Ask the Experts: No Experience? Highlight Your Transferable Skills
Question:
I recently graduated with a degree in computer information systems, but have no experience in that field so my resume looks terrible. I put myself through school working in sales and have good experience in that field, but want to find a position in information technology. I’ve been told to highlight transferable skills in my resume, but I.T. is so much more technically driven than sales that I can’t figure out how to do that.
First Answer:
It’s important for new graduates and career changers to remember that a resume is not just about what you’ve done for pay, it’s also about what you
love to do and what makes you a great worker (interests, attributes,
attitudes).
In my experience as a career coach, I’ve written smart, persuasive resumes for people who have never worked in their chosen field a day in their
lives – and they still get interviews and job offers. I’ve also seen new IT
graduates walk straight into highly paid technical consulting roles without
any prior work experience whatsoever. In both of these scenarios, soft
skills and attributes were instrumental in helping candidates get
interviews. Technical skills are useless without a strong work ethic, a
burning desire to learn, and effective people skills. Recruiters and hiring
managers repeatedly tell me that personality fit is more important than
technical skills which can be acquired, so be sure your resume communicates
a little about the personality you bring to the work environment.
— Tracy Laswell Williams, certified job and career transition coach, accredited resume writer and founder of CAREER-Magic.com
Second Answer:
You make a good point about the need to exploit “hard skills” for IT jobs, although your “soft,” transferable skills are also
important.
One way to address the hard, technical skills issue is to provide a list of all your systems proficiencies: operating
systems, hardware, applications/software, programming languages,
along with databases and networking competencies, if applicable.
Presumably you developed many proficiencies through your degree
program.
The advice about highlighting transferable/soft skills in your resume is still valid because IT people need those skills, too.
But since your job throughout your college career was not directly related to your field, you’ll need to draw on your
college experience to support your claims of technical skills.
Think about all of your college experience, including classes and extracurricular activities. What did you do in your classes that
helps to qualify you for the job you want?
Consider first your classes. Many lucky students undertake activities in classes that are every bit as valid for providing experience as
paid jobs. Such activities include:
- Class projects
- Research papers and projects
- Group projects
- Hands-on assignments and “real-world” experiences
- Laboratory experience
- Presentations
- Study-abroad programs
- Simulations
Also ask yourself about all your applicable academic accomplishments (especially those that demonstrate technical skills):
- Did you write a software program, design a Web page?
- Did you excel in any competitions?
- Did you achieve a superlative, such as the highest grade, the best test score, the strongest essay?
- Did you have any creative accomplishments? Were any of your poetry, plays, stories, music, art published,
performed, or exhibited?
Next put your extracurricular, volunteer, and community activities under the microscope:
- What leadership positions did you hold that demonstrate important skills?
- Did members of your group choose or elect you to a certain position based on special skills you possess? Did you choose
to take on additional responsibilities? - What are the kinds of things that your friends and classmates always ask you for help and advice about? What are your areas of
expertise? - What community service projects did you undertake?
- Did you use organizational or managerial skills?
- What ideas did you come up with to improve your organization?
- Did you handle money or budgets? Did you raise, collect, or manage funds?
- In what ways did you exhibit interpersonal skills?
- Did you train, teach, or orient organization members? Did you speak in public or write for an audience?
- Did you employ problem-solving, conflict-resolution, or mediation skills?
- Were you required to deal with the public?
- How did you demonstrate teamwork or individual drive and determination (for example, as an athlete)?
- Did you respond to complaints or smooth ruffled feathers? Did you work with the general public?
- Were you required to juggle many projects simultaneously under deadline pressure?
Two articles that can further help you exploit your collegiate experiences in your resume are Emphasizing your Transferable and Marketable Skills in Your Cover Letter (this article is equally relevant to resumes) and Emphasizing your Classroom Transferable and Marketable Skills.
Finally, you might consider pursuing an IT certification. These certifications, such as the MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional)
and MSCE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) seem to be in demand.
Read this article by Michael J. Senno called Certification Equation.
It’s an excellent explanation of the value of the most popular
certifications.
— Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters
Third Answer:
Highlighting transferable skills will show that you do have the IT skills-definitely list your Education, coursework and also COMPUTER
SKILLS. Maybe you could break it up into Software Applications-Like
Excel, Dreamweaver, Frontpage, Access, and Hardware/ Platforms, Languages-Cobol,
“C”, HTML, or Operating Systems-Dos,XP…(these are just suggestions-tailor it
to you! Several of my Comp. Sci. students have done this…we think it highlights their knowledge and skills.)
And how about Computer projects for Class have you -built a database for a club, tutored in” C”, helped with putting together a friend’s computer
system…Think of all kinds of Experiences…You can have a
RELATED EXPERIENCE or EXPERIENCE as the heading…ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE for
other non-tech/computer work-being a server at a busy restaurant shows the ability to work with others, time management skills-you always have learned something in any position…If you
helped a “user” with a computer problem- consider positions involving a help desk-Systems Analysis…Maybe being a Consultant is something you’d like…
Definitely research various computer career fields and go to your Career
Center for resume feedback…
— Marcia Merrill, the Assistant Director for Career Development and Placement Center at Loyola College in Maryland
Fourth Answer:
Actually, if I were looking for an IT person to work in my company, you would be at the top of my list! You know why? IT people have a reputation for NOT being personable–because they are so lost in the technical details of their work, they sometimes don’t see the “need” to have people skills. Yet, I know a colleague who worked as a IT guy–but what made him stand out among the others was that he was a good communicator, an excellent listener, and developed a strong rapport with everyone he met.
Guess where he is now? He is serving in an executive position with a well-known pharmaceutical company, supervising the kind of people he worked along side. He now serves as a liaison, making sure peoples’ needs are met. IT WAS HIS PEOPLE SKILLS THAT ENABLED HIM TO GET AHEAD–NOT THE TECHIE SKILLS.
You say you can’t transfer your sales skills into reasons why you should be hired in IT? Look at it this way:
IT is “technical” work, sure. But what’s it for? Odds are, wherever you work, you will be meeting the needs of PEOPLE, not computers. IT stands for Information Technology. People are more intersted in the information than the technology. Remember that.
Wherever you go, you will work with PEOPLE. You will solve problems for PEOPLE. If you can’t solve their problems or make their jobs easier, it doesn’t matter how fluent you are in computer programming and operating systems, because people won’t be interested in working with you.
A successful service record in sales tells me:
- that you are good listener
- that you are friendly and personable
- that you help people solve their problems or meet their needs
- that you know the importance of working as part of a team
Combine this with strong IT skills, and as far as I am concerned, you are way ahead of most of your colleagues. Good luck.
— Keith F. Luscher, Creative Director with Goettler Associates, Inc., a fund-raising consulting firm serving non-profit organizations nationwide, and author of Don’t Wait Until You Graduate!
Fifth Answer:
The first thing you will want to highlight on your resume are the technical skills you learned in your college courses. It is the first thing companies look for and should be posted at or near the top of your resume. The next thing listed on your resume should be your education with highlights of course work relevant to the position you are applying for. Following your education, you should list your work experience.
When listing your work experience, focus on transferable skills that are relevant to the technology field. For example, skills that would be useful in the technology field would be your customer service skills. If you were good at building lasting relationships with your customers and developing positive rapport with people at all levels, this would be an excellent point to make on your resume. Good people skills are highly sought after by companies and often lacking in the high tech industry.
Another example of relevant transferable skills would be strong organizational and time management abilities. These skills would be very useful in the technology field. The idea is to think about the skills you have that would be valued in this field. One way to find out more about this is by looking at job descriptions for this field. For example, if the job description says, “Instructs users in use of equipment, software, and manuals,” you could emphasize your ability to assist customers in understanding how something works.
The key is to focus on what the company is looking for. Pay close attention to what they are asking for in their job description. Let them know you are interested in working for them and why. Research the company through their website, the Chamber of Commerce or your local library to find out what thier goals are as a company and what type of people they are looking for to join their team. Stop by their office and introduce yourself. Let them know you are looking for opportunities to assist a company with their technology needs. By doing this, you will be a step ahead of all the other graduates who are looking for a job in the IT field.
— Carla Barrett, trainer who uses state of the art methods for coaching individuals towards success and fulfillment in their careers
