Transferable Skills
I don’t recall the first time I actually heard the term “transferable skills,” but I’m completely convinced of the value they bring to a career. Problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, and effective communication are just a few of the capabilities that transcend specific jobs to become valuable competencies, regardless of role.
For much of my professional life, I’ve worked in Human Resources at some amazing companies, alongside truly impressive people. As a profession, HR has been incredibly fun, challenging, and rewarding — but it was in sales, not HR, where I got my start.
I consider myself fortunate, especially so early in my career, to have worked with leaders who recognized the importance of professional development and backed it up with meaningful investments in time, resources, and recognition. Looking back, the practical training, development, and stretch assignments I experienced throughout my career undoubtedly helped prepare me for challenges that future roles would present.
With or without formalized training, opportunities to develop valuable transferable skills exist around us every day. The key is having the self-awareness to recognize the opportunity itself, and to learn from the experience so that knowledge can be leveraged intentionally to solve problems in the future.
This photo is from a President’s Club event circa 1991, including just a few of the very talented people I had the pleasure of working with at MCI. Stacking hands, left to right: Fran Moncada, me, Donna Anderson, Vince Salvaggio, and Ed Tolliver.
Lapel pins for top sales supervisor, with each stone representing a month. I recall wearing these proudly !
Jerry Jenkins is Chief Human Resources Officer at Getty Images, with 25+ years building high-performance HR organizations at global scale