Bold in Relevance Part 2 of 4

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Welcome to The Bold Brief—

You are a member of this community of top-notch expert nurses and healthcare professionals who aspire to be “bold” in career and life. We want to be bold in our life’s purpose, and bold in life and career choices to live with authenticity, balance, and meaningful challenges.

Relevance refers to the degree to which something is connected to or appropriate for a particular purpose, context, or situation. In the context of your resume, relevance means ensuring that the skills, experiences, education, and qualifications you present are directly applicable and valuable to the job or industry you are targeting, highlighting your fit for the role.

In this 4-part series, we’re going to help you transform your clinical nursing/health professionals resume into an industry powerhouse. The 2nd of 4, Unearth your hidden strengths: Transferable skills that make you stand out in any industry will help you identify the skills that can propel you into your next role and teach you how to position them on your resume.

Did you miss part 1 of this 4-part series? Read Understanding the Difference Between Clinical and Industry Resumes now.

So…bold in relevance.

Understanding Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are not tied to a specific job—they’re versatile, valuable, and applicable across a variety of fields. Without transferable skills on your resume, LinkedIn, and in your interviews, you may be irrelevant!

Transferable skills are non-technical skills sometimes called core competencies, crucial for your career transition. These skills, highly valued by employers, go beyond specific roles and industries, making them essential for your success in the healthcare field.

For example, the ability to problem-solve, coordinate across teams, or manage data are all examples of transferable skills that are just as useful in non-traditional roles in HealthTech, MedTech, Biotech, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices as they are in the hospital, or any traditional nursing role.

Types of Transferable Skills

There are 3 types or categories of transferable skills: People-Oriented, System-Oriented, and Self-Oriented. Consider each category as you begin to identify your transferable skills and related measurable outcomes.

People-Oriented Transferable Skills/Core Competencies encompass a set of skills and attributes that revolve around interpersonal relationships, effective teamwork, and leadership within work environments. Your resume, LinkedIn, and interview responses must illustrate how these skills align with nursing experiences, portraying you as holistic contributors to healthcare teams.

• Examples of People-Oriented Transferable Skills: Strategic Vision, Performance Management, Change Management, Personnel Development, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Competitive Drive, Task Delegation, Chain of Communication.

Systems-Oriented Transferable Skills/Core Competencies pertain to skills and abilities focused on organizational efficiency, process optimization, and understanding the broader systems. Your resume, LinkedIn, and interview responses must showcase examples of how you have previously and can in any setting contribute to the development, production, and regulation of processes, enhancing their overall system-oriented competencies for the prospective employer.

• Examples of Systems-Oriented Transferable Skills: Innovation, Risk Management, Systemization, Production, Financial Acumen, Regulatory Acumen.

Self-Oriented Transferable Skills/Core Competencies encompass personal attributes and skills crucial for individual success and well-being within the healthcare profession. Your resume, LinkedIn, and interview responses must showcase examples of how you have previously and can in any setting confidently communicate these qualities, emphasizing their role in fostering flexibility, effective decision-making, and overall professional success.

• Examples of Self-Oriented Transferable Skills: Work Ethic, Initiative, Decisiveness, Completeness, Confidence, Stress Management, Technical Literacy.

Bold Nurse Academy job seekers who customize their resume for specific roles—focusing on transferable skills and measurable results—experience greater success in securing interviews and job offers.

Scroll down to get today’s Transferable Skills Workbook!

What these Differences Mean for Your Work and Life

If you’re transitioning from traditional, bedside nursing to an industry role, understanding the your transferable skills for use on your resume, LinkedIn, and in interviews is critical for a successful career transition. You’ll need to focus on what makes you a unique candidate and tailor your resume to reflect these skills to increase your chances of standing out in a competitive job market and landing roles that take your career to the next level.

5 Steps to Identify and Communicate Your Transferable Skills

Step 1: Reflect on Your Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Think about the key tasks you perform on a regular basis. Break down your responsibilities, education, and expertise into specific skill categories/types. These are the same skills that industries like MedTech and Pharma value.

