Importance of Transferable Skills for Professional Competitiveness

Methodology

 Write an essay on Business Management.

In the era of significantly high employment turnover and employment mobility, transferable skills are the assets that ensure the marketability of an employee. Transferable skills also help to enhance the professional competitiveness as well as the professionalism of the employees. Moreover, competitive advantage helps the employees to ease the transition phase of their careers (Chon and Yu 2012). Now, in order to gain a better insight about the transferable skills it is essential to understand the concept of transferable skill. It is defined as the skills that are valuable as well as versatile those can be applied and used in different roles.

It is important to acquire transferable skills in order to gain a competitive advantage in the constantly growing market (Peck and Reitzug 2012). It can be considered as the inventory of assets that helps an employee in the transition and specialization in a completely new role. In the era of high end, recruitment and selection procedures it is also essential for the applicants to ensure the longevity of the career and this can be done by effectively applying the transferable skills (Boehm and Thomas 2013). Possessing transferable skills will also allow the employee in exploring the parallel dimensions of the career more easily and efficiently. Therefore, it is quite important for an employee to possess and implement transferable skills in his or her domain of work (Scarborough 2012).

The main three transferable skills that are essential for any employee are described briefly below,

Team Work:

In modern days sometimes, it is really important to work within a team or as a part of a team. This requires strong skill demonstrating ability that will depict the ability of an individual of working in a team and the employee will contribute significantly in helping the other employees (Carroll and Buchholtz 2014).

As I worked as a manager in a renowned hotel, therefore I have built up enough leadership skills that are necessary for dealing a critical situation as a team. Moreover, these skills will also help me to work within a team. If teamwork is necessary for a particular job then I will be able to manage the employees effectively. Because as a manager I have managed a group of members and therefore, it will be easier for me as well.

Leadership skills are essential for an employee whether the employee is applying for a leadership position or not. However, the employees are required to possess enough leadership skills in order to demonstrate their capability that they will be able to lead if any such situation arises (Weske 2012).

Personal Profile

In order to become a successful leader a number of skills are required. If the employees are helpful enough, can take responsibility, or can achieve a goal effectively and efficiently it can be said that the employee is an efficient leader.

As I have worked as a manager, I had to exhibit some leadership qualities at some point of time. However, this is not quite an effective leadership skill that requires more up liftment. Therefore, I am planning to learn about the leadership qualities and techniques that are essential for becoming an effective leader.

However, it is quite important for a leader to possess patience and I do lack in that respect and therefore, I am also required to develop this portion.

As it is always required to develop the skills that will help to develop the professionalism in working as a team, it is also essential to develop skills that will help to work alone. As this may also be required by the employees (Hall and Ko 2014). It is sometimes essential for the employees to possess time management skills along with personal organizational skills.

These are the set of skills where I can excel in every aspect. As I have previously worked in an organization, therefore, I have developed certain skill set that will in turn help me to exhibit these aspects in the current field of work. Hence, the personal motivational skills that I have developed during my employment will help me to solve relevant problems.

In order to develop my personal profile it is quite essential to analyze the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats (Geppert et al. 2016). Therefore, I have conducted a SWOT analysis based on my personal as well as professional environment.

• The ability of working under pressure is one of my key strengths. I can handle any task under pressure effectively and efficiently.
• I have the ability to manage people. Managing people will not be a serious problem for me.
• I have the ability to meet deadline.

• It is difficult for me to manage too much work at a single point of time.
• Deficiency in tolerance is another weakness.

• The employment opportunities that are available in the new company will open a number of new possibilities.
• An improved work culture and working environment are added opportunities.

• I am very short tempered and I can lose my temper at any point of time.
• Emotional vulnerability is another weakness.

Conclusion

According to Shah (2013), transferable skills are known as the skills that are acquired from past jobs, hobbies, volunteering and hobbies of life experiences. At the time of recruitment, employees not only look at academic qualifications and past work experiences but also search for employees who have a huge range of skills that can go beyond the traditional requirement of the job. It is important to meet the required qualification in order to be selected for a particular job; however, the candidate who carries some of the intangible skills will have preferences. As mentioned by Wang (2016), transferable or “soft” skills can improve one’s career and can increase the chances of success in landing the job they want. According to Craig (2014), transferable skills can be learned from job to job experiences which tremendously helps to improve one’s career. Some of the transferable skills and their importance are mentioned below,

Conclusion

Communication skills: This skill is considered as one of the most important skills of an employee. In an organization, a huge number of messages are passed back and forth. Therefore, it is important for the employees to carry those messages in a clear and concise manner. This transportation of communication is highly important or any organization to compete their goals. Besides, the tones and delivery of communication also have a significant impact on the team members (Wang 2016). On the other hand, another important part of communication is writing skills. A good writing skill is huge a advantage for any job. Especially, if an employee has a soft skill to communicate in more than one language then he will definitely have a competitive advantage over other employees.

