What exactly are transferable skills, and why are they so important for getting into an MBA program?
What are transferable skills?
Transferable skills are skills that are needed outside of a job function. These abilities enable you to be successful in any position. Furthermore, they enable you to enter positions, sectors, or departments for which you may not otherwise be fully qualified.
Transferable skills emerge as a result of experience, time, and learning opportunities (such as training, one-to-one coaching, and mentoring). By time and work experience, we mean that you've been honing these skills since your first job at a local bank or as a camp counselor volunteer, and you'll keep honing them for the rest of your life. Consider it a set of talents that you may transfer from one job to another throughout your career.
Why are transferable skills so important?
Transferable skills are required in all fields. They will help you, your team, your customer, or your company succeed. Furthermore, they help you to take charge of your professional path and reduce stress at times of transition, such as a promotion or job change.
These abilities will never "go out of style." Instead, they will follow and support your professional success as long as you invest and make an active effort to hone them. Transferable abilities can be gained by enrolling in a skill-specific training program, working with a professional coach, or engaging in any development opportunities provided by your employer.
Why are they important for your MBA Application?
There is one universal truth that we have discovered that appears to be largely ignored by the rest of the MBA admissions landscape, and that is the critical importance of adhering to what we call the Art of Transferability.
What does this imply? Simply put, it means identifying the experiences and skills you *already have* and emphasizing them as proof that you will succeed in business school and beyond. Most people understand that work experience is important in an MBA candidacy, and many others understand that certain trademark themes (leadership, teamwork, maturity, motivation, intellect, and so on) are also important. Few seem to realize, however, that the entire game hinges on how well you EXTRACT from those experiences and then PRESENT evidence of your relevant ability. And this holds true for any candidate.
Further reading: AVOID THE BIGGEST MBA APP MISTAKE: MARKET YOUR TRANSFERABLE SKILLS!