# Transferable skills

Transferable skills are abilities that aren't tied to one specific job title or industry, things like project management, negotiation, or clear written communication, that carry over into a different role or field. They matter most to candidates changing careers, who don't have direct experience in the title they're applying for.

The skill is real either way; the work is translating it into the new role's language.

**Transferable skills** — A transferable skill was developed in one context but applies in another. Someone who managed volunteer schedules for a nonprofit developed real project-management skill, even though "project manager" never appeared on their job title. The skill exists independent of the title; what's missing is the direct label the new employer is scanning for.

A career-change candidate's biggest task is naming the skill in terms the new field actually uses, not just describing the old job in its own vocabulary. A teacher moving into corporate training already has experience designing curriculum and managing a room, both directly relevant, but only if described as curriculum design and stakeholder management rather than in classroom-specific terms. Interviewers evaluating a nontraditional background are listening for that translation, since the raw experience often is there, just described in the wrong dialect for the role.

## Frequently asked questions

### What's an example of a transferable skill?

Project management, negotiation, written communication, budget management, and conflict resolution are common examples, since all of them apply across nearly any industry regardless of specific job title.

### How should a career-change candidate describe transferable skills in an interview?

By translating the old experience into the new field's vocabulary. A skill developed in one context needs to be named in terms the new employer recognizes, not described using the old job's specific jargon.

### Do transferable skills matter more for entry-level or career-change candidates?

Both, but they carry more weight for career-change candidates specifically, since they often don't have direct title-matched experience and need transferable skills to bridge that gap.

## Related pages

- [Browse open roles](/jobs)

## Hear the translation land out loud

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