employers like what they see. So, demonstrating skills from less traditional sources is easy. We once had a client who had never had a paid job and wanted to work for the Parks and Recreation Department. She impressed employers using a newspaper article that touted her contribution as the volunteer coordinator of a highly successful, local festival and included a picture of her with the mayor. Another client, to prove his skill with plants, brought a rare and delicate orchid from the collection he’d cultivated, and left it for the employer as a gift to make sure he was remembered. No matter where you gained the skills needed to do the job you want, demonstrate them every chance you get during the hiring process.

Stories can also come from less traditional sources. To prove she is detail-oriented, a woman told a Story of how she orchestrated all the travel plans for forty-five kids and nine chaperones for a high school choir’s thirteen-day European tour. To prove he is conscientious and disciplined, a man shared how in his personal finances he has never been overdrawn or charged a late fee. Another woman who was interviewing as a teacher’s assistant for an inner city school explained that she’d spent twenty-two years bringing up six children who had all graduated high school, were drug-free, and supported themselves.

When pulling Stories from your personal life, be careful that they don’t seem inappropriate or introduce new concerns. Share them with friends before the interview to make sure you strike the right balance. Cellie’s dream was to own a business in the field of animal care, but she knew that to be successful would take more money and business savvy than she currently had. We suggested she begin by working at a local animal rescue center. One of the skills the center required was the ability to calm and manage anxious animals. To discover how Cellie could prove she had this skill, we asked her why she thought she was good at it and when she had done it before. Her wandering examples included:

I’ve been doing it for years. Locally, I’m known for taking in strays and hurt animals. My neighbors call me if they see one, or even bring them to my house. [This could work, as long as she is not seen as the “scary cat lady” type.]

Animals seem to trust me more than they trust other people, and I understand how to move and speak to help them feel calm and safe. [This is good, but too generic. Let’s get specific.]

Right now I have a cockatoo that was given to me by a woman who decided he was too aggressive to keep around her children. I’m socializing him, as I do with most of my strays. One technique I use is water. Cockatoos don’t like water, so getting him to trust me when he is in or around water can speed up the process. Every morning when I shower, I bring the cockatoo into the bathroom, hoping he’ll join me in the shower. [Whoa! Too visual . . . That’s a story that should never be told in an interview. Let’s try again.]

There are two wild magpies that live in my front garden. Magpies are notorious for not liking people, but I’ve gotten them to trust me so much that they will eat out of my hand. [Wow! She’s like Snow White.]

In the end, we crafted a Story about Minty and Jelly Bean, the magpies, and a Story of how Cellie socialized a stray puppy that was successfully integrated into a family with three young children.

**WHEN NOT TO USE AN EXAMPLE OF TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS**

We have given you lots of ideas on where and how to find proof that you can do the job, so it may seem that nothing is offlimits—but that is not entirely true. There are two reasons you would choose not to use an example. One, when it creates new concerns, and, two, if you don’t want to.

Sometimes specific proof can introduce new concerns. For example, a person who needs to prove she is caring, patient, and resourceful may want to pull proof from her experience caring for her disabled child. It’s true that this activity can prove this, but many employers will be concerned that she will also be tired or distracted at work, miss too many days or ask for extra time off, or leave to resume care of the child. Unfortunately, the employer doesn’t know how old the child is, how reliable the new caregiver is, or how much responsibility she still has (feels) for the child’s well-being, and most won’t ask. So this proof may cause more problems than it solves.

The second reason not to use an example is because you don’t want to. If proof of a needed quality, attitude, or skill comes from a painful experience, you don’t have to use it. Particularly if the negative situation probably won’t come up (a juvenile offense that has been sealed or expunged, former addiction, or a struggle with mental illness that doesn’t show in your work history). Too often, in an effort to be honest, people turn an interview into either a confessional or a therapy session. Your diploma from the school of hard knocks will not impress employers unless it’s clear how it benefits them. They seldom hire people because they feel sorry for them due to a personal crisis, unfair dismissal, divorce, etc. . . . so why share it? However, if that negative situation is going to come up anyway (having been fired, time spent in prison, and so forth), why not turn lemons into lemonade and use it to prove you can meet the employer’s needs? At least this way you get to share what you learned and how the employer will benefit from your hard times. Chapter 16 will show you how to address these types of issues.

