Building on Experience: Identify and Harness Your Transferable Skills After 50

What are Transferable Skills?

Transferable skills are skills that can be applied to a variety of jobs or industries. They are often related to soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving, facilitation, leadership, and teamwork. These skills can be invaluable as they can help you find a new job or advance in your career as well as to differentiate yourself from other job seekers.

Why are Transferable Skills Important after 50?

As you get older, your skills and experience become more valuable. However, in a competitive job market, it may be difficult to find a job that is a good fit for your skills and experience. Transferable skills can help overcome this challenge, making you potentially more attractive than younger candidates for a variety of jobs. It’s important to stress your characteristics like stability, resourcefulness, and your commitment to staying in a job. Of course, it is important to keep your business or technical skills current.

How Do You Identify Your Transferable Skills?

Reflect on your past experiences, particularly challenging ones. What skills did you use in those experiences? What were you good at? What did you enjoy doing? Once you have a list of those skills, you can start to determine how they are transferable to other jobs or industries. After you have identified your transferable skills, quantify them. This means putting a number on your skills. For example, if you have excellent communication skills, you could share that you’ve developed presentations and delivered them to upwards of 100 staff. If you are touting your presentation skills, stress resulting sales quotas or performance improvement that resulted from your presentations. Quantifying your skills makes them easier to market to potential employers. Highlight these skills in your LinkedIn profile, resume and cover letter. You should also be prepared to discuss your skills during interviews.

Using Your Transferable Skills to Find a New Job or Advance in Your Career

Once you have identified, quantified, and marketed your transferable skills, you should leverage them to find a new job or advance in your career. Search for jobs or promotion opportunities that list your transferable skills as requirements or desired qualifications. You might also network with people in your field and let them know about these important skills.

Resources for Further Information

There are a few resources available to help you identify and harness your transferable skills after 50. Here are a few of them:

• The AARP Career Resource Center: This website offers a variety of resources for older workers, including information on transferable skills.

• The National Career Development Association: This organization offers career development resources, including a list of transferable skills.

• The Occupational Information Network (O*NET): This database provides information on a variety of occupations, including transferable skills.

Summary

Transferable skills are valuable assets for anyone, but they are especially important for older workers, as they can be a differentiator. By identifying, quantifying, and marketing your transferable skills, you can increase your chances of finding a new job or advancing in your career.

Additional Tips

• Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. When you’re reflecting on your past experiences, don’t just think about your jobs. Consider your volunteer work, hobbies, and even your personal projects and other activities as well. You may be surprised at the skills you’ve developed in these areas that could be transferable to the workplace.

• Use online resources. There are many websites and online tools that can help you identify your transferable skills. These resources can also provide you with tips on how to market your skills and find a new job.

• Get feedback from others. Ask friends, family, and former colleagues for their input on your skills. They may be able to help you identify skills that you’ve overlooked.

• Don’t be afraid to sell yourself. When you’re applying for a job, be sure to highlight your transferable skills in your resume and cover letter. You should also be prepared to discuss your skills during interviews.

Your transferable skills are valuable assets along with your business or technical skills. Don’t be afraid to use them to your advantage and stress them during interviews.