Originally published on mrpurple.com.au.
By Dr Tom Hitchcock, founder of Mr Purple (LinkedIn)
Transferable skills are the strengths you can carry from one role, course, project or life experience into the next. The trouble is, most people describe where they used a skill, not the skill itself. They say, ‘I worked in retail’, ‘I cared for a relative’ or ‘I ran the club fundraiser’. Useful context, certainly. Yet the gold is hiding underneath.
You may already be bringing calm judgement, clear communication, planning, persuasion and practical problem solving to the table. The task is to spot those strengths, name them plainly and show how they create value somewhere new.
What transferable skills actually are
A transferable skill is an ability that remains useful when the setting changes. A teacher who can explain a difficult idea clearly may use that strength in training, customer education or team leadership. A hospitality worker who handles a busy service may bring prioritisation, composure and teamwork into an office, a care setting or a growing business.
The setting is the wrapper. The skill is what you did inside it.
Common examples include:
- Listening carefully and asking useful questions
- Explaining information in plain language
- Planning work and meeting deadlines
- Solving problems with limited time or resources
- Building trust with different people
- Learning new systems and processes
- Giving feedback without turning the room into a small civil war
- Taking responsibility when something goes wrong
These strengths can come from paid work, study, volunteering, sport, community activity, caring responsibilities and personal projects. A job title is only one place to look.
Start with moments, not labels
Asking yourself, ‘What are my skills?’ can produce a blank page and a sudden urge to reorganise the pantry. Start with moments instead.
Think of three situations where you:
- Made something clearer, faster or easier
- Helped a person feel heard or supported
- Kept things moving when a plan changed
- Learnt something unfamiliar and used it
- Prevented a problem or recovered from one
- Brought people together around a result
For each situation, write four short notes: what was happening, what you did, which ability you used and what changed afterwards. Keep the outcome honest. It does not need to be heroic. ‘The customer understood the options and made a decision’ is far more convincing than a foggy claim about excellent communication.
Patterns will begin to appear. If people often ask you to untangle confusion, your strength may be sense making. If you regularly notice what others miss, it may be observation. If you keep a group moving without needing the loudest voice, it may be facilitation or quiet leadership.
Name the skill at the right level
Skills can be described too broadly or too narrowly. ‘Good with people’ is broad enough to mean almost anything. ‘Used the Tuesday booking screen at one particular workplace’ is so narrow that it struggles to travel.
A stronger description sits in the middle. Try these translations:
- ‘Answered phones’ becomes ‘listened, clarified needs and directed enquiries accurately’
- ‘Worked on group assignments’ becomes ‘coordinated tasks, resolved different views and met a shared deadline’
- ‘Helped at home’ becomes ‘planned appointments, kept records and communicated with several people’
- ‘Managed social media’ becomes ‘planned content, adapted messages for an audience and reviewed response’
- ‘Dealt with complaints’ becomes ‘stayed calm, identified the issue and found a practical resolution’
Use ordinary words. You are not trying to make a simple strength sound like it has arrived from a management textbook wearing a waistcoat. You are helping another person understand what you can do.
Prove the strength with a small story
A list of skills is easy to claim. A brief example makes the claim believable.
Use this simple sequence:
- Situation: What needed attention?
- Action: What did you personally do?
- Result: What became better, clearer or more reliable?
- Relevance: How could that ability help in the new setting?
For example: ‘A volunteer event had several late changes. I confirmed the essential tasks, reassigned two jobs and kept everyone updated. The event opened as planned. That experience strengthened my ability to prioritise and communicate when circumstances change.’
The final sentence matters. Never make the reader perform the translation alone. Show the bridge between your past experience and their present need.
Put your transferable skills to work
Different situations need different evidence. Choose the strengths that solve the problem in front of you rather than emptying the entire toolbox onto the table.
For a job application
Read the role description and identify the abilities behind the tasks. Match two or three of those abilities with honest examples from your experience. Your cover letter and interview answers should make the connection clear.
For study or a career change
Notice which abilities will help you learn, adapt and contribute while your technical knowledge grows. Curiosity, organisation, communication and persistence can matter greatly when the surroundings are new.
For staff development
Managers can ask people where they already use a desired skill, even if it appears outside their formal role. This can reveal useful strengths that a position description has politely ignored.
For business owners
Look beyond titles when assigning a project or developing a future leader. The person who calmly coordinates a community event may already have planning and stakeholder skills that the business needs.
For more practical thinking about people, performance and growth, explore Mr Purple.
Do not confuse confidence with evidence
Some capable people undersell themselves because the skill feels ordinary to them. Others use impressive labels without a clear example. Neither approach helps.
Confidence is not pretending to be brilliant at everything. It is being able to say, ‘Here is what I can do, here is where I have done it, and here is how it may help.’ That is grounded, useful and refreshingly free of peacock feathers.
Ask someone who knows your work what they rely on you for. Compare their answer with your own list. We often overlook the abilities that feel natural precisely because we use them so often.
Choose one strength and use it deliberately
Pick one transferable strength that matters to your next step. Find one real example, describe it clearly and decide where to use it this week. That might be a conversation, an application, a team meeting or a new responsibility.
If you would like help seeing the strengths hiding in plain sight, book a 15 minute call with Tom. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all it takes.
Common questions
What is the difference between a transferable skill and a technical skill?
A transferable skill is useful across different settings, such as communication or planning. A technical skill is usually tied more closely to a particular task, tool or profession.
Can experience outside paid work count?
Yes. Study, volunteering, sport, caring responsibilities and personal projects can all provide honest examples of useful skills.
How many transferable skills should I mention in an application?
Choose the few that are most relevant to the opportunity and support each one with a clear example. A focused case is stronger than a long shopping list.
What if I cannot think of my own strengths?
Ask people who have worked, studied or volunteered with you what they rely on you for. Then look for repeated themes and connect them to specific moments.
Can transferable skills help when changing careers?
Yes. They help you show how previous experience can create value in a new setting while you build any technical knowledge the new role requires.
