Transferable skills and how to highlight them

7 Dec

Transferable skills for when applying for jobs in hospitality and events

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”

- Charles Darwin

Covid has been a difficult time on the hospitality, events & leisure industries and while we all remain optimistic that we will return sooner rather than later, we also need to adapt until the day we can fully open our doors again.

The good news is, many other industries are still recruiting, so now is the time to identify your transferable skills and how to highlight and sell them to future employees.

What are transferable skills?

Transferable skills are skills that you may have acquired throughout your life, not just within your career. Employers will often look for people who can demonstrate a good set of transferable skills. They are even more important at the moment when potentially looking to temporarily or permanently change industries.

Soft skills vs hard skills

Skills are divided into soft and hard skills. There is an easy way to understand a split these skills. Hard skills are teachable and measurable abilities, while soft skills are the traits that make you a good employee.

Employees will often highlight the soft and hard skills they are looking for within the job description. Hard skills will be shown as desired experience and knowledge while soft skills are shown as the person specification.

Ten transferable soft skills most hospitality, events & leisure professionals have

The hospitality events and leisure industry are all sociable and customer focused careers. Therefore most people will have a wide variety of soft skills and experience which can easily be transferred when changing careers. We have highlight the top ten below.

Teamwork – Every company wants employees who are able to work well with others.
Communication - Most people will mention they are a great communicator. Think about who and how you communicate at work, have you had to make presentations or deal with the public, brief staff?
Customer service - The main reason a lot of people go into the industry and a valuable skill to have, especially in a role dealing with the public.
Attention to detail – This is a significant skill to have, be it creating reports, making sure a shop floor is
Results driven - Most people think of a result driven role as a sales role, however so many more roles are. Be it up-selling on a restaurant floor, getting all the covers out of the kitchen on time, helping a gym client hit their goal or making sure your customer has the best experience.
Multi-tasking - Do you work on multiple projects at once, have to know how to cook different dishes at the same time, check guests in to a hotel while also processing bookings?
Time management - You’d be amazed how many people in other industries think that a start time is ‘roughly’ the time you should start. On time, all the time.
Patience - Patience is a very marketable quality to have and one that not everyone needs to use at work on a regular basis.
Flexibility – Have you ever been asked to stay late on a shift, asked to do something outside of your usual job. Being flexible is a highly valued skill.
Adapting to change – In our industries we are often required to think on our feet, adapt and improvise, sometimes without a client being aware anything is changing.

Hard skills

Hard skills are abilities that let you tackle job-specific duties and responsibilities. Hard skills can be learned through courses, training, and on the job. These skills are usually focused on specific tasks and processes such as the use of tools, equipment, or software.

We have highlight some hard skills which are asked for within the hospitality, events and leisure industries:

Technical skills - web: HTML, CSS, Javascript, CRM systems, troubleshooting, culinary expertise etc
Computer skills - Microsoft, programming, presentations, tenders, social media etc
Analytical skills - Research, sales forecasting, reporting, CRM management, creativity etc
Marketing skills - SEO, PPC, social media, design, google analytics, proof-reading etc
Presentation skills - visual communication, public speaking, reporting, graphic design etc
Management skills - business / industry knowledge, budgeting, project management, hiring, business development, planning etc
Language skills - multiple languages
Design skills - creativity, menu design, newsletters, illustrator, typography, graphic design etc
Certifications - the best way to validate your hard skills is with a qualification