For example, if your entire resume is filled with healthcare experience and you’re now seeking a position in law enforcement, it’s up to you to show the employer how important and relevant the skills you used in the past are for your new target jobs.

How can you be sure the employer knows you are perfect for the job? Follow the following advice to help showcase your transferable skills, and no one will question if you are qualified. 

Identify your skills. You can’t showcase your transferable skills until you know which the employer will think are the most important. What did you do in your previous positions on a daily basis? Make a list. Once your list is complete, pair skills you used with each task with job descriptions that interest you. Pay special attention to skills you can easily use in different organizations. Don’t ignore your “soft skills,” or emotional intelligence. For example, are you a good communicator? Do you have a knack for leading teams? Maybe you’re a great negotiator. Identify your best skills and include these on your list.

Research opportunities. Once you have your lists, plug your skills (your keywords) into job-board search engines to see what types of positions come up. For example, you may include terms such as “supervise,” “oversee projects,” or “leadership” in your searches. Keep an open mind and look for a pattern or type of job that keeps coming up.

Use your target employer’s language to describe your previous experience. You don’t want to make the employer try to figure out what you did in the past. Avoid jargon, abbreviations and other words specific to your old industry. Describe your background, skills, experiences and accomplishments using easy to understand language that relates to what you want to do next. For example, if you were solving problems, managing people and overcoming obstacles in your past job, describe that background in words your new employer will understand and appreciate.

Use social media tools to feature your expertise. One of the best things about social media is it allows you to showcase what you know and to communicate that expertise to exponential numbers of people. When you share news and information relevant to your industry, you become a go-to source. People will naturally view you as an expert in your arena, which helps fill in perceived experience gaps.

Network all the time. When you’re changing careers, your network is even more important than ever because you may need to rely on someone to take a chance on you. Make an effort to tell people what you’re doing. For example, attend professional networking events and take on volunteer roles. Ideally, you’ll be able to fill a role that uses some of the same skills you’ll need on the job. The best way to showcase your transferable skills is to use those skills with people who can influence your career path.

Focus on your transferable skills and put these action tips to use and you’ll discover how much easier it is to land a job in a new industry.

Who qualifies as a mentor? A mentor can be anyone willing to take a strong interest in another person’s professional success. Typically, the mentor is more experienced and connected in the job seeker’s field, but that doesn’t necessarily mean older. If you’ve changed careers, it’s possible you’ll connect with a younger mentor who has more experience and connections in your new field.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

It’s worth looking for a mentor to take on the following roles:

Suggest Strengths

Sometimes, our most marketable strengths aren’t obvious to us. A mentor can hone in on what you offer and suggest how to market those skills to be attractive to your target employers.

Point Out Weaknesses

Is a weakness preventing you from landing your dream job? Perhaps it requires someone experienced in your field to notice you’re missing a key skill necessary to win the job. A mentor can step in and help you fill in the missing pieces so you’re competitive for the job you want.

Create a Plan

A mentor can help you strategize about a plan to accomplish your goals. Whether this involves focusing on strengths or addressing weaknesses, the mentor can help guide you to your goal based on his or her experience in the field.

Offer Connections

The best mentors open up their networks to their mentees and make introductions likely to lead to new professional relationships. A great mentor can make all the difference for a job seeker, because all it takes to find an opportunity is one great connection. An experienced mentor can be the bridge to that connection for you.

Give Advice

It’s great to read job search advice, but sometimes, having someone with their personal best interest at heart makes all the difference for job seekers. A mentor can provide insider knowledge on everything related to your search. For example, how to apply, when to follow up, how to prepare for an interview and what’s negotiable in an offer.

Teach You By Example

One of the best ways to learn how to do something well is by watching someone else who’s already mastered what you hope to accomplish. A mentor can teach you what you need to know to get the job you want.

Push You to Succeed

Sometimes, you need a pep talk from someone who has been in your situation and succeeded. A mentor can give you that boost and encourage you to stick to your goals.

