As a human resource manager, it’s necessary to have a recruitment strategy for the people you want to employ. Part of that strategy is making sure that applicants have the expertise needed for the job they’re pursuing. The other is finding out applicants’ transferable skills.
What exactly are transferable skills? And why does having them make a candidate a top prospect? Read on to find out.
What are transferable skills?
Transferable skills are skills and abilities that apply to numerous situations and positions, both professionally and personally. Whether you are navigating the office or otherwise, these abilities come into play. They’ve likely been developed over time while experiencing various interactions and challenges in work and life. They’re also known as portable skills or soft skills.
Why are transferable skills important?
Why do you need to identify these portable skills? Simply put, new hires with transferable skills need less training. Less training converts to faster results and decreased expenses. These are considerable benefits to your company. Additionally, applicants with essential transferable skills will likely submit an aesthetically pleasing resume. Because of this, you can more easily identify and recruit those who are sure to be valuable and effective employees.
What are examples of essential transferable skills?
While there are many transferable skills, a few are essential in the people you want to recruit.
Teamwork
Any employee you recruit will eventually work as part of a team in the company. You wouldn’t want an employee that shows up to meetings but doesn’t participate in brainstorming and collaborative efforts, right? Check their resume for experience and examples of how they’ve worked as a team member. If you see several of these examples, the candidate can likely work well with a variety of people. Teamwork means collaborating and communicating with a wide range of personalities. This skill makes that candidate very valuable.
Problem-solving
A candidate with problem-solving skills is essential to any company. They not only identify problems but also present solutions. The whole company can appreciate if an employee is able to improve processes and increase efficiency. A skilled problem-solver is also likely to be a wise decision-maker.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking happens when someone analyzes and evaluates available information to choose a course of action. It goes hand-in-hand with problem-solving. A critical thinker is a valuable team member in any area of the company. Employees who can quickly examine and interpret situations are highly desirable.
Leadership
If you recruit someone, you probably see potential in them to become more, right? Promotions typically come to those who show initiative to step up. And when an employee does step up, they demonstrate their leadership skills. Can the potential candidate take responsibility for even things that go wrong? Can they help motivate their team to do the work faster and better? Can they delegate if needed or ask for help? These are all crucial leadership skills for a first-rate recruit.
Adaptability
Yes, positions have defined work responsibilities. However, especially recently, it’s become all too real how much employees need to adapt to different roles and responsibilities. Adaptability skills are a must in strong recruits. Employees can also use these skills to continue their primary functions as the company grows and evolves. A versatile candidate can quickly learn new tasks and processes, meaning increased results.
Communication
Everybody must communicate. But a candidate who can communicate clearly is an excellent asset. They can share ideas and information in a manner that’s understood by all. Again, a skilled communicator increases efficiency and cuts down on costly mistakes. This area is always vital but especially so when working closely with a team.
Indeed, there are more transferable skills, but an ideal candidate will have experience in many of these. Now that you know more about essential transferable skills, you’ll be able to recruit the most capable employees for your company!
