Is Your Resume 'Empty'? These SKILLS Will Help You Get a Job!

You applied for countless job openings but you haven't received any interview invitation. You take a look at your resume, you're pretty sure it's fine, but you feel as if you can write even more on your resume. 

Perhaps you don't feel like including your CGPA in it because you think it's not impressive enough.

This is where you write your transferable skills!

What are Transferable Skills?

Transferable skills are talents and abilities you can apply to a variety of different jobs and industries. That's right, no matter what job you're applying for, adding transferableskills can make your application more impressive!

Transferable skills can be broken down into three categories:

• People (communicating, teaching, coaching and supervising) 
• Data (record keeping, researching, translating and compiling data)
• Things (operating computers/equipment, assembling and repairing).

If you take the time to identify your transferable skills, you can convince employers that you will excel in their company, in any role.

5 Transferable Skills You MUST Have 

• Leadership: If you were once the class monitor in school, you might want to put this in your resume. Good leaders know how to motivate colleagues, set goals, and assign responsibilities. Most importantly, great leaders make the hard decisions
   
• Time Management: Everybody knows time is important, but these are the three things that bosses look for when you say you're good at managing time: Prioritizing tasks, scheduling, and meeting deadlines. So make sure to emphasize them in your resume
   
• Teamwork: You can't escape teamwork. Not in school, not in university and perhaps not even in workplace. If you're a people person and you love working in a group, that's a good skill to write about. It's all about collaborating, respect and working together.
   
• Creativity: See things from a different perspective. Show your (future) boss that you have the ability to see things in a different way. Companies want people that can solve problems in unique ways. If you're passionate in creating new ideas, logos, and slogans, this is what you need in your resume. 
   
• Analytical: Data fascinates you. It's all about reading between the lines. Data analysts are always in high demand, from healthcare to retail. If you know how to collect, examine, and visualize data, you’ll be an asset to a wide variety of teams.

But How do I Highlight These Skills in My Resume?

Try not to highlight your whole resume, just the important keywords.

So you are in the process of updating your resume but don't know where to start. Start with relating your past experience to these transferable skills. See which ones connect and find a way to prove the skill you claim to have. 

Saying "I'm a good leader" isn't good enough. You need say something like "managed a team of three team members, who generated RM4,000 in charity fund".

It's better to show than tell about your achievement. Whether it's articles you've written, or deals you've closed, describe these achievements in a way employers will understand.

The more you break down your past experience into these transferable skills, the easier it will be to predict future roles.

Remember, even if you have zero experience, there are many things that you can share with a potential hiring manager to demonstrate your value. The combination of your hard and soft skills should be mentioned to provide a complete picture of what you can do for the company.

Now that you've got your transferable skills sorted out, why don't you put that lovely resume to work and find your dream job with Maukerja!

This article is adapted from How to Highlight Transferable Skills on Your Resume by Lauren Landry.