THE RULES FOR EFFECTIVELY USING TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

We answered the question of where to find your transferable skills. Now let’s take a look at the rules for using them. If used correctly, they are very effective. If not, they can make you look as if you don’t understand the employer’s perspective.

When we told you about Jason, the community baseball coach who wanted to be an assistant restaurant manager, did you think, That’s nice, but an employer is never going to buy his coaching experience as proof that he would be a good manager? They did! And they will buy your proof, too, as long as you follow these rules. It’s easy to do when using paid work and formal education, but can be trickier when using less traditional sources. Most employers would express surprise that someone who grows award-winning tomatoes in their back garden thinks it proves they can run a farm, or that because someone is a parent they think they’re automatically qualified to be a preschool teacher. Job seekers who try to make leaps like these do not understand how to use transferable skills. The rules here will help you avoid their mistakes.

Rule 1: Do not assume an accomplishment can be turned into something more than it is. Growing award-winning tomatoes in your garden proves you have the knowledge, skills, and patience to grow award-winning tomatoes (and perhaps other plants). It does not prove that you understand the issues involved with growing them on a mass scale or managing a farm. If you wanted to use this experience to get a job managing a tomato farm, you would need to offer additional proof for the other skills required to run a large farm. Also, being good at a skill doesn’t prove you can teach it to others. If you want to teach, you need to prove your ability to transfer information to others. If the primary skill you want to use is growing award-winning plants, you should pursue gardening jobs at specialty nurseries.

Rule 2: You must have done it, and done it well. Just because you have done something as a hobby, or hold a title in your personal or professional life (Mom, football coach, Sunday school teacher, boss) doesn’t prove you are skilled at it. Your proof must demonstrate that you can do the thing well. Being a parent doesn’t mean you are good with children. If you want to use your parenting experience to prove you are good with kids, you must give specific examples. To prove you are creative and familiar with the needs of children, you could share crafts and indoor activities you designed to entertain your kids on rainy days. To prove that other parents find you trustworthy, you might share how yours is the one house on the block where all the parents allow their kids to spend the night because you are so responsible, and the children have a great time!

Rule 3: Don’t make big leaps. Employers won’t take the leap from your personal life to your work life, or from one job to another, if it doesn’t make sense. So be sure the skill you are trying to prove is actually proven by the activity you describe. Would you hire a teenage girl to watch your children simply because she has been responsibly taking care of the family pet for the last three years? I’m guessing not. But could she use the fact that she has gotten up at 6 a.m. seven days a week for the last three years to walk her dog, and only missed four days when the doctor said she had to stay in bed, to prove that she is dependable and can show up on time in the morning? Definitely!

Rule 4: Don’t assume employers know. When pulling skills from your personal life or from a different field of work, don’t assume employers know all that is entailed in doing a task, as they would if you mentioned a skill from their workplace. Your proof should describe the skills used to successfully do the task. Stating that you were the chairperson for your class reunion planning committee does not prove you have organizational skills, so describe specifically what you did:

I personally negotiated special rates with an airline and four hotels, and organized ground transportation for more than three hundred out-of-town guests. I planned and organized all the arrangements for three unique day-after activities that were attended by more than two hundred people. This included selecting sites, negotiating contracts, collecting payments, arranging transportation, and doing all the crisis management that comes with coordinating a multi-site function. As chairperson, I oversaw the activities of three committees, comprised of 12 people who were responsible for marketing & registration, decorations & nostalgia, and food & entertainment. The reunion received rave reviews from alumni and their families.

Rule 5: Use the employer’s language. Paint a picture the employer can relate to before she discovers where you gained the skill. This is easily done by replacing situation-specific language with generic language or business terms. In the example above “300 guests” simply becomes “300 delegates.” What other language might you change in that example? For Jason, the baseball coach: “In the first six games our fielding errors went from 40% to 25%,” became “Within six weeks, I was able to decrease mistakes in a key area by 15%.”