Negotiation skills: In any business, organization negotiations are a major part of daily life. Negotiation skills help to get a better price from a supplier, deal with complex business issues and help colleagues in several projects. It is important to learn the skills to give and take in order to achieve goals. This skill is welcomed highly by any organization. Negotiation is also important for the organizations that are expanding their businesses in foreign countries. In foreign countries, because of different cultures, languages and lifestyles the demand of the people are also different. In those places, it is highly important to negotiate with the suppliers so that they can work according to the terms and conditions of the organization.

Business Skills: These types of skills are highly transferable and achievable. More a person works in different organizations or in different departments, he becomes more marketable. Higher authorities of an organization highly value those employees who possess the capability to maintain a budget, establish a financial projection and understand business opportunities.

Innovative and strategic thinking: In today’s business scenario, each employer looks for employees that not only follow the conventional and traditional procedures but also implements innovative ideas and thinking in the workplace (Wang 2016). For example, biotechnology organizations look for employees who can quickly adapt to changing circumstances. In most of the interviews, candidates are given several situations that include different challenges and issues. Then they are asked to provide several innovate solutions related to the challenges. By doing this, the employers try to understand who would be the perfect person for their organization.

Motivation and commitment: Another important skill that organization seeks into its employees is the ability and skill to put a great deal of pride and personal effort into their work. Besides, with the rapid change in the demand of the customers, the management and structures of the organizations are also changing regularly (Cottrill and Hayashi 2013). Therefore, the higher authorities of an organization always look for such employees who can stay flexible and can support change in the organization.

Personal image and self-awareness: Another important skill that is expected in the employees is awareness about the image he is presenting to his coworkers and clients. For example, if one’s eyeglass is patched up with band-aid, other employees will think that he solves all the problems like this. Therefore, as an important soft skill employees must understand and manage the workplace relationships and selling your company to prospective business partners.

Among the above mentioned skills, the most important three skills are communication skills, negotiation skills and innovation skills. Training and learning processes can achieve all the other skills. However, as mentioned by Shah (2013), those three skills are considered as especial skills that an employee cannot learn by undertaking any courses. An employee only can achieve those goals by his experiences. However, as mentioned by Jones (2013), motivation and commitment and business skills are also considered as important transferable skills.

Outline Number	Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
1	Implementation of skill areas for business improvement	9 days	Wed 5/18/16	Mon 5/30/16
1.1	Developing Communication skills	2 days	Wed 5/18/16	Thu 5/19/16
1.1.1	Carry information in a clear and concise manner	1 day	Wed 5/18/16	Wed 5/18/16
1.1.2	Training employees for gaining a good recognition skills	1 day	Thu 5/19/16	Thu 5/19/16	3
1.2	Developing negotiation skills	2 days	Fri 5/20/16	Mon 5/23/16
1.2.1	Enhancing the negotiation skills of the employees	1 day	Fri 5/20/16	Fri 5/20/16	4
1.2.2	Enabling the employees to deal with several projects	1 day	Mon 5/23/16	Mon 5/23/16	6
1.3	Integrating Innovative and strategic thinking	4 days	Tue 5/24/16	Fri 5/27/16
1.3.1	Implementing innovative ideas and thinking in the workplace	1 day	Tue 5/24/16	Tue 5/24/16	7
1.3.2	Enabling the employees with quick adaptability features	1 day	Wed 5/25/16	Wed 5/25/16	9
1.3.3	Provide the employees with several situations that include different challenges	1 day	Thu 5/26/16	Thu 5/26/16	10
1.3.4	Provide several innovate solutions related to the challenges	1 day	Fri 5/27/16	Fri 5/27/16	11
1.4	Implementation	1 day	Mon 5/30/16	Mon 5/30/16	12

References

Cottrill, K. and Hayashi, K., 2013. Learning Transferable Skills Through Event Planning. Experience-Driven Leader Development, pp.65-68.

Craig, R., 2014, October. The development of transferable skills through continuous improvement: A case study in the UAE. In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2014 IEEE (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Jones, E., 2013. Internationalization and employability: the role of intercultural experiences in the development of transferable skills. Public Money & Management, 33(2), pp.95-104.

Shah, S.Z.A., 2013. The use of group activities in developing personal transferable skills. Innovations in Education and Teaching International,50(3), pp.297-307.

Shah, S.Z.A., 2013. The use of group activities in developing personal transferable skills. Innovations in Education and Teaching International,50(3), pp.297-307.

Wang, J.T., 2016. Using undergraduate research to develop transferable skills for the modern workforce. Microbiology Australia, 37(2), pp.84-87.