Technical, occupational (hard) skills are trainable, for example working in a lab or coding. Employers are often willing to train new employees on-the-job. However, most employers expect and want transferable skills such as communication, creativity, and collaboration to be already refined by candidates and employees.

The following selection of quotes supports the importance employers place on transferable skills.

In 2013, Google decided to test its hiring hypothesis by crunching every bit and byte of hiring, firing, and promotion data accumulated since the company’s incorporation in 1998. 

Project Oxygen shocked everyone by concluding that, among the eight most important qualities of Google’s top employees, STEM expertise comes in dead last. The seven top characteristics of success at Google are all soft skills: 

  • being a good coach; 
  • communicating and listening well; 
  • possessing insights into others (including others different values and points of view); 
  • having empathy toward and being supportive of one’s colleagues; 
  • being a good critical thinker and problem solver; and 
  • being able to make connections across complex ideas. (Strauss, 2017, para. 5)

In the research conducted by the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship employers called for,

...soft skills ….. interpersonal skills, such as ‘teamwork’, ‘collaboration’, and ‘customer service’. Project management skills, such as ‘budgeting’ and ‘planning’, are also frequently requested, as well as more general skills and aptitudes such as ‘problem-solving’ and ‘detail-orientedness’. Finally, employers are also looking for candidates with strong writing skills. (Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, 2019, p. 26)

The importance of strong writing skills is also expressed from an employer who has hired staff for 25 years, 

“...every company benefits from good writing both internally and externally.” (Bisharat, 2019, para. 3)

The Future of Jobs Report, released in October 2020 states:

The top skills and skill groups which employers see as rising in prominence in the lead up to 2025 include groups such as critical thinking and analysis as well as problem-solving, and skills in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility. (World Economic Forum, 2020) 

A report released in April 2021, How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer views on what matters most, outlines the results from the seventh employer survey they have conducted. The results show that skills developed in liberal education such as effectively working in teams and critical thinking are valued by employers.

Employers continue to find high value in students developing a “broad skill base that can be applied across a range of contexts,” Finley said. “Our results also point to how much fostering mind-sets -- like work ethic and persistence -- matter for workplace success,” as far as employers are concerned.

A liberal education "fosters the adaptability and flexibility necessary to apply skills in a variety of contexts and respond to a rapidly changing world.” (Association of American Colleges and Universities, Hanover Research, 2021, pp. 1, 32) 

These examples illustrate that transferable skills are in demand, are needed now and in the future. This is not to say that technical (hard skills) are not needed—they are. 

Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that by integrating your transferable skills within your job applications that you will be invited for an interview because there are many factors at play. Still, studies show transferable skills matter. Moreover, Daniel Goleman, internationally known psychologist asserts that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) launches people’s career trajectory and advancement, in a video, which we have included in the Demonstrating Skills Unit.

Last modified: Thursday, 14 October 2021, 8:50 AM