Transferring Your Skills: Leveraging Your Experience for a New Career

Did you know that some of the skills that you’ve acquired in one career can easily transfer into a new field? Look at it this way, things like solid written and verbal communication, as well as the ability to use computer programs, including spreadsheets, are pretty much universal. However, even though these things can help you move from one career field to another, you might need an additional boost in the form of another degree or certificate.

How do you go about this? Here are some tips to get you started on your transition.

Determining Your Skills

The first thing that you need to do, before you start figuring out which skills you need to enhance and which are transferable from one career to another, is determine what your current skills are. How? Here are a few tips:

• Consider Your Current Job – What do you currently do? What types of skills do you use on a daily basis? These can consist of everything from computer-based skills using spreadsheets and making PowerPoint presentations to in-person skills like giving presentations and managing teams. Compile a complete list of your current skills.
• What Are You Good At? – Many people know immediately what they’re good at in the workplace. They know how to quickly organize things or are super-fast at completing their paperwork. There are also some things that you may be good at that don’t always appear in the workplace. Examples of this include being able to remember entire lists of things without writing them down or being able to take notes quickly on paper. These skills need to be placed on your list as well.
• Think About Jobs that Fit – When it comes to choosing a new career path, you need to look at both your lists of skills and consider which careers they fit into. In addition, you also need to consider what you enjoy. After all, you shouldn’t head down a new career path without choosing to do something that you enjoy.

Gaining New Skills

Once you have a list of your skills and have considered what types of career opportunities interest you, it’s time to see if you can enhance those skills in any way. You might find yourself wanting to go back to school in order to get a degree or a certificate in a certain subject in order to learn more and have a credential that shows you have the ability to excel in your new job.

In addition, some career opportunities require some sort of certificate or degree in order to qualify for them. Thankfully, you can tackle this while still continuing to work at your old job, thanks to flexible programs designed for adults.

Attend Dean College

Speaking of flexible degree, certificate, and continuing education programs, Dean College has plenty to choose from. Whether you need to attend school in a hybrid, online, or in-person format, the choice is yours. You can even choose to attend part-time, so you can balance work and your personal life, while still developing your transferable skills. Your educational options are endless!