84% of the workforce insists job candidates must demonstrate soft skills, new study finds
The following contribution corresponds to Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. who defines himself: I am the author of 40 nonfiction books, including Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World (New York University Press, 2023) and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job And Turn On Your Life (William Morrow, 2019). My books have been translated into 15 languages, and I co-host the podcast, How’s That Working for Ya? The Shrink and Ms. Smarty Pants on YouTube, ITunes and Spotify. I am Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where I conducted the first studies on children of workaholics and the effects of work addiction on marriage. I built my career on the themes of resilience and work-life balance and have lectured throughout the world on work addiction and workplace issues. My research was featured on 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NBC Universal, The CBS Early Show, CNBC’s The Big Idea and NPR’s Marketplace. I hosted the PBS documentary, Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself. I maintain a private psychotherapy practice in Asheville, NC and reside in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my spouse, three dogs and occasional bears at night. Check out my website: bryanrobinsonphd.com
Recent research says managers and employees agree that new recruits must possess and demonstrate…sadfsadff
As technology rapidly changes, so does the shift in a variety of skill sets in the workplace. Social, emotional, and communication skills, in particular, have risen in demand.
Hiring managers have come to appreciate these soft skills as essential tools for success in today’s job market because they support remote work and offset the omnipresence of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
A previous study by Deloitte Insights reported that 92% of companies report
that human capabilities or soft skills matter as much or more than hard skills in today’s business world.
As the crucial need for skills like empathy, collaboration, and adaptability continues to grow, experts are starting to refer to them as «hard» skills that can be developed in the same way that playing a musical instrument or mastering a sport.
This skill set is shown rather than told through body language, facial expressions, and demeanor, and recruiters are looking for this foundational skill set in job interviews.
Now, a recent study by BusinessNameGenerator (BNG)
sought to uncover the American workforce’s views on soft skills in the workplace and the training provided to them.
After surveying 1,015 US employees across 12 industries, the study found that the introduction of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) has catalyzed the shift in demand for specific skills, requiring employees to deepen their existing skill sets or integrate new ones such as personal attributes and non-technical skills that describe how people work and interact with others.
Overall, the data shows that the workforce believes it is important for employees to have a diverse skill set and not just focus on digital skills.
More specifically, 84% of employees and managers believe that new employees should possess soft skills and demonstrate them in the hiring process.
This figure was the highest in companies with more than 500 employees, as 90% stated that soft skills were the most important. You can check out the five soft skills during an interview that can enable job seekers to land a high-paying job here.
The study also found that 80% of women agreed that soft skills are valuable
While 90% of men considered them valuable in the workplace. The most common reasons for perceiving soft skills as important are that they can determine the success or failure of a hiring decision (22%). They are essential for career development (18%) and can help differentiate similar candidates (17%).
The top five companies that highlighted the importance of soft skills were (1) IT/Telecom (99%), (2) Finance (89%), (3) Education (89%) (4) HR (88%) and (5) Healthcare (85%).
The top five cities that emphasized the importance of soft skills were (1) Los Angeles (89%), (2) New York (89%), (3) San Francisco (88%), (4) Denver (85%) and (5) Phoenix (85%).
A Skills-Based Approach to Building the Workforce of the Future
The following contribution is from a McKinsey report and is authored by Bryan Hancock and Nikhil Patel, partners in McKinsey’s Washington, DC office; Chris Higgins, a consultant in the San Francisco office; Jonathan Law, a senior partner in the Southern California office; Sarah Olson, a consultant in the Denver office; and Katie Van Dusen, a consultant in the Ohio office.
This article benefits from the collective efforts of a wide range of colleagues and partners. The authors would like to thank the following people:
For their support on the article: Beth Cobert, Carrie Gonzalez, Matthew McKeever, Jacob Vigil, and Debbie Wasden (from the Markle Foundation); Sergio Galeano, Sarah Miller, and Katherine Townsend (from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); and Osato Dixon, Bonnie Dowling, Roberta Fusaro, Jacquie Hudson, Najah Mushatt, Carolyn Pierce, Ben Saft, and Petra Vincent (from McKinsey).
