For the majority of us, we’ve spent our lifetime focusing on and developing our roles in one, two, or maybe even three different types of occupations – making looking for a job in a brand new sector an inevitable challenge. In fact, it would be natural for your head to become paralysed with questions such as; ‘How do I get my foot in the door?’, ‘What do I do if I don’t have relevant experience?’ and ‘Where do I begin when writing my CV?’.
Luckily, while perfecting your trade, you’ll have undoubtedly picked up and refined a number of valuable transferable skills – making you a suitable candidate for a variety of other opportunities across an array of industries. In this article by forex trading professionals Learn to Trade, we’re running through 3 industries that supply you with a definitive set of transferable skills that can be applied to a range of different sectors.
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
Forex trading
As a forex trader, you will have a number of extensive analytical, strategic and disciplinary skills that will help you find a job in a number of different industries. Your capability to conduct thorough research of industry trends and their financial implications, for example, will prove invaluable in a market research job where this forms an integral part of your role.
Additionally, due to the need to be flexible surrounding working hours as a forex trader, when combined with your ability to create full-proof strategies, this could make you an ideal candidate for an events planning position where you’ll use these skills every day.
Retail
Arguably more so than within any other industry, working in retail requires a high level of communication, sales and customer service skills – an invaluable talent that pertains to many other occupations outside the retail sector, such as recruitment.
Additionally, for those of you in a supervisory or managerial position, the instinctive decision-making skills you undoubtedly have when faced with tricky customer demands will prove very useful in client-facing sectors such as marketing. Moreover, depending on the type of retailer you’ve worked for, you might have extensive knowledge on products that can be transferred to other areas, such as home decor or fashion.
Admin
Working in admin or as a receptionist, you’re likely to have integral organisational abilities that are highly sought after in a number of industries. Not only would this help you seek out a role where you’re left in charge of planning and formatting other people’s workload, but you’re able to transfer this skill to organising your own work in an independent working environment.
Working independently will allow you to be your own boss in occupations such as forex trading or as a freelance virtual assistant – allowing you to set your own hours and manage your time with your comprehensive planning abilities.
Banking and Finance
Banking and finance professionals harbour a whole host of skills required in all sorts of fields. In a digital age where computer skills are integral to the development and ongoing success of a company, those of you who have come from a background in banking and finance will be able to utilise your existing computer and mathematical skills to the benefit of other sectors where this is appropriate.
For example, being computer and mathematically-savvy is a key requirement for website developers – allowing you to use your excellent problem-solving and technical skills to create and deploy code to build websites.
The most important factor to consider when applying for new job prospects is selling what you can do using the skills you have. Jot down your skills on a piece of paper and ask yourself what other occupations these skills would be valuable in. Once you’ve done this, you’ll feel more confident in emphasising your potential to a prospective employer – because, ultimately, as soon as you believe in yourself, others are more likely to believe in you.
Author bio:
John James is a content writer for Learn To Trade, the foreign exchange education and learning specialists – offering a range of training courses to help people understand the currency trading market, as well as its opportunities and risks.
