Have You Assessed Your Skills? Here’s How Having a Broad Skill Set Can Get You Hired

Looking for a complete career change, but you aren’t sure how your past experience might be relevant? You are not alone. According to The Balance Careers, people change jobs on average 12 times over the course of their lifetime. The focus on having one career path throughout life can leave those of us with multiple interests a bit at a loss, as it can be tricky to see how your love of art, for example, might tie in with your enthusiasm for science.

Having a variety of interests and a broad range of experience in different roles can actually greatly increase your opportunities in the workplace. Venturing into a new career doesn’t have to mean the past is wasted, and every interest and different avenue you might have taken leads to a wide range of skills that employers are looking for. Have a look at some of the most common, yet unexpected, compatible careers you might never have thought shared similar skill sets that are desired by employers.

Skill Type: Interpersonal Skills

Customer Service roles are one of the most common first jobs according to Monster, with “cashier” being the second most common first job people have before embarking on their chosen career path. But with so many different career paths to choose from, how can your customer service role give you the skills you need to get hired in your dream job?

For creative jobs, you might not think that customer service experience can provide relevant skills. However, there are many transferable skills which can enhance your C.V. and help you bag an artistic job. It’s just about knowing which skills to focus on. Having good people skills are essential in most job roles. Even if you aren’t working directly with the public, employers need someone who can work as part of a team and communicate well with those around them. Therefore, your experience working with colleagues as part of a team, and interacting with a variety of customers, is sure to be relevant for an art or design role.

Skill Type: Organisational Skills

Another two unlikely career paths which share a range of transferable skills is the care industry and marketing. One key ability, aside from interpersonal skills, is having excellent organisational skills.

When it comes to marketing, being able to organise and arrange your tasks is key to being successful. From demanding deadlines to managing others, having well developed organisational skills is essential. But how is this related to the care industry? Well, depending on your role, you will be able to use your organisational skills in a variety of ways. If you work in the community, you will need to organise your day to have enough time to visit and assist your clients, and often help them to organise their day too. If you work with people with learning difficulties or mental health issues, part of your role will likely be to make a plan for them to achieve their goals, whether it be to live independently or socialise with others.

Skill Type: Research Skills

Whether you are a fiction or non-fiction writer, there are a number of transferable skills if you want to get into charity work. One of the skills which writers have to be proficient at is doing research around the topic they are writing about. This often overlooked skill is not only very helpful in life but can be applied to many careers.

Within the charity sector, there are many roles to choose from. From the fundraising roles to the management jobs, however, being able to research and keep up to date with any changes to your charity is essential. There are of course many writing roles for most charities, too. In these roles you can use your previous writing expertise as well as your passion for the cause. If you are speaking to the public about your cause then being knowledgeable about the details of your charity is essential, as is passion and dedication. Researching the past of your charity, having a good knowledge of their achievements so far and being able to see how they could raise more funds in creative ways can help you succeed as a charity worker.

Skill Type: Problem-Solving Skills

Alongside the compassionate and caring qualities shared by those working with humans or animals, having excellent problem-solving skills is essential. Whether you are a general nurse or are specialising in paediatrics or mental health, the ability to think on your feet and cope well under pressure is a transferable skill which is related to a number of disciplines.

If you are planning on taking the leap from caring for humans to caring for animals, there are a lot of skills you have already acquired that will be applicable to your new role. The most similar role would of course be going into a veterinary role, whether it be as a veterinary nurse or animal nursing assistant. Much of the scientific and medical knowledge you already have will be directly related to your new job. For other animal-related roles, however, such as an animal carer or animal behaviourist, you’ll need good problem-solving skills. Although you can have all the knowledge under your belt, both humans and animals can often be unpredictable. Being able to face new challenges and figure out ways in which to best help your patients (be they children or chinchillas!) is the key to making you an excellent nurse or carer.