Photo by Also referred to as portable skills, transferable skills are abilities that can be adapted to suit a variety of roles and job types, and are therefore highly regarded by employers and recruiters alike. They often prove to be particularly valuable for those looking to change their career path, however can be equally crucial to those prospering in their current careers looking to develop themselves on a personal and professional level.
By actively investing time and effort into building your personal and professional skill set, you’re sure to feel more confident in what you can achieve – helping you to become successful in all aspects of your life as a result. So, to help you focus on making a positive impact on your own self-development, this article by the forex experts at Learn to Trade will discuss the 3 key transferable skills you should look to enhance this year to the benefit of both your CV and general outlook.
Initiative
A must in any job, using initiative will help you come to decisions quicker and prove your worth in a busy team environment. Not only is this a vital attribute to those of you in existing careers by helping you to get noticed as reliable, problem-solving individuals, but to a hiring employer this skill will make you stand out as a self-starter and disciplined individual eager to progress in your next role.
Whether this requires you to do some reading on a topic outside of work hours or simply means asking more questions instead of just accepting an answer, using your initiative requires confidence in oneself to help you go above and beyond what is required of you.
Organisation
The ability to plan ahead of time and organise tasks according to priority order isn’t a skill you’re necessarily born with – instead, it’s an ability you acquire through actively engaging with and practising the art of organisation. Whether you’ve learned how to plan and create strategies as part of your forex career and are looking to transfer this to a role in marketing, or you’ve never needed this skill before and are suddenly expected to have it to land your dream job, organisation is so much more than Marie Kondo’s tidying tips.
Perfecting this skill requires a change of mindset. So for example, if you usually let your partner plan your summer holidays, why not take on this responsibility yourself ? Or, when at work, look to take charge of your office Christmas party to show your colleagues your keenness to progress in this area.
Flexibility
There will arguably never be a more valuable skill than flexibility. Proving yourself as a flexible individual projects you as someone who cares for others, and will allow others to regard you as a colleague who will make time to get the job done because you care about the task at hand, not just because you’re getting paid for it.
There are plenty of ways you can look to develop and prove yourself with this skill. Whether you pick up part-time forex trading in your spare time, learning what it means to become flexible in terms of your schedule as a result, or you show how you can adapt your B2B communicative skills to a B2C audience, flexibility can be easily transferred to all jobs and is an ability which will make you stand out from your competitors and colleagues.
In the majority of cases, being able to utilise and adapt your transferable skills to new situations is far more valuable than already having the relevant practical experience. So while experience is good to have, be sure to focus on the skills that just need freshening up a little bit.
Author bio:
John James is a content writer for Learn To Trade, the foreign exchange education and learning specialists – offering a range of training courses to help people understand the currency trading market, as well as its opportunities and risks.
