MAKE THE SWITCH
TRANSFERABLE skills are the key to making a successful career change, but knowing how to identify them and showcase them to a prospective employer does not always come naturally.
Jobseekers looking to move into an entirely new line of work can become caught up worrying about the industry-specific skills they do not have, and forget all the other skills they already do have.
Career coaching service Glow Up Careers chief executive Yvonne Kelly is running a free webinar series called Bridging Careers from October 19 to 23, and says people often think they have to study before making a career change but that is not necessarily the case if they have transferable skills.
“If (jobseekers) have the core skills and employers can see that enthusiasm and passion and that they are willing to learn, they are then willing to put the training in,” she says.
Exclusive insights from Dynata show two-thirds of Australians consider themselves to possess transferable skills in problem solving (68 per cent) and communication (67 per cent).
Another third (37 per cent) believe they have digital literacy.
Although Generation X is the most likely generation to report having leadership skills (56 per cent), Baby Boomers are most likely to say they are organised (61 per cent) and Millennials are most likely to believe they can influence others (34 per cent).
Coles chief people officer Kris Webb says the supermarket chain has hired people from a wide range of backgrounds, and jobseekers often have more transferable skills than they realise.
“The obvious one is people skills,” she says. “Customer service is very transferable, too.
“People who have worked anywhere where you are required to work as a part of a team, build a sense of community and work flexibly and in a sustainable way … seem to fit right into the Coles family.” Physio Inq chief executive Jonathan Moody says his physiotherapy and allied heath business hires with a focus on soft skills.
“We would 100 per cent hire someone who may be seen as less trained in a particular area, to then get them mentored by senior or more experienced staff to improve their technical abilities,” he says.