Inspire You

The best mentors will inspire you to be the very best you can be, which should lead to new professional opportunities.

You’ll never know how much a mentor can help you unless you try to connect with someone willing to serve in that role for you.

Today’s post is a contribution for the annual Job Action Day. The theme is inspired by Mike Rowe’s online commencement speech for Prager University. “He suggests, instead of following their passion, jobseekers should consider following the opportunities that are available to them—and then bring their passions with them to the job.”

Have you consciously identified a need to have passion for your work vs. considering your job a practical necessity? Do you let your bias regarding this impact your job search? Have you hesitated to pursue job opportunities because you aren’t committed to or excited about the work? Of course, the best career or job is the one in which you’re using the skills you enjoy. But, not every job needs to address all of your passions. It makes sense to use every job as an opportunity to learn something new and keep an open mind; you may find that you really enjoy something you never imagined would appeal to you.

Sometimes, however, a job can be just a job. Many, many people take care of problems at work not because they are passionate about what they are doing, but because they take pride in a job well done. It’s powerful to recognize work can be a way to make a living and doesn’t need to be steeped in passion.

If you are concerned that you should be more passionate about your work, here are some steps to take to make the most out of your current job, no matter what you do.

Evaluate your job.  Maybe there are parts of your job that play to your passions without you even recognizing it! For example, if you are in customer service, you may dislike handling problems all day, but solving concerns is something you really enjoy. Give credit to all the parts of your job that appeal to you.

Leverage your interests. Perhaps you can influence a change in your current work environment. If you’re in a job that doesn’t offer much in the way of upward mobility, consider offering to volunteer to head up an initiative that does play to your passions. For example, maybe you’d like to see your company recycle more, and you can offer to help work on that. Or, maybe you want to organize a collection to donate to the local food pantry. Perhaps you’d like to have a series of speakers come to talk to you and your colleagues. If you volunteer to set it up, your employer may support this effort. Just because your job may be static doesn’t mean you can’t extend yourself and try new things.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Job Seekers Make and How to Avoid Them.

Learn new things. Would you like to extend your career in a different direction, but you don’t have the resume to support the change? Identify what skills you are missing and take a class. Or, use volunteer opportunities to help get some experience. For example, if you don’t have any formal experience using management skills, managing that food drive or planning a speaker series can give you some of these skills.

Leverage your passions outside of work. If you don’t have a passion for your work, make more of an effort to enjoy your time outside of work. You may even find that newfound passion can become a side business that leads to work happiness down the road. Are you a creative person, but you work in an uncreative profession? Look for a hobby or take a class. When you’re not working, you have more control over how you spend your time, so be sure to tap into your passions. When you spend more time doing what you love, it helps your overall happiness, which will positively affect how you feel at work.

You may be surprised to learn you have an opportunity to include many more passionate interests in your job and in your free time than you may have realized!

You hate your job. There’s nothing worse than spending 40-plus hours a week doing something that you really hate. Before you plan a change, evaluate the situation. Do you loathe the work itself, or is your overbearing boss too much to take? Are you really unhappy because of the work itself, or do you wish you could wave a magic wand and send your annoying co-workers up in a cloud of smoke?

Statistics show that people tend to leave positions not because of bad jobs, but to flee bad bosses. Make sure you aren’t allowing a difficult supervisor or co-worker to dictate your career trajectory. Think about how you can improve your relationship with your boss. Unfortunately, you are likely to encounter unsavory colleagues and employers in any field.

Your hours are too long. You yearn for flexibility, but your employer demands 24/7 dedication. It would seem that a career change may be the answer, but unfortunately, you may find that starting over in a new career puts you at the bottom of the proverbial food chain. As the “new guy,” you could be tasked with weekends on call and long hours. Most employers expect longer hours from their workers due to layoffs and a need to produce more with less. While a shift may help avoid certain unfavorable characteristics of your current career, make sure you aren’t jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Research new options carefully to be sure you won’t be trading one problem for another.

