As a global executive search firm headquartered in Toronto, what we often see holding people back – even senior executives – is their inability to recognize and put to use their transferable skills. Often, this boils down to individuals not knowing how to recognize what they have and how to harness these transferable skills into a better job.

Here at Rosenzweig & Company Executive Recruitment, we focus on critical and specialized executive search, which often involves finding candidates with the right transferable skills who will be able to leverage these abilities effectively in their new position.

Executives possess more transferable skills than they often realize. As an executive search firm, we look for these skills when choosing the right candidate. Included in the list of key transferable skills and traits that both our firm and our clients look for are: leadership, communication skills, problem-solving, time management, ability to multi-task, creativity and teamwork.

We all have transferable experience, skills and traits, but too often lack the understanding of how to turn them to our advantage. All executive search firms value transferable skills greatly when choosing their placements, because often transferable skills are what set candidates apart from one another.

Our executive search firm looks for links between industries and job functions and we assess if you have skills that can be transferred. Employers want skills that can increase or develop business; companies want a combination of skills and talent that will make them more successful and more profitable. This often includes skills that on the surface might look unrelated to the job, but bring new, valuable perspectives to the table.

When defining your transferable skills, ask yourself these questions, and be honest:

Do you like new challenges or do you prefer steady building?
Do you communicate effectively one-on-one, in meetings, on the phone or via email?
Do you work well in a group or prefer to work alone?
Do you manage your time well or find yourself always wondering what happened to the day?
Can you juggle two or more tasks at a time or do you prefer just one?

In this environment of corporate change and workplace evolution, there is no reason to feel pigeon-holed. Let your transferable skills and traits open doors - if you do, you may soon be hearing from our executive search firm.