Transferable Skills: The Company Risk And My Own Experience

Transferable skills.  It is one of the biggest hangup areas for job seekers in a tight market. Lots of candidates. Few jobs. And a lack of urgency on the part of hiring companies to make a decision.

A breeding ground for candidate frustration.

And to make it worse, you finally found something that is a pretty good fit for you and it doesn’t work out.  Because pretty good isn’t good enough in a tight market. Your transferable skills aren’t transferable enough.

In a more balanced market or in a market (soon, I hope!) where there are more jobs and fewer candidates competing, companies will operate differently.  They will begin marketing to the candidate and the skills you have will transfer much more easily.  Companies will go back to hiring “the best athlete” not just the most qualified.

You will successfully step in to the new shoes and wear them well.

Because it is so logical that selling experience in consumer goods should translate well to the apparel industry.  It’s still selling.  And as long as you know your strong product line, are good at closing and treat your customers well, you should be able to do it.  And you can.

If … someone decides to take a risk on you.

Now you might say:

“A risk, really? I’ve been selling for 25 years! I’ve won more sales awards than anyone in my industry.  What is the risk in hiring me?”

If there is someone out there with more experience or a tighter fit with the job description, hiring you instead feels risky.  What if it doesn’t work out.  What if those transferable skills aren’t as portable as you think. Or what if it takes longer than it should.

And what if the boss isn’t happy and blames the hiring manager for ignoring better qualified candidates.

My own recent experience:

If you read the newsletter (a few typos this time, sorry!) you know about my goal of building a portfolio career.  One that is not reliant on a single company.  But allows me to enjoy working with a variety of great companies.

So as part of that goal I started a marketing consulting company called Fix, Build And Drive™ to help companies with marketing, brand development, social media and business strategy. And to help them build new business momentum.

A few weeks ago I got a lead on a great consulting opportunity to help a company build a big strategy to build their brand online.  They wanted someone who had an ability to work with and sell their board on a new strategy. Someone with significant marketing and strategy experience. And someone who was social media savvy.

Perfect for me, right?

Yep.  All until they found someone even more perfect.  Someone with all that same background AND experience in their industry (healthcare). And someone who didn’t have a transferable skills issue.

So they’ll pursue that candidate first. And I probably would have made the same decision if I was in their shoes.

And my reaction to them? “Thanks for the opportunity”. Not an argument. Not a big push back on how I really am perfect.  I believe and have said this before: if they want you, they will call you.

Sometimes a bitter pill when you really want something. But the right course of action…

What are you hearing as you try to stretch and transfer your skills to new industries?  Any good news out there on this front?

Let me know in the comments! or join the LinkedIn group and add to our small wins discussion!

Thanks MJ/TR for the photo via Flickr

Written by: Tim Tyrell-Smith
Tags: candidates | employment | experience | hiring | hiring company | jobs | jobs seeker | labor | learning | management | my own | recruitment | risk | skill | strategic management | the company | tight | transferable | transferable skills | urgency
Categories: How To Find A New Job