The economy has shifted at a rapid pace, with some sectors losing workers while others can’t add talent fast enough to keep up with demand. Making the leap is possible for workers who find themselves searching for jobs. Here are transferable skills to highlight on your resume and consider when searching and applying for new roles in fast-growing fields like logistics or customer service.
Critical thinking
As organizations make pivots and fast-paced changes in response to the global workforce environment, workers can take concepts learned in their previous roles and apply them to new opportunities. In their new roles, workers need critical thinking to apply their knowledge to the interconnectedness of the workplace environment. When there isn’t a road map, thinking on your feet and considering long-term implications is essential and in demand.
Coordination and collaboration
Project management skills will always be in demand, including the need to coordinate and collaborate among multiple people, skill sets, and teams. In any workplace, you’re often expected to juggle multiple projects at once, often over a long-term timetable. Employers will always need people who can set goals, check in on progress regularly, get feedback, and use the resources of others around you.
Time management
Every workplace has the same amount of this limited resource: Time. People who can manage time and workload effectively will be valuable wherever they go. Managing workload effectively means understanding your own abilities and timeline, and also that of others around you. Those who know how to respect others’ time will always send out an agenda before a meeting, set timelines for projects, and create check-in targets to adjust if necessary.
Active listening and communication
More than half (56%) of employers say communication skills, written and verbal, are their most valued human strengths, followed by collaboration and problem-solving, according to a ManpowerGroup global survey. That’s why developing these skills is important for any workplace, and they’ll only become more necessary during change.
Finally, above all, learnability is needed over the long term to adapt to an ever-changing economy. Learnability is the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout careers. Of all transferable skills, learnability is the foundation –– and will help keep you in demand for the future.