How to Highlight Transferable Skills on Your CV
In the current dynamic job market, many professionals find themselves considering career changes or applying for positions that differ significantly from their previous roles. This is where transferable skills become invaluable. These are abilities and knowledge you’ve acquired in one context that are applicable in another. They can make you a strong candidate, even if you lack direct experience in a particular field. Here’s how to effectively highlight these skills on your CV.
What Are Transferable Skills?
Transferable skills are versatile and can be applied across various jobs and industries. They include:
- Communication: Writing, speaking, listening, and presenting.
- Leadership: Managing teams, projects, and mentoring.
- Problem-Solving: Analytical thinking, troubleshooting, and innovation.
- Teamwork: Collaboration, conflict resolution, and negotiation.
- Time Management: Prioritising tasks, meeting deadlines, and multitasking.
- Technical Proficiency: Skills like using software, tools, and technology relevant to various fields.
Identifying Your Skills
Start by reflecting on your past roles, volunteer work, education, and hobbies. Consider tasks where you:
- Led a project or team.
- Improved a process or system.
- Managed time-sensitive assignments.
- Communicated complex ideas clearly.
- Collaborated with diverse groups.
Tailoring Your CV for the Job
1. Analyse the Job Description
Carefully read the job description to identify the skills and experiences the employer values most. Highlight keywords and phrases that match your transferable skills.
2. Match Your Skills to Job Requirements
For each skill mentioned in the job description, find a corresponding experience from your past roles. Create a list that maps your transferable skills to the job’s requirements.
Structuring Your CV
1. Professional Summary
Begin with a professional summary that emphasises your top skills and how they make you an ideal candidate for the role.
2. Key Skills Section
Include a dedicated “Key Skills” section where you list your transferable skills. Use bullet points and ensure they align with the job description.
3. Work Experience
When describing your previous roles, focus on accomplishments that demonstrate your transferable skills. Use bullet points and action verbs to make your achievements clear and impactful.
4. Education and Certifications
If your education or certifications highlight relevant transferable skills, be sure to include them. This can help bridge any gaps between your past experience and the job you’re applying for.
5. Additional Sections
Include sections for volunteer work, internships, or extracurricular activities that showcase your transferable skills. These experiences can be particularly valuable if they demonstrate leadership, teamwork, or problem-solving abilities.
Proofread and Customise
Always proofread your CV to eliminate any errors. Customise each application to ensure your transferable skills are highlighted in the most relevant way for each job.
Conclusion
Highlighting transferable skills on your CV is about making connections between your past experiences and the job you want. By clearly articulating how your skills are applicable and beneficial, you can present yourself as a versatile and valuable candidate, even if your background doesn’t exactly match the job description. Remember, it’s not just about what you’ve done, but how well you can adapt your skills to meet new challenges.
The CV Agency are experts at producing career changing CVs and can showcase your skills with maximum impact. Contact us on +35314991466 or cv@cvagency.ie to discuss your requirements.
The Graduate CV: 3 Top Tips
A graduate CV is very similar to other types of CVs in its fundamental requirements. Like all CVs, they should be carefully designed, well written and concise, with a good layout and a clear message.
Unfortunately, after countless hours labouring over essays, projects, and exams, many graduates fall at the final hurdle when it comes to writing their CV. The result of this is that otherwise excellent graduates do not get the opportunity they deserve.
Here are thee top tips from our senior CV writer about writing a graduate CV:
1. Enthusiasm
It is absolutely essential to show a potential employer you are enthusiastic about joining them. Make it clear in your CV and cover letter that you are passionate, motivated, and eager to be a part of their team. Even a candidate with no work experience can impress an employer if they are fully engaged and hungry to succeed.
2. Detail
The devil is in the detail when it comes to a graduate CV. Many graduates will simply include the most basic details, while omitting crucial facts that will give them the edge when it comes to getting called for interview. Be sure to include relevant experience from any internships, part-time work, courses, and extracurricular activities.
3. Focus
While you may be considering different career choices when you graduate, employers want to see that you are fully committed to working with them and 100% focused on that career. Your graduate CV should be clearly focused on the job you are targeting and avoid any statements which may give rise to doubt about your aspirations.
Not sure if your graduate CV is strong enough? Send your CV to cv@cvagency.ie and we will review it for free.
How to Write a Cover Letter
A great cover letter needs to be engaging and relevant to the position you are applying for. It should tell the employer what you can offer them, how your skills and experience are compatible with the role, and why you want to work for that business. It should also be distinctive and make you stand out from other applicants.
Your cover letter should sell you to a potential employer. Step out of your shoes for a moment and think about how other people would describe you. What positive things would they say? How do you like to work? What do you excel at? What have you achieved? What can you offer an employer? Why should they interview you? Why do you want to work with them?
When you have thought about these things make some notes. Next, read the job description for a role you are interested in. Think about how you fit with that description and tell the employer in your cover letter why you are a perfect match. Give them clear examples of when you displayed your skills and convince them they cannot afford to miss the opportunity of meeting with you.
Some of the key ingredients of a great cover letter are:
- An engaging introduction
- A concise description of relevant achievements and skills
- A convincing statement about what you can offer the employer
- Genuine reasons why you want to work with them
Need further advice on how to write a cover letter? Give The CV Agency a call on 01 499 1466 or email cv@cvagency.ie. We will write you a 100% custom-made letter from scratch.