For their contributions to McKinsey’s Rework America Alliance team over the past two years: Carla Arellano, Steve Armbruster, E.B. Armstrong, Tim Bacon, Kristin Baldwin, Sophia Boralli, Henry Bristol, Brady Burns, Madeleine Carnemark, Pallavi Chandashire, Lucas Chen, Wan-Lae Cheng, Andre Dua, Brendan Earle, Kweilin Ellingrud, Emily Field, Jason Forrest, Anne-Marie Frassica, Oscar González, Garo Hovnanian, Vijay Nattamai Jawaharlal, Raina Karia, Michael Lazar, Thomas Li, Ryan Luby, Kate Luther, Tom Martin, Vidur Nayyar, Shashwat Pathak, Matt Petric, Jose Maria Quiros, Samvitha Ram, Asha Rizor, Halima Said, Athreya Sampath, Saurabh Sanghvi, Srishti Sharma, Mallory Smith, Steven Smith, Ramesh Srinivasan, Sanjay Srinivasan, Liza Tullis, Tucker Van Aken, Stewart Vann, Amit Verma, Marius Westhoff, Edom Wessenyeleh, Claire Williams, Bryson Wong and Bob
Our work with Rework America Alliance highlights how a skills-based approach can help American employers expand talent pools and retain top workers, even in times of economic uncertainty.
Should employers limit themselves to considering only degrees when hiring?
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a potential recession, rising inflation rates1, and the Great Attrition2 have led employers to rethink their approach to human capital and talent management.
That is, they are moving beyond degrees and job titles to focus more on the skills a job requires and that a candidate possesses. And they are doing so in greater numbers, according to McKinsey research conducted in partnership with the Rework America Alliance, a collective that helps millions of workers from lower-wage jobs move into positions that offer higher wages, more economic mobility, and better resilience to automation.4
As a pro bono contribution to the alliance, we worked together to assess the opportunities and job progressions based on real skills that workers have achieved.
With this data, the team launched a series of practical tools, including a job progression tool that career counselors at community organizations like UnidosUS, the National Urban League, and Goodwill Industries International use to help unemployed workers gain better job prospects for the future.
Our real-life experiences, along with recent research from colleagues at McKinsey and others,
offer lessons on what it takes to implement a skills-based approach.
From seeking out new, nontraditional talent to creating better training programs for long-term career development, this approach is key to helping employers build and maintain a more inclusive workforce.
More and more employers are beginning to adopt skills-based hiring practices
Major companies, such as Boeing, Walmart, and IBM, have joined the Rework America Alliance6, the Business Roundtable’s Multiple Pathways program7, and the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign8, committing to implementing skills-based practices.
So far, they have removed degree requirements from certain job postings and worked with other organizations to help workers progress from lower-wage jobs to higher-wage jobs.
Interest in skills-based internships is not limited to the private sector
In May 2022, the state of Maryland announced that it would no longer require degrees for nearly 50 percent of its positions, opening up thousands of jobs in healthcare, corrections, law enforcement, skilled trades, and engineering to a larger pool of applicants.9
Companies have recognized that skills-based internships are a powerful solution to challenges that have intensified since the pandemic.
Employers have struggled to find the right candidates for important open positions and then retain the talent they hire.
Through a skills-based approach, companies can increase the quantity and quality of applicants applying for open positions and can help workers find more opportunities to advance internally, which can help employers improve retention.
It also helps communities by creating more and better job opportunities for a larger, more diverse group of workers.
Attract and retain a broader talent pool
Skills-based practices help companies find and attract a broader talent pool filled with candidates who are better suited to fill these positions long-term.
Such practices also help open up opportunities for nontraditional candidates, including people without specific or typical credentials on their resumes, as well as women and people of color.
This year, the alliance hosted a ten-week Accelerator program
Designed to help employers adopt skills-based practices across their talent pipeline.
Participants were mostly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), along with a few larger employers, based in the Atlanta, Minneapolis, Denver, and Austin areas.
The program consisted of four large workshops and separate one-on-one coaching sessions. During the coaching sessions, participants made significant changes to their talent strategies to align them with skills-based practices.
These changes often created an immediate impact. Participants indicated that creating skills-based job ads resulted in a substantial increase in applications from a broader pool of workers.
