[Twosugars]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Transferable skills is using a different word for soft skills, and no they don't have to be from paid work naturally...for instance volunteering is a form of work experience

don't think transferable skills are just soft skills, Cherie
touch-typing is a transferable skill or Excel, aren't they?

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

don't think transferable skills are just soft skills, Cherie
touch-typing is a transferable skill or Excel, aren't they?

Nope, being able to use Excel is a hard skill

What are Soft Skills?
Whereas hard skills are the tangible and technical skills easily demonstrated by a candidate’s qualifications and specific professional experiences, soft skills is a term used by employers to refer to the more intangible and non-technical abilities that are sought from candidates.

Soft skills are sometimes referred to as transferable skills or professional skills. As this term implies, these are skills that are less specialised, less rooted in specific vocations, and more aligned with the general disposition and personality of a candidate. Examples of important soft skills are communication, teamwork and problem solving.

Soft skills relate to your attitudes and your intuitions. As soft skills are less referable to your qualifications and more personality-driven, it is important to consider what your soft skills are and how you might show evidence of them before you apply for a job. This is particularly true of the recruitment process for graduate programmes, where transferable skills and potential often take precedence over professional experience. Being able to demonstrate your soft skills equates to demonstrating great potential to succeed and progress in the career of your choice.

[Twosugars]

yeah, you're right, just checked that for myself
I'd have sworn

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

yeah, you're right, just checked that for myself
I'd have sworn

I think being able to find your way around an Excel sheet is called a hard skill as you can prove you can do it via a test or something

[Maru]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

don't think transferable skills are just soft skills, Cherie
touch-typing is a transferable skill or Excel, aren't they?

No on Excel. Especially if that company is into macros. None of that is written in an "universal" language in the sense it can be used in other warez and Excel really does is the best.

For the same reason, Adobe can't be completely "replaced" for many designers, except that a new way of doing things has to be adopted... that's the real pain for most people to "switch", is learning a whole new set of shortcut keys and re-adapting their workflow... time is money in short.

MS has learned this and has found this out when testing newer "ideas", which is probably one reason they ultimately end up cling to the old way of doing things so very often... and people bitch when things like the start menu, etc are tampered with. For a lot of people, software is actually not at all a transferable skill... it took them a lot of pain to learn the Start menu was the "hub" and when you change the "hub", the "brain" of the OS, it pisses a lot of people off... Hence why things like online media exist to help people even learn how to copy files...

[Twosugars]

Well, my bad
I thought that things like touch-typing and basic software use would be classed as transferable

[Maru]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

Well, my bad
I thought that things like touch-typing and basic software use would be classed as transferable

I wish, 2S. Oh I wish.

[Twosugars]

Originally Posted by Maru

I wish, 2S. Oh I wish.

I take you had to deal with some dodgy employees or applicants, Maru

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Maru

people bitch when things like the start menu, etc are tampered with. For a lot of people, software is actually not at all a transferable skill... it took them a lot of pain to learn the Start menu was the "hub" and when you change the "hub", the "brain" of the OS, it pisses a lot of people off... Hence why things like online media exist to help people even learn how to copy files...

YES. There's a damn good reason that Start10 (previously Start8) is the first thing I download when I do a fresh OS installation.

Well, 2nd... Obviously I'm not going to do ANYTHING with the "edge" browser, besides using it to download literally any other browser.

[Toy Soldier]

(And then sometimes I forget that vanilla windows 10 doesn't have a proper start menu and get confused when I'm not on my own system)

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

As someone who has hired plenty of people (and I'll be honest here; a good handful of them utterly incompetent)... The two main criteria for an entry level position are confidence and competence (by which I mean, seeming bright / enthusiastic /... Not thick...), WAY above experience, with the caveat being I guess that relevant experience can make some people more confident.

For a management role previous management experience is a bit more relevant. If you can get management training ANYWHERE, snap it up, it opens a lot of doors (look on any jobsite, you'll notice that the vast majority of jobs that pay better than minimum wage require management experience to even apply).

But for basic / entry level jobs pretty much anywhere... It just isn't the main factor and tells you very little about what sort of employee the person will be. References should be taken with a pinch of salt. No one will include a reference who will say anything negative?

Tl;Dr a couple of weeks shelf stacking experience at Poundland isn't worth ****. In fact I'd rather hear that people tried to start a small business, or a website, or to become a bloody YouTuber... Something interesting that will make you stand out from the 20 other people with shelf stacking experience who applied.

..I love that you’ve employed so many ‘incompetent’ people, TS...obviously their lack of competence would be frustrating for you at times...but I’m going to dismiss that completely, your frustrations etc...because I’m seeing you now as the giver of opportunity of work to all equally...even the incompetent, you give everyone a chance to show any worth they may have in the workplace...your specific workplace.....

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..I love that you’ve employed so many ‘incompetent’ people, TS...obviously their lack of competence would be frustrating for you at times...but I’m going to dismiss that completely, your frustrations etc...because I’m seeing you now as the giver of opportunity of work to all equally...even the incompetent, you give everyone a chance to show any worth they may have in the workplace...your specific workplace.....

Lets just hope TS has employed all of them and they don’t pop up performing open heart surgery

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by Cherie

so if a reference confirms the person is punctual, polite, rarely off sick, is a team player you would consider that pointless information about their work history?

I've never actually interviewed someone who had references, I honestly don't know if they are that common but if I did then a character reference would affect my decision but in my experience of interviewing people who have done placements, I've never seen anyone with references to show for it.

I just don't place much stock in work experience that isn't relevant to the job at hand.

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

As someone who has hired plenty of people (and I'll be honest here; a good handful of them utterly incompetent)... The two main criteria for an entry level position are confidence and competence (by which I mean, seeming bright / enthusiastic /... Not thick...), WAY above experience, with the caveat being I guess that relevant experience can make some people more confident.

For a management role previous management experience is a bit more relevant. If you can get management training ANYWHERE, snap it up, it opens a lot of doors (look on any jobsite, you'll notice that the vast majority of jobs that pay better than minimum wage require management experience to even apply).

But for basic / entry level jobs pretty much anywhere... It just isn't the main factor and tells you very little about what sort of employee the person will be. References should be taken with a pinch of salt. No one will include a reference who will say anything negative?

Tl;Dr a couple of weeks shelf stacking experience at Poundland isn't worth ****. In fact I'd rather hear that people tried to start a small business, or a website, or to become a bloody YouTuber... Something interesting that will make you stand out from the 20 other people with shelf stacking experience who applied.

Pretty much, I don't really care about experience in entry roles, it's more about enthusiasm and work ethic and I think you can tell that by how a person carries themself beneath the interview exterior.