Identify Transferable Skills

Identify Transferable Skills

What Employers Want 

It is important to understand what employers are looking for so you can better articulate how your skills and experience fit their needs. Graduate students have a wide variety of transferable skills that they often forget about. Here are a few that are important to get across when you are applying for non-academic roles:

• Demonstrate that you are lifelong learner
• Know how to have a career conversation and talk about your interests and goals
• Show you know more than technical information- know how to collaborate and solve complex problems 
• Know how to be critical thinkers and adaptive leaders

Learn More 

Do not merely take our word for it — talk with people who are doing jobs that interest you. Read our Making Connections page for more information.

Understanding Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are defined as non-specific skills that can be applied to many professional contexts. You can gain these skills through everyday activities in graduate school (e.g. researching, writing or public speaking) as well as previous experiences (e.g. hobbies, prior jobs or educational experiences). These skills are just as important to showcase in your resume as your technical skills, as most employers will be looking for candidates who have both.

There is generally one main hurdle that graduate students must overcome when seeking employment beyond academia: adequately portraying all the skills acquired in their higher education programs. When you are surrounded by people with similar qualifications, there is an inherent understanding and a common lingo. This can make it difficult to identify and discuss the skills you have acquired in graduate school. It is your responsibility to depict these skills to your potential employer and discuss how they make you a strong candidate for the position. Meeting with a career professional can help you start to curate this list of skills and help you confidently express them during the job search process.

 
Examples of Transferable Skills

Below is a list of transferable skills that many graduate students gain in school. Think about what skills may apply to you. Use this list to inspire new ideas and ways of thinking about your talents. You can also use it to identify skills you want to enhance or develop.

Identify and Improve Your Skills

• Want to stand out? Consider developing specific skills that are in demand in the industry and enhance those you do have. Identify these skills by reviewing job descriptions.
• Do you have trouble with interviews? Practice answering questions about yourself with Big Interview or request an interview Preparation appointment.
• Need experience to further your knowledge of a particular area? Learn through classes on campus, free courses such as Coursera, Lynda.com (free for TAs), or gain experience through an internship.
• Want to improve your teaching skills? Consider obtaining the Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT).
• Want business skills? Consider enrolling in the Graduate Program in Management Practice Certificate through UCSB’s TMP program.
• Need leadership skills? Join a club on campus, check out the GSA or through your department.

Incorporating Transferable Skills onto Your Resume 

On your resume, you want to be able to succinctly highlight the salient skills that you have gained in graduate school that go beyond academic signifiers of success. When put on a resume, transferable skills need to appeal to employer’s interests and highlight relevant skills from the job ad. The practice of making connections between your skills (transferable, technical, etc.) and the job description will serve you well in the interview process where you will further need to articulate your fit. Below are examples for how to turn a graduate task into a transferable skill on your resume. 

Learn More   

For more tips on how to write your resume, visit our Resumes page.

Example 1  

Ph.D. Accomplishment: Teaching Assistant for upper-level religious studies course

Step 1: Identify tasks on your CV: prepare lesson plans, gather information and organize slides, lecture a class of 50-100 students weekly, grade papers, answer student questions and concerns

Step 2: Identify transferable skills: organizational ability, planning and scheduling, strong public speaking skills, ability to translate difficult concepts to a wide-audience, utilize diplomacy in managing conflict, interpersonal skills and supervisory skills

Step 3: Turn info bullets using action verbs for the resume:

• Developed and planned complex material in the field of religious discourse
• Presented to a room of 50-100 students with various levels of understanding
• Mentored students on writing and research projects, and evaluated student performance
• Exercised public speaking skills and provided engaging presentations to a diverse audience
• Managed course room policies, enforced necessary procedures, and utilized diplomacy in managing conflict around personnel issues

Example 2  

Ph.D. Accomplishment: Manage lab assistants during a biology research project

Step 1: Identify tasks on your CV: supervise 3-5 undergrad lab assistants, design experiments, create a lab protocol, care for lab equipment, record measurements and track results, analyze data

Step 2: Identify transferable skills: management and supervisory skills, project management and coordination to ensure completion of progress by specific deadlines, attention to detail, complex problem solving, analytic skills

Step 3: Turn into bullets using action verbs for the resume:

• Supervised and managed 3-5 lab assistants in a life sciences lab while ensuring safety of all participants
• Led review sessions and clarified difficult concepts to ~5 students on research goals
• Developed lab protocols, recorded detailed notes of daily lab work, and utilized problem solving skills to ensure integrity of multi-year long research project
• Provided project management to ensure completion of deadlines, resulting in a 20-page technical report, which is currently pending for publication