Recruiting Tactic: The Power of Transferable Skills

Aug 15th, 2023 | Hire Wire

The unemployment rate has been looming at 3-4% employers must get creative with how they will attract the strongest candidates to their company. The reality is that most employers are looking for the same thing. A hard-working employee that already has the skillset you are looking for to fill your position. What we as talent acquisition consultants often ask is to rethink this model. What if instead we looked for a smart individual that can learn the skills we require? It is understandable that we cannot think this way about more specialized roles, however most situations warrant an opportunity to consider a candidate that may have more transferable skillsets.

Here are some situations in which we could use transferrable skills:

Entry Level Positions: Positions that require attention to detail and quick learning are a requirement for most entry level roles. Instead of looking for similar industry and experience that matches the company, hiring managers can rather focus on GPA, extracurricular activities, internship experience or even work experience. Many managers admire students that are holding down a job at a restaurant while going to school full time.

Take a closer look at degrees: Understanding the strengths of less popular degrees can give you some insight into their strengths. Here are a few examples. Criminal Justice majors take detailed financial courses in their coursework. Many of these graduates move on to work in banks in their fraud department. History majors have a strong memory and have strong attention to detail. They have strong writing and reading skills due to the details and dates they memorize. Many gravitate towards the legal field.

Salespeople can be taught if they have the right raw skills: I once met an executive that stated to me that a person who can sell” ice in Alaska” can be taught to sell in any industry. Often, our TA consultants look for candidates who have participated in competitive sports to look for people with a competitive spirit and teamwork. Our clients have seen effective results in hiring and training new salespeople into their organization.

Career transitioners or people re-entering the workforce can be invaluable: The average person changes careers 5-7 times during their lifetime (Zippia, 2023) With each change, a career changer brings a diversity of skills and experience to a new employer. A person re-entering the workforce comes with invaluable skills in life experience. Successful employers will entertain this pool of candidates to understand the different experiences that these candidates will bring to the table.

Talk to your talent acquisition resource from The O’Connor Group to learn more about transferable skills that can be utilized in hiring your next candidate.