The skills you need in every role 

~Deepti Jain

Someone cooks Italian, some likes to cook Chinese, continental and there are a variety of cuisine and dishes, made in different parts of India as well. But, whatever country’s or state’s food people make, they need to have basic understanding about ‘cooking’ itself. If they don’t know how much oil to be used while frying or the amount of salt to be added, we can’t expect them to nicely cook dishes of any cuisine.

Thus, for any type of work one is trying to be good at, he/she must have some skills which are ‘basics’ , required to have
a strong foundation in the particular field.
And such skills are called ‘Transferable Skills.’

Why are these called transferable skills?

Nothing is permanent. You might have started a small start-up in the beginning, and in some years, you may be the owner of a huge company!  When you were/are a teenager, you might have tried your hands at freelancing as well. But, there are some set of skills and qualities you need at every stage during the course of hopping for new opportunities. Hereby, the name! 

What are these qualities?

There are many skills you can put under this classification. Here, we are discussing the important five!

1. Communication Skills: Sometimes, we have huge accomplishments and experiences. But, we can’t frame them in sentences to tell it to someone. We may want to say something which is moving so strongly in our heads. But, we may just end up nodding heads and giving a smile!  The reason being, the lack of communication Skills.

Communication is the most vital ability a human needs, evident by seeing a baby listening intently to her mother and trying to repeat the sounds. Communication skills include verbal as well as written communication. In the world of work, not everyone you’re explaining your ideas to, have an understanding of your work. So, you have to have the ability to share ideas and information in a clear and concise manner.

2. Teamwork: One can never be totally self-dependent. Everyone needs the services, help, strength, qualities and support of so many, in any role he/she is working in. Thus, teamwork becomes an essential quality here.

As the definition goes, ‘Teamwork is the collective effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most and efficient way.’ Without co-operation, friendliness and helpfulness among juniors-seniors, boss-employees and even among colleagues, we can never expect profitable results.
Thus, teamwork becomes an essential quality and is an important transferable skill you need.

3. Creativity: Thinking outside the box, connecting dots isn’t something specific to be ‘learned’. It comes in time, as  you open to new opportunities, and try to refine your ideas.

 Thinking of a nice solution, or coming up with an innovative idea surely makes a difference. This is something every company looks forward to as creative people are smart and full of energy.

4. Multi-tasking – In simple words, multitasking means managing more than one tasks or activities at the same time.  Positive multitasking doesn’t mean getting distracted doing one thing, thinking about another or reducing productivity in any way. It doesn’t always means handling big things, as well. Talking or  listening to someone while typing on the computer is also multitasking. This skill is important to make your mind prepared to handle a lot of tasks, without stressing due to workloads.

5. Time-management– You may notice people around you who manage to get everything on their plate done, and then some, with time to spare. How can they accomplish so much in such little time? The answer lies in time management. This is the skill to plan your time for different activities.
Good time management leads to lower levels of stress and higher levels of job performance and life satisfaction. 
Relax! It’s not that you have to start doing everything from tomorrow. You’ve developed such skills and abilities throughout your life, and you’ll keep learning forever! But, keep recognizing and appreciating yourself at every task you performed well because of these skills you had and trying to develop if you don’t possess something you know would be required in future. You might include transferable skills on your resume, cover letter and in interviews as well.

Keep trying to be flawless!