How to Write a Great CV
One of the most challenging aspects of filling a job vacancy is dealing with a high volume of CVs. It can be difficult to decide who to interview if there are a number of equally good candidates. It can also be tricky to give lengthy consideration to a CV if you have a stack of applications in your inbox. So, the question is, how to write a CV that cuts through the competition?
In the case of employers, particularly if it is a small company where there is no specialist HR or recruitment function, the individual hiring for the role may have limited time to spend on the task. Recruitment consultants see a very high volume of CVs every day and are adept at making a judgement within seconds. They will often be looking for negatives to rule out candidates and make their decision easier.
How do you write a CV that will grab attention in seconds and avoid a quick rejection? One of the best pieces of advice for any candidate writing a CV or cover letter is to put yourself into the shoes of the person who will be reading it and make it an easy choice for them to call you for interview.
Ask yourself questions such as:
- Does my experience, qualifications, and skills match the requirements in the job specification?
- Are there spelling mistakes or unexplained gaps that make it easy for them to reject my CV?
- Is my CV clear and easy to read?
- Is the layout logical, starting with my most recent position?
- Have I explained what I actually did in previous roles?
- Have I highlighted my key skills and achievements?
- Does my CV show the reader who I am or is it bland and generic?
Whether you are a school-leaver or a seasoned professional, a great CV is one that is clear, concise, sells your skills and achievements, and shows an employer what you have to offer.
Keep it simple and to the point and make sure to include the following:
- Basic contact information
- A profile
- Education and qualifications
- Work experience
- Key skills
A CV is a marketing document and as such it needs to be confident and targeted. We are often our own hardest critics and it can feel a little awkward promoting yourself. However, you can be certain that other candidates will be telling the employer how great they are, so make sure your CV sells you.
For further information or advice about your CV contact The CV Agency on cv@cvagency.ie or 01 499 1466, or click here to order a CV, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile.
The Top 5 Reasons a CV is Rejected
Here are some of the key reasons a CV is rejected:
Spelling mistakes
Spelling mistakes in a CV are a red flag to any employer or recruiter. They show poor attention to detail and a lack of care and consideration. Even with spelling and grammar checking enabled on a word processor, taking a few extra minutes to read through your CV to make sure it is correct can be invaluable.
Poor layout
It is an unfortunate truth that many recruiters spend mere seconds looking at a CV. If it is not well laid out and to the point an otherwise good candidate can be overlooked. Not structuring a CV in a way that is easy to read and understand quickly, using confusing dates, or not putting information in reverse chronological order are common mistakes.
Too little or too much information
Your CV should have sufficient detail to highlight your skills, experience, and education in a concise way. If a CV is too short it may lack detail about what you actually did in your previous roles or what your achievements were. Conversely, an excessively long CV is equally off-putting and challenging for an employer to digest and compare to other applicants.
Vague or generic statements
Specifics are absolutely critical when writing a CV. Give actual examples of your skills and achievements and exact details of what you did. Generic statements not evidenced by experience or education will result in a CV that does not stand out and is easily disregarded by an employer. It is one of the key reasons a CV is rejected.
Unexplained gaps in your history
There is nothing inherently negative about having a gap in employment or education. The main thing an employer or recruiter wants to see is that the period of time can be accounted for in some way (for example, taking a career break to travel or raise a family). Employers like to have the full picture before calling a candidate for interview and leaving a lengthy gap in your work history will raise questions about what you were doing during that period of time.
For further information or advice about your CV contact The CV Agency on cv@cvagency.ie or 01 499 1466
Practise your Performance: Interview Questions
Imagine giving a pitch to a business or a presentation to a class without preparing any material. Most of us would find ourselves struggling for ideas and find it difficult to give a structured presentation in a coherent and focused manner. The same principle applies to job interviews. Being prepared and knowing how you will answer interview questions are vitally important.
One of the best things you can do before an interview is to practise answering interview questions out loud. While it may seem strange at first, it will help you formulate your answers and think of examples. It will also help you feel more confident and relaxed going into your interview. While it is impossible to predict exactly what you will be asked, most interviewers commonly ask at least some of the following questions.
Sample interview questions:
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- What made you apply for this position?
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- Why are you interested in working with us?
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- What motivates you to work in this career?
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- Tell me about yourself.
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- How would a friend or former employer describe you?
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- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
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- Tell me about a problem you encountered in a previous role, how you went about resolving it and whether or not you were successful?
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- Have you ever been involved in implementing a new system or procedure?
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- How would you deal with a difficult client/customer?
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- Do you have experience managing competing priorities?
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- Do you prefer to work in a team or alone?
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- Tell me about an occasion where there was a conflict in your team. How was it resolved?
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- Describe a time when you used your initiative.
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- How do you organise your working day?
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- This is a high-pressure job. How will you cope with that?
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- Tell me about a time you worked towards a tight deadline.
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- What is your greatest achievement?
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- Where do you see yourself in five years from now?
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- Describe your dream job.
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- What qualities can you bring to this role?
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- What do you do in your spare time?
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- If I gave you a million euro, what would you do?
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- Sell me this pen.
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- If you could be any fruit, which one would you be?
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- Why should I choose you instead of another candidate?
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- You’re overqualified for this job, aren’t you?
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- What are the qualities of a good manager?
For further information or advice about your CV contact The CV Agency on cv@cvagency.ie or 01 499 1466
