Case study: The power of transferable skills

As professional recruiters, the team at face2face understands the power of transferferrable skills. These are skills that you, as a candidate, can ‘transfer’ from one role to another, from one organisation to another, or even from one sector to another.

The scene

face2face Managing Director, Kate Prior, who has been in recruitment for decades, says some candidates ignore their transferable skills because they don’t understand what or how important they are when applying for positions.

‘With these skills front and centre, however, you’re open to many more professional opportunities,’ says Kate. ‘Transferable skills are so valuable that we’ve even relied on them to hire for our own team at face2face. Even though a candidate doesn’t have direct recruitment experience, we can pinpoint skills they’ve developed in other roles that add value to what we do.’

‘In recruitment, for example, we can teach processes and procedures, but we can’t quickly transform someone into a great communicator,’ says Kate. ‘So when we spot a candidate with great communication skills, we know we have a good foundation.’

This case study showcases how one of face2face’s employees (let’s call her Lucy), moved into recruitment without any direct expertise and is now a shining star.

Lucy’s background

During high school, and while completing a business administration diploma, Lucy worked for over a decade in a fast-food industry outlet, starting as a crew member and being promoted to crew trainer and then to shift manager. Lucy became inspired by supporting staff along their professional development journey.

In this fast-paced industry, Lucy was trained extensively in strict operational procedures and processes, all designed to provide exemplary customer service and safe food preparation and delivery.

Working in a dynamic team environment, Lucy also refined skills with point-of-sale systems, service processes and opening and closing regimes. She learned to communicate clearly at peak times which were super hectic and maintain an upbeat attitude.

Lucy also had to think on her feet. Multitasking skills were essential within strict deadlines (120 seconds from end-to-end for service delivery). In Drive Thru, Lucy learned to resolve customer complaints quickly and confidently.

What happened next?

Lucy loved her job but woke up one day craving a change. Connecting with people was paramount and so was customer service. Lucy initially thought her dream job was as a youth worker, but she ultimately decided she wanted to work with people from all walks of life. She began to look into studies for a recruitment or human resources role.

Initially, Lucy wasn’t sure she had the skills or the confidence to think about moving into either of these new sectors. After all, her career had thus far been in the fast-food industry, and only that industry.

The journey

While searching for new career possibilities, Lucy discovered that some of her applications were automatically turned down because the fast-food industry featured on her resume. As a result, potential employers simply felt she didn’t have the skills required for their needs.

Lucy then took a harder look at her resume and focused on explaining the duties she had performed, and the transferable skills she had to offer to new sectors. She began to leverage these skills and outline how she could multi-task, meet strict deadlines, deal with customer complaints, work productively in a team environment and communicate concisely and effectively. Lucy also deliberately highlighted her well-developed organisational skills and methodical and effective approach to exemplary customer service.

A happy result

One day, Lucy got a call out of the blue from an Account Manager at face-to-face who had seen her resume on Seek Talent Search. Impressed with Lucy’s experience and transferable skills, the Account Manager knew she could fit well in a recruitment role, even though she hadn’t worked in the industry previously. All that was needed was some dedicated training.

Lucy was called in for an interview the very next day and was immediately offered a job in a recruitment administrator role.

Lucy’s progress

Lucy performed this initial role at face2face for 4 months. The team at face2face quickly noticed that although Lucy had no direct experience in a recruitment agency, she absorbed information quickly. Indeed, one team member noted that although Lucy had only recently started, she would be ‘mistaken for someone who had been in recruitment for a decade … She has exemplary work ethic, an outstanding phone manner and is adept at finding talent through all available avenues.’

When the opportunity arose, management decided to recruit from within and offered Lucy a promotion to a role in Recruitment Support. She thrived in this role for 9 months and was again promoted to Senior Recruitment Support.

And today …

Lucy loves the recruitment industry and leveraging her 10+ years plus experience in an entirely different sector to add value to face2face. She is making a big impact in her Senior Recruitment Support role.

Today, Lucy gets a buzz out of ticking all recruitment boxes on every job, so nothing is missed. She’s a customer service superstar and maximises her skills to help face2face drive organisational goals, prioritise heavy workloads and work without compromise. Lucy is also a positive addition to the face2face team and a joy to work with.

Read more

Transferable skills: What you need to know

Transferable skills: More important than ever

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