Rule 6: Look for concerns. Once you have prepared your proof, review it for anything that might concern an employer. Andre has had a long and successful career in corporate management, but he wants to make a difference in his community before he retires in ten years. He is pursuing leadership positions in the nonprofit sector, but employers are concerned that the pay and the excitement won’t be enough, and that he will soon return to his former career. He could attempt to reduce their concerns by explaining that he is financially comfortable, has always planned to spend the last ten years of his career giving back, and looks forward to expanding their donor base to include local corporations and professionals.

Rule 7: Make it verifiable. When you’re using less traditional work, there is no “past employer” to vouch that you did what you say you did. So you must create a way for the employer to verify your proof. An article in the local paper that hails the reunion as a success and gives you credit can vouch for your skills in organizing the event. Your grandfather’s doctor or visiting nurse could vouch for your skills with the elderly. Samples of your work could confirm your skill as a cook or website designer. A detailed but brief description (ninety seconds or less) of the rainy-day activities you designed with your kids can substantiate your creativity. Notes of thanks and praise from friends whose cars you fixed can attest to your mechanical skills. A list of “customers” you help (for free) could corroborate your skill. Or you could offer to do a work trial. If they can’t verify it, most employers won’t accept your word as proof.

Rule 8: Don’t get pigeonholed by your past career. Use a skills résumé so you highlight your transferable skills, not your past jobs. (Remember, skills résumés are most effective with small to midsize companies.) Don’t have all your Stories or Facts come from one job or industry that is different from the job you are now applying for. Be sure your Credible References market you for your new career, not your old job. And show more enthusiasm for your new career than for your old one.

Rule 9: Always prepare a good answer for the interview. Be ready to explain to employers why your skill is relevant to their business and to give the rest of the story about where you gained it. As you develop your answer, listen to it as if you were the employer, or ask a friend who is an employer to help you. We’ll teach you how to do this in Chapter 16.

We’ve given you all the techniques and rules for using less traditional proof. Now let’s put it all together. So how did Jason use his baseball coaching experience to prove he’d be a great assistant restaurant manager? First, he combined his previous restaurant experience with the leadership skills gained as a coach. Next, he made sure his transferable skills followed the rules—including using general business language instead of baseball terms. Here is an example of his proof using each of our four techniques.

1. Fact. As the leader of a team of 14 people, I increased success by 60% within 8 weeks. Rather than, The team won only 1 out of 5 games the first half of the season, but won 4 out of 5 in the second half when I was coach.

2. Demonstration. The clear and easy-to-follow connection Jason drew between being a successful coach and a great manager for the restaurant demonstrated his ability to take complicated or uncommon ideas and make them simple for staff to understand.

3. Credible References. A former employer vouched that he relied on Jason to run the kitchen when the lead cook didn’t show up. Another verified that within seven months, she began pairing new waiters with Jason so he could train them.

4. Story. To prove his skills in problem-solving and staff support, Jason shared this Story: One of my team members was ready to quit, so I took him aside for a chat. Turns out, he was unhappy about being transferred out of a position he felt he was good at. After evaluating the situation, I implemented a plan that allowed him to share the position, and sold him on using his strengths across two functions. This allowed me to retain his talent, and made him happy. In fact, he even recruited a strong new team member.

Using proof from his coaching experience on his résumé and cover letter got Jason interviews. Sharing his proof in the interview impressed the employer, but it also raised a question: “Where did you get all this management experience?” When you use unpaid or less traditional experience to prove you can do the job, you must also have a good answer to explain it. Jason’s good answer sounded something like this: I’ve been successfully managing projects and teams for years—it’s one of my natural skills and interests. To date, my management experience has been unpaid. The examples I’ve given you come from my work with a losing baseball team that I took to second in the league in the first year. I’ve been the manager for three years now. Sometimes, I think unpaid managers have an extra challenge, because the team they manage doesn’t have the incentive of a paycheck to work hard or give their best. I’m really looking forward to using my natural skills and experience to make us both money. Jason’s proof and good answer resulted in two assistant management offers!