One participant noted that making a few adjustments to his job ad quadrupled the number of applicants from two or three the week before to 12 in the week after the new ad was posted. In the end, one successful candidate was hired when no applicants had previously passed resume review.
Attracting and Developing a Broader Pool of Talent
Another participant created a skills-based version of one of his job ads and went from getting one overqualified candidate for the position to 18 appropriately qualified applicants; One was hired and the rest were considered for other open positions in the organization.
This experience is shared by employers beyond the Accelerator program participants.
For example, a case study conducted by the alliance showed how a mid-sized healthcare provider created its own skills-based talent solution to address a shortage.
The organization needed nursing assistants with the right skills and qualifications, but was unable to get the right candidates.
They decided to train them from scratch, with two key changes: they removed on-the-job experience requirements from job postings and partnered with a local technical school to create a start-to-finish clinical training program. As a result, 200 new nursing assistants completed this clinical training.
Improving Internal Value Propositions
Skills-based hiring creates a more resilient workforce and can be an effective strategy for employers to prevent attrition, which is especially relevant in the era of COVID-19.10
Hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education and more than two times more predictive than hiring for work experience.
Workers without a degree also tend to stay in their jobs 34 percent longer than workers with a degree. Skills-based practices therefore enable employers to not only find the best workers, but also retain them at a time when it is historically difficult to do so. The approach saves time, energy, and resources while fostering a more diverse and better-prepared workforce.
Building a Better-Equipped Workforce
Last year, we shared how workers without a degree have proven they have the skills to access higher-paying and growing jobs.
In the face of a potential recession, skills-based practices provide a roadmap for workers to advance internally, allowing employees to progress within their current companies during a time when external hiring might slow.
In fact, there is an untapped opportunity for skills-based internal job progressions for workers. Many employers do not have strong structures in place for workers to advance in their positions, regardless of their background.
A 2018 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
found that 77 percent of employees who left their jobs could have stayed there, with a significant portion of them citing a lack of career development opportunities as a “difference-making” factor in their decision to leave.
And, as shared in our recent report on human capital at work, more than 80 percent of workers’ moves to new positions involve changing employers, suggesting that workers have the skills to advance but haven’t had the opportunity to do so internally.
Greater resilience in the face of recessions
Creating skills-based pathways for these workers can make employers more resilient in the face of a recession while also offering them better, more secure employment.
This approach allows employers to create deliberate pathways based on the skills an employee already has and close the skills gap to the next position.
Employers can proactively prepare for that progression: If they know what skills are needed for each role in their organization, they can identify skills gaps and overlaps between lower- and higher-level positions and create training and transition plans to help workers progress internally.
Employers in the Accelerator program expressed openness and enthusiasm for creating these upward pathways for workers
The methodology they learned during the sessions helped them visualize how to make these progressions happen systematically using skills-based practices, as well as how to prepare workers accordingly (see sidebar, “Climbing a Skills-Based Ladder”).
Despite the promise of skills-based practices, obstacles have prevented them from being adopted more widely. Some employers may understand how to implement “quick wins,” but feel less confident about how to apply the practices broadly or sustainably.
At the same time, workers (particularly those with lower incomes) may struggle to access the support needed to land jobs in new industries that require some additional training.
For employers
Many employers have found it difficult to implement skills-based practices across the entire talent journey beyond the initial stages—getting it right involves more than just removing college degrees from job requirements.
Identifying transferable skills and creating accessible opportunities
We conducted a survey prior to the launch of the Employer Accelerator program, in which participants cited sourcing, skills validation, and scaling skills-based practices across the organization as three of the most common challenges they faced when implementing a skills-based approach.
These results echoed what we heard in our survey of nearly 300 SMBs conducted in late 2021, in which respondents cited sourcing and validation as the top two hiring and talent challenges their companies faced.
Employers reported that skills validation and search were their top challenges
Employers were unsure of how to determine which jobs (particularly lower-paying positions that hold many workers without degrees) would produce the best candidates and how to communicate the opportunities available in their organizations to these workers.
While they were confident in their ability to eliminate degree requirements, they lacked confidence in devising appropriate and effective mechanisms to validate a candidate’s competency in particular skills through interview questions or assessments.
These challenges are also reflected in responses to our State of Hiring Survey
While employers are confident in eliminating degree requirements, other elements of skills search and validation pose greater challenges.