You can’t get a raise or a promotion. It’s tempting to plan to throw in the towel on an entire career if you’ve hit the earning ceiling or if the money and recognition aren’t worth the effort. Is a new career really the answer, or might some key changes in your current job put you in a position to win the praise and raise you seek? Have you been coasting along while new team members push ahead with new ideas? It’s probably a lot easier to shift your attitude and work ethic than it is to carve out an entire new career. Make sure you think carefully before trading in what you have for something new.

You crave predictability and consistency at work. It can be unsettling when new requirements, policies and procedures come down the pike every other week. If you hate uncertainty, it’s tempting to dream about a career where you can do your job and the rules don’t change, but it’s not realistic.

You think a new career could be more exciting. You’ve been doing the same thing for years; wouldn’t making a change put a new spring in your step? It might. However, many career changers are disappointed to learn that they bring many of the same negative feelings about work to their new careers. Even a new career becomes old in time. Before planning your career shift, make sure you think about what you need to change in your life and consider the various opportunities to incite that change. For example, if your job isn’t challenging, maybe you could spend your extra energy creating a freelance business to bring in extra money on the side. Or, if you’re not entrepreneurial, identify some activities you’ve always wanted to try and join a club with other aficionados.

Work isn’t the only place where you can make changes in your life. Before you jump over the fence to walk on the greener grass, be sure to consider other alternatives and clarify your expectations. You don’t want to be surprised to learn that every lawn has some weeds, or the pot of gold isn’t always at the end of the rainbow.

Have you decided a new job or career is in order? Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Looking for more info about how to decide if a career pivot is good for you? Join me for a Mashable Twitter chat TODAY – August 10th – at 2 pm Eastern time, 11 am Pacific. Follow @MashBusiness and join in using the hashtag #BizChats.

Other experts on the chat include: Adam Smiley Poswolsky, millennial career expert, author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough; Jenny Blake, career and business coach, author of PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One (Sept. 2016); Marc Miller, career pivot expert, author of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers; and Ryan Rhoten, business leader, product manager, and host of The BRAND New You podcast.

Follow @MashBusiness and join in using the hashtag #BizChats. We look forward to hearing your questions.

Strong written and spoken communication skills are crucial to opening doors. Millennial Branding’s research showed soft skills topped the list of “must have” skills that employers want, with 98 percent of employers saying communication skills are essential. It’s up to you to make the most of every opportunity to prove you’re capable and confident.

It’s no secret first impressions matter – that’s been the case since the beginning of time. What’s new, in our increasingly fast-paced, digitally connected world, is how a simple stroke of a keyboard, or an email gone awry, can quickly damage a professional reputation. On the other hand, a stream of consistent, well-written social media updates can just as easily raise your profile and impress people you’ve never met who may positively influence your career.

As a job search coach and social media strategist experienced at helping job seekers and business owners market themselves online and in person, it’s clear the most successful professionals try to improve their communication skills at every opportunity. Whether your focus is networking, job search, or excelling at work, it’s more important now than ever to know how to present yourself in person and in writing in this hyper-competitive work environment.

Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides instructions and exercises to improve your communication abilities and offers insights and ideas to help refine your skills in every aspect of your job or career. It includes instruction on everything from networking to resume writing and interviewing.

Learn how to:

• Network professionally — online and in person
• Create cover letters and resumes that get you noticed
• Approach job interviews with confidence and poise
• Use social media appropriately and effectively
• Introduce yourself decisively and make a great first impression
• Write emails people will read
• Much, much more!

Communication skills are just as important in the workplace as they are when looking for a job, so you’ll also find details about how to impress people at work and how to write clear, concise business emails that will get the best results. With attention spans growing shorter, it’s never been more important to learn how to hone in on your message and eliminate non-crucial details. This book helps you recognize if you’re missing opportunities to communicate succinctly and demonstrates how to remedy any problems.

Whether you’re attending a meeting, or writing a memo, it’s up to you to put your best foot forward. This book provides the resources to help you identify any deficiencies or problems you may not have considered.

