Author: Rachel King, Career Coach
One of my favorite things to do as a Career Coach is to talk to students about interviewing! Yes, really! Navigating an interview can be a daunting experience, but understanding how interviews work and how to sell yourself to an employer can make the process much smoother. A common question I often hear when working with students on interviewing usually involves something like, “I don’t have any experience in (insert relevant field/major here), what do I talk about in my interview?” This is my favorite part of interview education-transferable skills! Queue a conversation about what transferable skills are and how to identify them. So let’s take that typical conversation and break it down here.
What are Transferable Skills?
Before understanding how to highlight transferable skills in an interview, we must first learn what they are. Transferable skills are skills you have developed in previous experiences that can easily be transferred from one role to another. Some examples of transferable skills might be communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, time management, and more. They are universal and highly valued by employers in potential candidates. The more we find ourselves in positions that utilize these skills, the stronger they become and the more confident we are in our ability to demonstrate them.
Identify Your Own Transferable Skills
Now that we understand transferable skills, it's time to identify your own! Take some time to reflect on your previous experiences. Do you have any current or previous part-time jobs? If so, what were they? What were your responsibilities? Students often say things like “I’ve only ever worked retail” or “I’ve only worked in food service.” Humor me and let’s break that retail service experience example down. Working in retail develops a multitude of transferable skills that you can easily apply down the road in positions more relevant to your desired career industry. Often you are working with people and delivering customer service, juggling multiple tasks at once, resolving issues that may arise, and managing your time effectively. Responsibilities like that have likely cultivated relationship building skills, communication skills, time management, and problem solving skills (possibly more!). See where I’m going here? Therefore, it’s going to be important to reflect on your previous experiences - whatever they may be - and identify what transferable skills you have developed. You must understand your skillset and work to sell them. Be sure to look beyond work experiences and consider things like volunteering, relevant academic experiences such as research and group projects, or other scenarios in which skill development occurred.
Interviewing
With a foundational understanding of transferable skills and those we possess, let’s talk about interviewing. With interviewing, we want to frame our experiences to highlight transferable skills. Rather than focusing on a direct lack of experience, highlight specific projects or tasks from previous roles where skills relevant to the position you’re interviewing for were utilized. Demonstrate to the employer how these skills will help you succeed, even if the exact job duties differ.
Behavioral Interviewing
Transferable skills are assessed in an interview through behavioral interview questions. Behavioral interviewing is the most common interview technique utilized by employers. Why? Because it is based on the concept that past behavior predicts future behavior. As such, employers will often ask behavioral questions to assess how you handled certain situations in the past as it could be a good indicator of how you’ll navigate similar scenarios going forward. Your clue to know you’re being asked a behavioral question is usually in the phrasing. They are those questions that often begin with “Tell me about a time when…”, or “Give an example of…”, or “Describe a situation where…” You will provide a specific situation depending on the topic or theme of the question.
To ensure a well-rounded, robust response to behavioral questions, utilize the STAR method when answering. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action and Result. Set the scene and provide context (Situation), describe the challenge and expectations at hand (Task), detail any action steps you took and tools you may have used (Action), and round out that response with how things turned out or how you affected the bottom line (Result). Understanding behavioral interviewing and how to answer behavioral-focused questions is important because employers commonly ask for examples of transferable skills through the question itself. Let’s look at this question as an example - “Tell me about a time when you had to juggle multiple priorities and deadlines. How did you handle it?”. What transferable skill would an employer want to assess with this question? If you thought “time management”, you’d be correct! Again, these questions in particular give you a space to highlight the transferable skills you may possess.
Express a Desire to Grow
In thinking about our topic at hand, I want to leave you with this last bit of advice. When going into an interview where you may lack direct experience, not only is it important to highlight your transferable skills, it is important to be confident and demonstrate a desire to learn and grow. Employers often value candidates who convey a willingness to take on challenges and the ability to pick up new skills. This motivation, combined with a bit of enthusiasm and confidence, can help you make a pretty compelling case to potential employers in an interview. So, next time you're faced with a job opportunity that feels like a stretch, don’t shy away—use your transferable skills to show why you’re the right fit for the role. Remember, the Career Center is always here to support you in your interview skill development!
Please don’t forget! Students can utilize Big Interview to practice interviewing at any time. Additionally, students can schedule a practice interview with a career coach through Hire-A-Niner.