The difference between job duties and transferrable skills

What is the difference between job duties and transferrable skills?

Transferrable skills are the abilities you use to perform your job duties. And no, that does not mean they are the same thing.

Let's look at a customer service representative in a retail setting.

This person's job is to sell you the goods in the store. It may also include stocking shelves etc, but let's just look at their job duty of selling.

What skills are involved?

Assuming this person is good at their job, there will be a multitude of skills involved.

• communication skills (able to get along well with people from all walks of life)
  
• friendly (approachable)
  
• helpful (genuinely trying to assist the customer)
  
• patient (some customers can take a very long time to decide)
  
• able to explain things clearly and concisely
• knowledge of the products on sale
• problems solving (customers often shop to for solutions to problems, and need help deciding)
  
• good listening skills (you need to know what the customer wants before you can sell then what is best suited to them)
• ability to multi-task (customers want to pay, others want to ask questions, the phone is ringing .....)
• team player also able to work independently (working with others on the floor, or on your own)
• ...

There are a great many more we could include, but that is enough to get the picture.

The job duty of selling shoes, for example, is only transferrable to selling shoes somewhere else, but all these transferrable skills that are part of selling shoes can be used in a multitude of other jobs, not necessarily involved with selling.

So think about your job experiences, and write a list, not of your job duties, but of all the skills that were involved in performing them. You'll be amazed at how many you can find.

Write a resume that will get results.

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Decide what you want to do and are qualified to do right now.

Yes, you want a job you like. I am 100% behind that choice. However, you also need to choose a job you CAN do!

Why should an employer hire you to do something he has to train you for when he could hire someone else who can already do it?

Some jobs, of course, need in house training or orientation. Some jobs will be advertised with the offer of "Will train." That's fine.

However, if you see a job that requires a specific skill, there is not much point in applying with the promise that you are a quick learner or will later take a course.

For now, go for the jobs you can do right now.

If you have aspirations for something else you can find a job that allows you to train on the job and eventually move up. Or you can take courses in the evening or online, and ultimately find the job you like.

Be patient. You can get there is that's what you want to do. But you are just asking for rejection by constantly applying for jobs for which you are not qualified.

Find out how to enjoy your job and find what you would love to do as a career.

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