• Are you using words in your emails that call your professionalism into question?
• Does the tone or inflection of your voice make people think you aren’t confident?
• Could you be doing more via social media to expand your reach and extend your influence in your professional community?
• How are your listening skills?
• Does your body language send the message you want people to receive?

Read this book to learn how to improve your ability to make a strong first impression, and how to extend and enhance that impression so your colleagues and supervisors will listen carefully when you speak and appreciate what you write.

Click here to download a free chapter from the book : Communicate Using Social Media.

Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your best communication tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #WriteSpeak.

Learn about my other new book: Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day.

Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides suggestions and recommendations to help you make the most of every hour of the day. The result? You’ll have more time for everything that matters to you, and you’ll be able to successfully achieve your professional goals. No one has time to waste! That’s why this book starts out by illustrating how to network effectively and how to choose the best jobs to apply for to avoid the dreaded “resume black hole,” when employers ignore you. (After all, you never know when you’ll want to look for a new opportunity.) If you already have your dream job, you can dive directly into the slew of best practices and ideas included in the majority of the book, which is dedicated to helping manage your time for professional success.

In this book, I cover the entire gamut: from how to incorporate healthy routines (such as what to eat and how to make time to exercise) to how to set and achieve your aspirational work goals. Whether you need help organizing your office, managing distractions at work, tracking your emails or keeping a useful checklist and calendar, this book provides practical insights, exercises to get you started and information to help.

You haven’t been tracking your “wins” at work, or you don’t know what apps you should use to make the most of your time and avoid being distracted? I’ve got you covered!

Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day is an all-in-one efficiency “bible,” with suggestions to help you identify key action items and take the necessary steps to accomplish your long- and short-term goals. Learn how to get a firm handle on your schedule to keep efficiently moving forward with your professional plans.

• Do you need help separating your “must do” from your “want to do” items?
• Could you use help to overcome procrastination and learn to become accountable for your plans?
• Would you appreciate advice about how to stop wasting time, effort, and energy?

This book includes techniques and ideas to help you get organized and keep on track.

For example, learn how to:

• Plan your job search — get it done in less time
• Prepare for interviews — without memorizing answers to hundreds of questions
• Make the most of your time at work
• Get organized and feel in control of your life
• Create useful lists and prioritize
• Avoid procrastination
• Much, much more!

Download an excerpt from the book: How to Avoid Procrastination.

After you read this book, you will be able to quickly review your progress, assess your strategies and make positive changes. Are you ready to put the right combination of action items in place and just get things done? Order the book today (it ships on July 7th) and get started!

Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your favorite productivity tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #TimeLife.

Don’t miss my other new book, Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day.

Consider the following approaches to address gaps in your resume.

Avoid Gaps

Perhaps you weren’t working for an organization during a particular time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t include something to cover the time period. If you don’t already capture the “empty” dates via continuing education or a degree program, fill in the time slots by listing volunteer work or consulting. Describe what you did in terms most relevant to target employers, and they may not even notice the section technically covers a gap in work history. For example, if organizational skills are key for the job you want, and you served on your local school’s Parent-Teacher Organization running special events, include the information as you would any job.

In general, employers are most interested in knowing you’ve been active and involved in using key skills for the gap periods. Think back to times when you may not have been working and do the best you can to fill in those dates with descriptions on your resume.

Take Classes

Education and continuing education is a great reason for a work gap. If you think it won’t be clear why you have some otherwise unaccounted time on your resume, list your degree program or other classes in your experience section in addition to your education section. Provide detailed information about projects, especially group projects, and don’t forget to include skills you used to accomplish those goals.

