Image Caption: Teamwork is, and will remain, a key soft skill across industries.

A study conducted by LinkedIn revealed that millennials will change jobs on an average of four times in their first decade out of college^[1]. While the thought of a career change is exciting, it is quickly followed with the fear of inexperience and perhaps insecurity about our skillsets.

Employers generally lay a lot of stress on finding candidates with the right skills. These can be a combination of technical knowledge, experience and related competencies. However, there are skills referred to as portable or transferrable skills. While these skills are not always taught, they can be learned. And they are always useful.

1. Time-management
   Time-management is one of the most sought-after transferableskills on an employer’s list. A candidate’s ability to proactively manage tasks in a time-bound and effective fashion is often the secret to professional success. The keys to learning time-management are patience and perseverance. Platforms like Coursera, Lynda and edX offer courses on the subject.
   
    
2. Communication
   This is a set made of four elements – verbal skills, listening skills, writing skills and specific communication skills. The ability to have a good conversationis directly linked to smarter negotiations and better deals.  It also helps build better professional relationships and facilitates leadership as well as teamwork.
   
   A good reading habit as well as regular writing obviously helps improve an individual’s abilities. Coursera and edX are among several sites which offer courses in communication skills.
   
    
3. Teamwork
   Team-work forms the core of most organisational tasks. It serves to unite all the employees to achieve a common aim. The most fundamental of all skills, teamwork comes from encouraging other people to take on roles and participate. Many people learn on the job or through college years – participating in extracurricular activities, volunteering in groups etc. Teamworking is also a skill that can be honed online.
   
    
4. Research
   
   This is going to be a critical element of any job whether one works as an academic or an executive assistant. From figuring out the right citations for an essay to ordering the best lunch on a budget for clients – research will remain essential to every role. This involves locating, extracting, evaluating and using information in the best way. Like with most skills, practice makes perfect.  
   
    
5. Learning
   Yes, believe it or not, with reports predicting that 65% of today’s school children will work in jobs that do not exist yet, learning will be the number one transferable skill in demand. This can mean institutionalised learning – degrees from universities, and certificates from online programs. But it will also mean learning on the job and adapting to change constantly.