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Implementing skills-based practices is often difficult
Along with skills search and validation, implementing skills-based practices beyond HR professionals is a challenge. Immediate feedback can be difficult: While recruiters and HR staff are often interested in skills-based hiring, hiring managers may require more convincing.
Accelerator training program participants cited internal education and consensus building as a top challenge to implementing skills-based hiring.
For example, HR managers who participated in the program noted that when they suggested removing years of experience as a requirement for a previous position and replacing it with key required skills, the hiring manager for that position questioned whether the skills could be acquired any other way other than by tenure in that specific position.
Others noted that hiring managers questioned the production of interview guides that remove “getting to know you” questions or questions about a candidate’s background, which could introduce bias, to focus exclusively on questions about historical or hypothetical demonstrations of skills, which more accurately reflect how a candidate will perform on the job.
Enabling Skills-Based Transitions to Higher-Wage Jobs
For Workers
Worker-serving organizations—community-based organizations focused on preparing and supporting the local workforce—note that having visible skill development pathways is helpful in their work, helping workers in their communities through interventions like job coaching and career development—many use a career progression tool16 to visualize that.
But common barriers still prevent workers from navigating those pathways to higher-wage jobs.
Bridging the gap between workers’ existing skills and the skills needed to grow is a challenge. While many home-based workers arrive with strong foundational skills, like customer service, they still require training to understand occupation-specific skills, and there’s no quick way to teach them to workers.
As noted in our recent Human Capital Report, having six to twelve months of carefully planned training and upskilling is also critical for workers to develop and hone the skills needed to succeed in their new roles, but not many employers have these structures in place.
Skills and credential barriers can deter skilled workers from seeking higher-paying positions.
Twenty-six percent of respondents to McKinsey’s 2022 American Opportunity Survey cited the need for more or different experience, relevant skills, credentials, or education as the most significant barrier to seeking employment elsewhere. As noted in a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 87 percent of executives say they face a skills gap in the workplace, adding that recent college graduates, a traditionally reliable source of talent, often lack the level of competency required for key skills.
Technology is driving the future of the workforce in many ways, and tech skills are most in demand for the fastest-growing jobs.
The World Economic Forum predicts that 50 percent of all employees will need to retrain by 2025
to respond to technological advances. However, many workers (and particularly those with lower incomes) lack the technology-based tools that are essential to accessing in-demand jobs and the training that prepares workers for them.
The American Opportunity Survey found that 43 percent of low-income Americans do not have access to broadband, 41 percent do not have access to a laptop or desktop computer, and 24 percent do not have access to a smartphone. Additionally, 39 percent cite the inability to access reliable broadband as a major barrier to doing their jobs.
Employers, stakeholders, and organizations that serve workers can take two strategic actions to implement core skills-based practices and enable skills-based progressions for workers.
Align and get going
Employers can start by aligning internally to implement skills-based practices and ensure that any internal legal risks or obstacles have been addressed, such as planning for the impact of eliminating degree requirements for H1-B visa workers.21 For larger companies, business units could get on board because they have power over hiring and are better positioned to determine what skills are necessary for a job.
Employers could get a head start on implementing skills-based practices by starting with quick wins, such as expanding hiring pools or removing degree requirements from job postings.
But they should keep an eye on a long-term plan: The impact of skills-based practices is maximized when they are implemented across the entire talent journey, including in recruiting, onboarding, and career development.
Hiring. Skills-based practices can help employers choose from a broader pool of qualified candidates by focusing on the skills a candidate has rather than their credentials and by using inclusive language in job postings.
Employers can first create a strong skills framework for all positions by defining required skills rather than preferred competencies, changing policies to stop using credentials as a substitute for skills, and connecting with community organizations that provide workforce support to reach potential candidates.
Securing the Necessary Skills
Hiring. Skills-based practices can help employers ensure new employees have the skills needed to succeed from day one by using objective methods to interview and assess candidates.
Such methods focus on assessing candidates based on skills rather than more subjective (and biased) measures such as “cultural fit.”
Instead, hiring managers could ask behavioral and situational interview questions that reveal examples of how a candidate has or would demonstrate a given skill; create standardized rubrics to score candidate responses, rather than relying on the interviewer’s subjective judgment of the answers; and use prescreening assessments (such as work samples) that are based on specific skills rather than credentials that may or may not reflect a candidate’s ability to perform the activities of the job.