Include Details in Your Descriptions

If you left a job for a specific reason, include some type of description in bullet points about that job. For example, if a company eliminated your entire department due to financial considerations, you may list it as a bullet point: “Company closed publication department due to budget issues.” It isn’t necessary to include this type of description unless you believe it absolutely necessary to explain an otherwise unexplainable gap in your resume.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Be Prepared to Discuss Gaps

Sometimes, the best way to address a gap is to wait for someone to ask about it and to have a good story to tell. Keep in mind; if you have a gap in your resume, you are in very good company. Millions of people overcome this challenge, and so can you. Even if you were fired, you can explain away the situation in a positive way. Do not allow any negative feelings from the situation to come through when you’re connecting with a networking contact or potential employer. You don’t even need to specify you were fired. Instead, you may explain, “My employer and I had divergent ideas about how to handle the problems facing our organization, so I moved on.”

You’ll have explained the gap without raising any concerns.

How have you addressed you work history gaps? 

Identify the best networks for your industry. Where are you most likely to “meet” people in your field? Search the networks you enjoy and see if your colleagues and contacts are using those networks. LinkedIn is a natural fit for professional use, but you could be surprised to find an active Twitter chat or Google+ hangout.

Create amazing profiles. You wouldn’t go to a networking event without getting dressed, would you? Likewise, don’t start stepping out on social media until you’ve put together profiles and bios that articulate your value proposition. People should easily understand what you offer when they click through to learn more about you.

Post useful content. Be a resource to your community. While you want to feature your story and your skills, be sure you’re providing value to the people who follow you. Don’t share too much self-referential information, and make a point to pay attention to what interests your community the most. What “goes viral” (is most popular) in groups where you are a member? What attracts the most comments and shares? Put your “researcher” hat on and take action accordingly.

Consider what hiring managers want to see. Jobvite’s survey said employers are looking for the following information when they check you out online:

• professional experience
• length of professional tenure
• industry-related posts
• mutual connections
• specific hard skills
• cultural fit
• examples of work

Illustrate your passion for the work. Illustrate your commitment by keeping up with the news affecting your business. This is easy to do via social media tools.

Be active. Don’t dabble — fully commit! If you see a community you think is worth your time, jump in with both feet and get engaged. Follow thought leaders and demonstrate how you belong among their ranks. Show that you’re interested in company profiles of organizations where you might want to work, too.

Demonstrate good judgement. Show you know better than to spout off on social about something that bothers you. Illustrate what you know about your field, don’t use your social media feeds as a complaint outlet. Jobvite’s Social Recruiting Survey featured a number of items particularly irksome to employers. Numbers represent the percentage of employers bothered by the item:

• illegal drug mentions: 83 percent
• sexual posts: 70 percent
• poor spelling and grammar: 66 percent
• profanity: 60 percent
• guns: over 50 percent
• mentions relating to alcohol: 44 percent
• political updates 17 percent

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Read the whole post on Vault.com.

Get my book: Vault Guide to Networking

Some ways social networking may help you land a job:

• Your social media streams can demonstrate your good judgement. Focus on professional photos and content.
• Demonstrate your expertise. People who wouldn’t otherwise know you can learn about what you know.
• Grow your network and meet new people.
• Learn new information.
• Tell your story so no one can steal your thunder.
• Use social media to sharpen your message.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Read the whole post on Vault.com.

It’s hardly surprising that strong communication improves the workplace and enhances the experiences of everyone in open, transparent environments. Research shows you can improve your standings in the workplace when you have strong communication skills.

What can you do to improve your ability to communicate well at work?

Keep people in the loop. No one likes to be left out. Make a point to be inclusive when you’re sharing information.

Recognize a job well done. Recognition is one aspect of communication often forgotten in the workplace. 

Be a good listener. Communication isn’t only about what you say; it’s a two-way street. Listening is a crucial piece of communicating well, and many people do not spend enough time on this important skill.

Be specific. Often, poor communication results from vague directions. If you want something at a certain time, say so. The more specific you are, the better chance you’ll have of people following through in the way you expect.

Check your body language. Clenching your teeth through your fake smile isn’t fooling anyone! Keep in mind, a majority of in-person communication is passed on via body language.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Read the whole post on the Elevated Careers blog.