How to find a new job - Transferable Job Skills

Hi, my name is Rebecca, and in today's lesson, we're going to talk about an important technique

you can use to help you get a job. This is the concept of "transferable job skills".

Once again, I said "transferable job skills". Now, what are transferable job skills? Well,

transferable job skills are any skills that you've acquired or that you have got in your

personal life or your professional life which you can transfer to your next job. All right?

Now, why is this important? This is especially important to be able to identify what these

skills are. They're important if you are a new graduate and you're just looking for a

job and you need to transfer some skills from your personal life onto your resume to show

a potential employer what you can do. They are important if you have lost a job and you're

looking for a new job. They are also important if you are changing careers, right? And also

if you're trying to re-enter the workforce in any way after a break. All right? And again,

by being able to identify these skills, you will be able to show your next employer or

a potential employer how... Oh, sorry, what skills you had experienced in the past, what

skills you've picked up in the past, and how you can use them in the future, in your next

job. So, let's look at what some of these skills are.

It's really important to be able to do this because this is the way you can show somebody

what you're capable of doing in the future. All right? Because no job is exactly like

any other job, but by... There are skills which are similar in one job and in other

jobs, and these are what we are trying to identify. Let's look at what some of these

skills are. So, one skill that employers often look for are called... One type of skill is

called "analytical skills". "Analytical" is an adjective which comes from the verb

"to analyze". So, what can you analyze? You can analyze a problem, you can analyze a situation,

you can find the problem, you can identify the cause of something. Right? If you are

good at that type of thing, then you have analytical skills. You can analyze various

types of situations and data.

You might have "communication skills". "Communication" we refer to as any kind of information that's

shared in writing or in speech. All right? So, some people, as you know, are very good

at communication. You may have "leadership skills". You may be very good at motivating

people to achieve certain goals and leading them towards the achievement of those goals.

Those are called "leadership skills".

You may also have good "negotiation skills". You may be able to get a good deal, to bargain

with other people, to convince people of your point of view.

You could have very strong "interpersonal skills". "Interpersonal skills" are the ability

to work with other people, with sensitivity, with thoughtfulness. Right?

You may have "organizational skills". You may be very good at meeting deadlines, setting

up schedules, making a plan, things like that. Okay?

Or another one is "teamworking skills". This is the ability to work successfully in a team,

to work together effectively with a group of people. All right?

Of course, there are many other transferable skills, but these are some of the main ones.

So, what we're going to do now is I'm going to read out something, a particular activity,

and you're going to try to think what type of skill that represents. Okay?

For example, "If you are good at convincing someone", right? "If you're good at convincing

someone, what type of skill is that?" Okay? Have a look. Okay? So, that is called "negotiation".

Right? "Negotiation" or even "communication". Some of these are overlapping skills. Right?

"If you're good at deciding on priorities", "If you're good at deciding what to do in

what order, what type of skill does that represent?" Have a look. Okay? That's an organizational

skill that you have. "If you're good at explaining ideas, what kind of skill does that represent?"

Okay? "Explaining ideas" probably means that you're a good communicator. You have communication

skills. "If you're good at working with different people, what kind of skills are those?" Those

are probably interpersonal skills or team working skills. Right?

"If you're good at delegating tasks", now what does it mean to "delegate"? I'll write

the word for you. "To delegate", right? A task means, in effect, that you don't do everything

yourself. Right? "To delegate" means to assign or give to someone else to do. We all know

managers who try to do everything themselves. Of course, they can't, and so they're always

very, very busy, and the people under them don't sometimes have enough work to do. So

it's important for a manager to be able to delegate, to give responsibilities and assignments

to other people who are under him or her. This is the ability to delegate. What is that?

To delegate tasks is what kind of skill? It's a leadership skill. Good.

Suppose you listen deeply to other people when they speak. You have the ability to listen

deeply to others. What kind of skill is that? Right? That would be an interpersonal skill.

It's also the flip side of communication skill, because communicating with someone also means

being able to listen to them very well. Suppose you know really well how to work towards a

shared goal. What kind of skill does that represent? Working together toward a shared

goal is a team working skill. All right? It's a team working skill.

So here are some. As I said, there are many other skills which are transferable. It's

really important to examine your own life history and to figure out which are your key

qualities. What skills and abilities do you have to offer to a potential employer? All

right? If you'd like to practice this a little bit more, or perhaps do a little quiz on this,

please go to our website at www.engvid.com. You'll find a little quiz on that, as well

as many other useful tips in English. All right?

Thanks very much for watching. All the best with your English and your job. Bye for now.