Better skills, better choices
Career development. Skills-based practices can help employers improve workers’ skills and provide learning opportunities to enable internal mobility and increase retention.
Employers can design customized onboarding programs (adapting existing programs where possible) to meet new employees where they are and ensure they have the skills to succeed in the long term, provide on-the-job training and ongoing learning programs, and develop internal roadmaps for promotion from entry-level positions without requiring a degree.
Engaging the Entire Ecosystem and Building Networks
Employers and workers themselves can only do so much to enable skills-based transitions.
The workforce development ecosystem—employers, worker-serving organizations, employer intermediaries, and elected officials—can be incentivized to work together in the community to support skills-based job transitions.
Support is already in place: The American Rescue Plan, for example, recently committed more than $40 billion in funding to strengthen and expand the workforce.
The money will go toward creating collaborative training programs between public and private partners in communities across the United States.
Leaders in each community can convene key stakeholders
To support skills-based hiring and discuss how stakeholders can work together to ensure workers can transition to higher-wage, in-demand positions in the community.
Actions can include prioritizing training programs focused on the most frequently needed skills to prepare workers for in-demand jobs at local employers; sharing resumes of community workers who are a good fit for open positions at local employers; and prioritizing investments in digital literacy training and broadband infrastructure improvements for lower-income workers.
Chambers, worker-serving organizations, and employer intermediaries can also consider hosting an Employer Accelerator program to encourage local employers to adopt skills-based practices.
A city government office, Denver Economic Development Opportunity, is running a program with a cohort of employers that will provide trainings, webinars, and hands-on events with practical support for employers who have additional questions.
In Georgia, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is using this skills-based approach while working with local employers to help them identify a common set of skills needed in certain industries or roles and equip employees with those skills.
In both cases, organizations are taking the lead in convening local workforce stakeholders and providing them with support and resources to implement skills-based practices across their talent pipeline.
This leadership helps connect communities with the right stakeholders and prioritize skills-based practices among employers.
Understanding and Communicating the Skills of Nontraditional Talent Pools
Organizations that serve workers can play a critical role in helping employers understand the nontraditional talent pools that exist in their communities and the skills they bring, as well as how to address existing skills gaps.
However, employers are often not connected to, or even aware of, the organizations that serve workers in their community, and therefore are unaware of the resources those organizations offer.
Worker-serving organizations and employers who participated in the Employer Accelerator program noted that simply showing up and having time to talk was instrumental in forming a mutually beneficial partnership.
From there, they can work together to share talent pipelines and trainings to address broader workforce issues in their community, rather than working alone.
Chambers and workforce development organizations can make these introductions
But organizations that serve workers can also engage employers through skills-based programs that fit employers’ needs.
For example, in Austin, Texas, Workforce Solutions Capital Area partnered with technology employers to identify hiring challenges and fill skills gaps.
They then found trainings for nontraditional candidates, allowing employers to reach new talent who have the skills they need while saving time and internal resources.
Another organization that serves workers, Mi Casa Resource Center, based in Denver, Colorado, expanded its financial services pipeline to include human resources professionals and medical administrative assistants after analysis provided by the alliance showed growth in those occupations in its community.
Data from the job progressions analysis helped them develop and prioritize trainings for workers to build the skills needed for these jobs, as well as make connections with growing occupations in other industries that also leverage those skills. In both circumstances, these partnerships opened up new placements for workers and helped fill talent shortages in fast-growing sectors.
Employers are beginning to see how skills-based practices can expand their access to great talent, but the benefits aren’t just for them.
As employers adopt these practices into their talent pathways, workers are more prepared to find better jobs based on their skills rather than their degrees, educational background, or years of experience in a specific position.
In the face of current macroeconomic challenges, now is the time for all workforce development stakeholders to commit resources and support to accelerate the adoption of these practices and build more equitable prosperity in communities.
How the “perfect” job candidate has changed
The following contribution corresponds to the BBC portal and is authored by Joanna York who is the reporting correspondent
Traditionally, the “ideal” candidate had a strong pedigree and specific technical skills. But now, recruiters can be more flexible with these strict requirements.