Step 2: Create Your Transferable Skills Inventory

Create a list of your transferable skills and specific examples of how you've demonstrated them in your current, traditional role. This inventory will help you tailor your resume to each industry position and will also provide a valuable reference for interviews.

Here is a FREE McMaster University resources to help you create your personalized transferable skill list.

Step 3: Identify Industry Applicable Skills

Look at the job descriptions for non-traditional roles that are of most interest to you. Note the recurring skills mentioned, such as data analysis, team leadership, or regulatory knowledge. Then, connect those requirements with the skills you’ve developed in your clinical career. In the Bold Nurse Academy, I will teach you to use job descriptions to create a word cloud to narrow the most vital skills!

Scroll down to get my FREE PDF!

Step 4: Reframe Your Education and Expertise into in Industry Language

Once you’ve identified the skills that overlap between current expertise and education compared to your desired industry roles, reframe your experience using industry language. Focus on the impact of your work, not just the tasks. This is a tough task and we work collaboratively in the Bold Nurse Academy to reframe your transferable skills into explicit industry langue to position you as the best candidate.

In your industry resume, re-write your bullets to emphasize your transferable skills tied to the measurable impact you’ve had in your tradition nursing role. Did you improve patient care efficiency for the unit? Reduced error rates, contributing to the success of the unit or organization? These are metrics that industry hiring managers appreciate.

Step 5: Aligning Skills with Job Requirements

Nurses need to align their transferable skills with specific job requirements of the desired role. Inside the Bold Nurse Academy, we will teach you how to tailor your resume, job applications, and LinkedIn to leverage your unique experiences to demonstrate a seamless fit for healthcare positions beyond traditional bedside roles.

Why This Approach Works

Identifying transferable skills allows you to unlock the value of your education and expertise to become more marketable for non-traditional roles. Industry employers aren’t just looking for general clinical skill—they want professionals who can think critically, lead projects, analyze data, and communicate effectively. This IS you! By reframing your experience through the lens of these transferable skills, you can present yourself as a versatile, high-impact candidate.

This approach works because it leverages what you’ve already mastered and strategically positions you for the next phase of your career. You’re not starting from scratch—you’re building on a foundation of skills that are relevant across multiple industries.

This FREE Transferable Skills Workbook: How to Identify and Highlight Your Strengths for Non-Traditional Nurse Careers will walk you through your expertise to ensure that you have a foundational list of unique to you!

Thanks to 1440 Media for Sponsoring this Edition of The Bold Brief

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Conclusion

Identifying your transferable skills is a key step in building an industry-ready resume. By translating your education and expertise into terms that resonate with employers in MedTech, pharma, or healthcare consulting, you open up new career opportunities. These skills are already within you—it’s time to showcase them to the world.

Stay tuned for next week’s edition part 2 of 4, where we will focus on identifying and framing your transferable skills for industry roles! As we start this journey together, remember that each step you take is part of a larger transition toward a more satisfying career and life.

Remember, the bold career and life that you desire is not just a dream—it's within your reach. Let's make it a reality together.

P.S. If you want to learn from me on a daily basis, come connect with me on LinkedIn or in my Facebook Community.

P.P.S. What is the Bold Nurse Academy?

The BOLD Nurse Academy is a life and career program dedicated to empowering expert nurses and healthcare professionals through private 1-1 or small group transformation mentorship and coaching.

1. Short-term goals: (1) Build your personalize life-work systems for success then (2) Launch into a selected new career specialty, industry, or field with newfound focus on authenticity, balance, and challenge in life and career.

2. Ultimate goal: To enable you to reignite your spark and ultimately, to thrive in your life and careers for true happiness.

I can help you! reach out to me on LinkedIn or email [email protected]

Remember that this is a dedicated space for you, the nurses at the bedside and beyond, the committed healthcare professionals ready to explore transformative career paths beyond traditional roles. Every week, we'll dig into evidence-based strategies, insights, and stories designed to empower you to take bold steps toward a fulfilling career and life outside the hospital setting.