It can be daunting moving to an industry that you have never worked in before, but if you are transferring from a job in hospitality, travel or leisure then some of the skills you have learned and demonstrated will be likely to open up lots of other doors. It’s important to remember that employers will be open to hiring candidates without direct experience and with the understanding that whatever skills they do have will be transferable into their industry.

1. Identify

The first step is to identify which key skills you have gained in previous roles from the three types of skillset:

Hard skills: Measurable knowledge often certified by a degree or training program.
Soft skills: Hard-to-measure qualities that suggest what you’re like to work with.
Technical skills: Knowledge of specific software programs and tools.

Common soft skills developed in hospitality and leisure jobs:

• Communication and ability to listen
• Attention to detail
• Time management and organisation
• Customer Service and understanding what customers want
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Problem solving

Common hard skills developed in hospitality and leisure jobs:

• Food handling and hygiene certifications
• People management certifications

Common technical skills developed in hospitality and leisure jobs:

• Microsoft office
• Bookkeeping software
• Salesforce or other client or customer management tools
• Food handling and hygiene certifications
• People management certifications

2. Repurpose

Once you have identified your transferable skills, the second step is to match these skills with other positions that also require the same sort of skills. Below are some examples of the types of jobs you could move into:

Previous experience in front of house roles and customer facing roles? How about…

• Security Guard
• Courier/ delivery driver
• Sales executive or sales representative
• Customer service assistant

Previous experience in back of house and behind the scenes roles? How about…

• Hospital or care home porter
• Cleaner or sanitation worker
• Data entry or administration

Previous experience in management roles? How about…

• Operations manager
• Team leader
• Store manager