Whether you are learning to write your first résumé or are working to enhance an existing one, your document should show the reader why you are the best fit for their opportunity. This includes demonstrating your level of career readiness as well as the transferable skills you possess. But what exactly is the difference between these two things? Being “Career Ready” means you have developed and can demonstrate ways in which you possess the eight Career Readiness Competencies that employers deem necessary for lifelong career success. These competencies are the larger concepts that include, and sometimes overlap with, the multiple transferable skills that ensure a successful transition into the workforce and other post- graduation opportunities. Click the Become Career Ready button below to learn more about the Career Competencies, including sample behaviors how you can enhance these skills during your time at UConn.
Transferrable Skills
Transferable skills are abilities, attributes, and personal qualities that are learned and transferred from one experience to the next. This could be through academic projects, part/full-time jobs, internships, volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, etc.
| Administrative Identifying resources, delegating tasks, and initiating new ideas | Analytical Compiling, sorting, and analyzing data |
| Creative Creating and designing new concepts or methods, or adding to existing ones | Critical Thinking Making reasonable judgements that are well thought out after analyzing and evaluating |
| Customer Service Working with the public and interacting with customers with professionalism and efficiency | Interpersonal Interacting effectively with others |
| Leadership Motivating and leading a group toward a common goal | Organizational Using time, energy, and resources in an effective way in order to accomplish tasks and achieve goals |
| Persuasion Changing a person’s attitude or behavior toward a project, idea, object, or other person(s) | Problem Solving Recognizing an issue and identifying ways to solve the problem |
| Quantitative Sorting, analyzing, and applying mathematics to numbers and other data | Teaching Transferring knowledge and skills to others |
| Teamwork Collaborating with others in order to accomplish a goal or task | Technologies Using appropriate technology to accomplish a task |
| Time Management Using one’s time effectively or productively | Verbal & Written Communication Listening and expressing one’s self with words and communicating ideas and concepts in writing |
As you read through the sections of the Résumé and Cover Letter Guide you will see examples of how to incorporate the Career Readiness Competencies and transferable skills into your résumé through the use of action verbs.
