Transferable Skills Worksheet

What are transferable skills?

Transferable Skills are skills that are useful in more than one context. You gain transferable skills as a result of
your many life experiences. When you are looking for employment, it is important to take stock of these skills,
as many of these types of skills are valuable to potential employers.
What do employers want?
According to a Forbes Magazine report on the The National Association of Colleges and Employers 2013
survey:
Here are the 10 skills employers say they seek, in order of importance:
1. Ability to work in a team
2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems
3. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work
4. Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization
5. Ability to obtain and process information
6. Ability to analyze quantitative data
7. Technical knowledge related to the job
8. Proficiency with computer software programs
9. Ability to create and/or edit written reports
10. Ability to sell and influence others
Its important to note that the soft-skills of working in a team and communication (written and oral) make the
top-ten list. Which of the above skills do you possess? Which are you comfortable with? Which to you enjoy
most?

Modified from: http://www.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-referenceguides/transferable-skills.pdf

Directions: Review the categories of transferable skills below. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but
allows you to take stock of some of the more common skills employees value. Circle any skills you have. After
you have circled all the skills you have, go through and put a check mark next to any skills that will be valuable
in your chose career field, and need to work on. Highlight your top-ten skills to complete the final part of this
exercise.
Human Relations

Exchange, transmission and

expression of knowledge and/or
ideas

Attend to the social, physical or

mental needs of people

being sensitive
counseling
advocating
coaching
providing care

speaking effectively

writing concisely

listening attentively

expressing ideas

facilitating discussion

providing appropriate

mentoring

conveying feelings

negotiating

empathizing

perceiving nonverbal

interpersonal skills

facilitating group

feedback

messages

persuading

process

describing feelings

active listening

interviewing

motivating

editing

summarizing

analyzing

Communication

Modified from: http://www.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-referenceguides/transferable-skills.pdf

promoting

composing

Organization & Management

effective communication

thinking visually

anticipating positive and

Direct and guide in group

completing tasks and attaining
goals

in groups

making presentations

negative consequences
of actions

initiating new ideas

conceptualizing

making decisions

public

leading

disagreeing

solving problems

meeting deadlines

supervising

motivating

coordinating tasks

assuming responsibility

setting priorities

teaching

interpreting policy,

thinking on ones feet

interacting with the

professionally

Design & Planning

Imagine the future, develop a
process for creating it

regulations, etc.

anticipating problems

creating images

designing programs

creating images

brainstorming new ideas

improvising

resolving conflict

mediating

recruiting

organizing

determining policy

giving directions

Modified from: http://www.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-referenceguides/transferable-skills.pdf

following directions

defining needs

investigating

reading for information

gathering information

formulating hypotheses

calculating and
comparing

developing a theory

observing

identifying sources

outlining

creating ideas

identifying resources

critical thinking

predicting and

Research and Planning

The search for specific
knowledge

forecasting

setting goals
analyzing ideas
analyzing data

solving problems

anticipating needs based

on prior knowledge

Modified from: http://www.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-referenceguides/transferable-skills.pdf

After you have identified your top-ten transferable skills, explain where you learned that skill, and provide an
example of how you used that skill in a work or academic environment.
Skill

Learned from

Used