If you’re looking for a new job in the D.C. area, you may be finding that jobs are scarce in your area of interest.
If that’s the case, you’ll next be tasked with selling your current skill set to a different kind of job. This means making a list of your skills and figuring out which ones are transferable. This set of skills is less specific and more holistic in nature. They are used to be more effective overall in your career. Here are a few ways to let an employer know you can transfer these skills over to a new career in D.C.
Critical thinking.
There are few more desirable qualities than the ability to evaluate and analyze information with the outcome of providing a deeper insight or better way of doing your job. You use critical thinking to get others around you to think more deeply about a problem and it can be used to fully conceptualize an idea or policy before it’s executed. You can demonstrate you’ll use these skills by knowing what important questions to ask constituents and fellow co-workers to implement policies that work for everyone.
Flexibility.
Your ability to adjust quickly to whatever changes you encounter in your position will mean a lot to an employer. You want to demonstrate that you can not only easily face new challenges but that you also can succeed in this environment. Demonstrating flexibility can be done by taking on multiple tasks in the same role. One example of this would be setting up mailings, conducting research, physically running errands, and interacting with constituents successfully all in the same position. It also means jumping into a role and quickly getting up to speed on important projects.
Solving problems.
This skill of finding solutions to difficult problems is also invaluable to an employer. When you are particularly skilled at solving problems, you are able to identify what’s at the heart of an issue and are able to come up with different approaches to solve it. Problem-solving looks like many different things, but one example is interning for a political campaign and devising a database that helps get in touch with voters. Employers need workers who don’t get stuck the minute they encounter a roadblock but rather thinks creatively and quickly comes us with a plan.
If you find there are no job openings in your industry, it’s time to get creative.
Think about what other areas interest you and start thinking about how many skills you have that will work in that division. A few were covered here, but the list also includes people management, dependability, and working as a team. The good news is if you make a list of transferable skills, it will help you get any job you apply for in the future.
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