Don't Sleep On Your Transferable Skills

Greetings Royal Court,

I want to start with defining transferable skills. According to Indeed.com, transferable skills are skills you possess that are useful to employers across various jobs and industries. Transferable skills are to position your experience when applying for a new job, especially in a different sector.

For example: With Kingsskid, I take on public speaking opportunities to share how to take complex problems and break them down into bite-sized information from a biblical standpoint. These are the same skills used in my 9-5 as I train others on their job functions and the industry.

OR

When I was a student at Paul Quinn College as a student ambassador, I helped recruit students and gave prospective students tours of the college. I could have used that experience on my resume as I was interviewing for my last organization as a recruiter.

I advise that you not sleep on your transferable skills because it was my transferable skills that helped me realize that I was in the right industry but the wrong function.  When I first started my job search, I  was told on many occasions that needed a more relevant experience or corporate training experience.  

As a job seeker, this pushed me to communicate better how the work I have done with Kingsskid aligned with the role I was applying to; my part was to connect the two, not rely on the recruiter to see my transferable skills. When we think about David and his battle with Goliath. Saul questioned whether David could defeat Goliath, and David's response was in 1 Samuel 17:34-37 (NLT)

34 But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!"

David was able to articulate how his experience was relevant to the current battle he was facing. We can learn from David that when you're confident in the skills you have, the industry you use them in doesn't matter. The talent is the same at its core; how you use the gift may change.

Do not sleep on your transferable skills, our skills and expertise are not cookie-cutter and that's okay but it is up to us to share our own narrative.

Recognize them, cultivate them to seek and create crowning moments.

P.S - don't forget the survey for Self Improvement Month