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Marquette University
Career Services Center

Holthusen Hall, First Floor
1324 W. Wisconsin Avenue
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881
Phone: (414) 288-7423
Fax: (414) 288-5302
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Resume & Cover Letter Writing: Transferable Skills

Transferable, functional skills are required in many different work situations. They are built into your liberal arts education and are valued by employers. A bit of reflection will allow you to see that your courses, research projects, college work experience, extracurricular activities, internships and field study experiences have all been instrumental in providing you with skills that employers value. If asked in a job interview how your education has prepared you for a specific job, you can be ready with some good answers if you think about it beforehand. Take a look at the list below and determine which of these transferable skills you have developed.

Planning and Organizational Skills

  1. Meet deadlines and manage time effectively
  2. Work under time and environmental pressures
  3. Successfully juggle multiple demands (school and work)
  4. Identify and prioritize things to be accomplished
  5. Assess needs
  6. Develop goals for self and/or an organization
  7. Work effectively with organization members
  8. Follow up with others to evaluate progress of tasks
  9. Stick to a difficult endeavor and see it through to completion (4 years of college)

Critical Thinking Skills

  1. Quickly and accurately identify the key issues when making a decision or solving a problem
  2. Identify general principles that explain data or human behavior
  3. Examine assumptions underlying analyses or conclusions
  4. Recognize interrelationships in information obtained from diverse sources
  5. Use facts to judge validity of theories
  6. Create innovative solutions to complex problems
  7. Critically evaluate theories and research and apply the results to solve problems

Human Relations and Interpersonal Skills

  1. Maintain group cooperation and support
  2. Keep a group on track when working towards a goal
  3. Interact and work effectively with peers, superiors and subordinates
  4. Interact with and appreciate people from diverse cultural, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds
  5. Communicate effectively and sensitively in both individual and group situations
  6. Teach a skill, concept or principle to others 
  7. Demonstrate effective social behavior in a variety of settings and circumstances
  8. Effectively collaborate with others to complete projects or reach goals
  9. Delegate tasks and responsibilities
  10. Ability to work on a team on diverse assignments

Oral and Written Communication Skills

  1. Organize and present ideas effectively for formal and spontaneous speeches
  2. Effectively participate in group discussions and brainstorm ideas
  3. Debate issues while respecting the opinions of others
  4. Read and condense large amounts of material
  5. Write reports clearly, grammatically, concisely, objectively, convincingly and in appropriate format
  6. Write and speak effectively in a foreign language
  7. Delivered verbal presentations clearly and persuasively
  8. Express and defend ideas in a clear, objective, non-dogmatic manner
  9. Effectively utilize campus resources for public relations
  10. Use various media to present ideas effectively and/or imaginatively
  11. Possess courteous telephone skills

Research and Investigation Skills

  1. Use a variety of sources of information to research problems or answers to questions
  2. Conduct literature searches on ________________.
  3. Develop a new research question(s)
  4. Apply a variety of research methods to test the validity of data
  5. Design and experiment, plan or model that systematically defines a problem
  6. Construct, administer and interpret questionnaires or surveys
  7. Ethically recruit and treat research subjects
  8. Select appropriate statistical tests for the analysis of research
  9. Analyze and interpret statistical data.
  10. Interpret qualitative and quantitative data
  11. Use computers or laboratory equipment to assist with research
  12. Select, administer, score, and interpret various psychological tests or assessments
  13. Deal effectively with financial, temporal, and personnel constraints on research

Computer Skills

  1. Use computer software to prepare reports, graphs, brochures, etc and to conduct research
  2. Internet research and e-mail skills
  3. Computer programming skills
  4. Webpage and website design skills

Personal Skills

  1. Define and explain ethical behavior and practice it in difficult situations
  2. Take initiative in job related duties
  3. Tolerance for stress and ambiguity
  4. Demonstrate flexibility and ability to handle change
  5. Recognize the value of lifelong learning and seeks professional development opportunities
  6. Identify personal values and apply them when making decisions
  7. Ability & motivation to develop knowledge and skills in expanding job responsibilities