You can’t count on too much in this year’s talent market. But one thing’s for sure: It doesn’t (really) matter what you do – as long as you do it well.
Between pandemic disruption, ChatGPT, offshoring, and wave after wave of layoffs, the job market is evolving faster than most agile workers can keep up. Nearly 70 million new jobs will be created worldwide and 83 million will be eliminated by 2027, he predicts. The Future of Jobs 2023 published by the World Economic Forum a report. In the grand scheme of things, this means that there is little any worker can do to remain immune to changing mores. But there is one thing they can do: improve skills.
The companies told WEF that the skills gap is so great that it is one of the main barriers preventing companies from modernizing their business model. Training and refining is clearly needed; To keep up with the rapidly shifting landscape, the World Economic Forum found that nearly half (44%) of an individual worker’s skills need to be updated.
“The long-term trend is largely undeniable, which is that the demand for skills outpace the supply of skills,” says Dan Shapiro, COO of LinkedIn. luck. He added that 2022 was the narrowest job market he had seen in LinkedIn’s 15 years. This year it’s a little more balanced, he admitted, but “it’s still tight.”
Workers may want to consider the top 10 skills, which employers say will become increasingly important over the next five years:
- Creative thinking
- Analytical thinking
- Technology literacy
- Curiosity and lifelong learning
- Flexibility, flexibility and agility
- Systematic thinking
- Artificial intelligence and big data
- Motivation and self-awareness
- Talent management
- Service orientation and customer service
Skill 11 Bonus – Leadership and Social Influence. (In other words, you should probably get Twitter or TikTok.)
With items such as “artificial intelligence and big data”, “systems thinking” and “technological savvy”, employers seem to be aware of the growing importance of AI and other cutting-edge technologies in the workplace. The World Economic Forum writes that artificial intelligence and digitization will change nearly a quarter of jobs over the next five years.
But the top business priorities for workers’ skills are green, largely intangible attributes and soft skills like creative thinking, motivation, and lifelong learning. WEF writes that employers’ desire to acquire strong cognitive skills reflects the increasing importance of solving complex problems.
Even Apple CEO Tim Cook has long encouraged workers who are strong in these soft skills to apply to the tech giant. He looks for four particular traits in new hires, he told students at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy last year: collaboration, creativity, curiosity and experience.
“These are the things we look for in people, and it’s been a very good formula for us,” Cook said. “We’re looking for people who think differently, who can look at a problem and not get caught up in the dogma of how that problem has always been viewed.”
Neither hard nor soft skills require a degree
After the seismic shifts of the past three years, industry leaders have been commenting on a skills-based revolution. Often, that can mean moving away from degree requirements and toward focusing on improving skills in all areas.
Candidates without degrees can learn new skills at about the same pace as college graduates, Jeff Magioncalda, CEO of Coursera, writes in the World Economic Forum report. But getting these two different types of workers on an equal footing will require the public and private sectors to work together to provide a flexible and affordable pathway that can help workers reskill and transition into the “jobs of the future.”
This must be great news for the workers. But the problem is, unlike “knows how to code” or “has management experience,” portraying soft skills like “creative thinking” and “curiosity” can be hard to put on a resume.
Alternatively, you might consider writing that you’re always looking to develop and grow in your role, Zahra Amiri, associate director of talent acquisition at Omnicom Media Group, said. luck in March. “The interviewer will pick up on that and ask what you’re doing to develop and grow,” she said, explaining that you’re showing glimpses of your best sides on your resume. “It’s all about dropping hints so by the time you get to the interview, you can wow them.”
Fortunately for workers, LinkedIn’s Shapero believes the power is in their hands, and it’s not likely to shift anytime soon.
“Employers are still having a hard time finding the people they need, even in the current job market,” he said. “(This is) because the long-term trend towards your technical skills is undeniable, and we just can’t keep up.”
And Shapiro admitted that in terms of who gets the upper hand between bosses and workers, each year he probably feels a little different. “But the long-term trend, I think, is very clear.”