As the pandemic has changed many aspects of how we work and the job skills we value, the way companies hire new employees has also evolved.
In the past, a “perfect” candidate might have attended a prominent school, worked for high-profile companies and had evidence of relevant technical skills (tangible technical skills, specifically suited to a position).
Now, however, experts say many companies are ditching the old definition of the ideal candidate and broadening the search to include nontraditional candidates and different skill sets.
And in some cases, they seem to be abandoning the idea of looking for the singularly perfect candidate altogether
While technical skills have traditionally been the dominant ones, some companies are moving away from choosing potential employees based solely on technical skills.
That doesn’t mean that practical knowledge is no longer required: some jobs still require very specific skills, such as advanced spreadsheet knowledge or being an expert in video editing software, for example.
But now, according to experts, some job descriptions often highlight less tangible criteria and ask candidates to demonstrate soft skills, such as leadership or teamwork.
The trend to prioritize soft skills «is a natural response to three years of pandemic»
says Ed Han, senior recruiter for Cenlar FSB for IT roles in the financial sector, based in New Jersey, USA.
For many companies, the turbulence of lockdowns, adapting to new work norms, and weathering a disrupted economy demonstrated the value of retaining employees with skills that allow them to collaborate with team members, regardless of the circumstances.
For prospective candidates who will be working with or managing remote or hybrid employees, communication is particularly important, says Jan Tegze, a Czech-based technology recruiter and author of Job Search Guide: Be Your Own Career Coach.
He says qualities like empathy, responsiveness, respect and good listening skills are essential.
Ideal candidates also possess adaptability, Tegze adds, a quality that McKinsey and Company research has even shown helps companies retain employees longer during periods of upheaval.
Recruiting industry experts say companies will increasingly look for candidates with a mix of soft skills and modern hard skills
The pandemic also changed realities in the hiring pool, as many workers had reduced opportunities for professional development.
In this way, deemphasizing technical skills in job ads “opens up options for those job seekers who, for example, have not had the opportunity to attend or complete a four-year degree,” Han adds.
Some job ads even state that the job posting requirements are themselves a formality, adding notes that encourage candidates who do not meet all the stated criteria to apply anyway.
This can offer an opportunity for candidates who do not feel traditionally perfect on paper to apply.
However, amid this advantage, Tegze advises candidates to be aware that this does not open the field as widely as it may seem.
He believes this strategy also works in a company’s favor in a tough labor market, as these notes draw attention and encourage applications.
In this way, he says, “companies can get a lot of job applicants into their database while, in reality, they may still be looking for a specific type of person with a specific skill set.”
Han says that while many current job postings encourage applicants from different backgrounds to apply and downplay technical skills, many also still value very specific technical skills.
Ultimately, there will still be candidates who are more ideal than others. And Tegze notes that many of these new “checklists” will include both soft skills and hard skills, as many companies are not prepared to train new employees on the latter.
But ultimately, he continues, the definition of an “ideal” candidate is broader than ever. “I don’t really care about a candidate’s education or the companies they previously worked for.
I care about whether they have the right skills the company needs and the right mindset — that is, whether they fit well into the company culture.”
Han also welcomes the more balanced approach, as it encourages diversity in the workplace and, he says, “leads to more functional teams.” “That’s why,” Han says, “I welcome this evolution.”
Top 11 Skills Employers Look for in Job Candidates
The following contribution corresponds to the Indeed portal and has been written by one of its teams
There are some skills that employers look for in job candidates, regardless of the position, and having these skills can make you more attractive to recruiters.
Employers look for skills like communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, which can be valuable in achieving goals and driving results across all industries.
In this article, we look at the top 11 skills employers look for in applicants, explore how you can highlight these skills, and provide tips for making yourself more attractive to hiring managers.
Top Skills Employers Look
For Highlighting your most marketable skills on your resume and cover letter allows employers to quickly see what you have to offer as a candidate.
The more relevant your skills are, the more attractive you will appear to hiring managers. While each industry or position may require specific skills relevant to that domain, there are also core competencies that span all professions.
These are considered key employability skills that can help you become a more effective employee.
Below are 11 of the most sought-after employability skills that hiring managers look for in candidates:
- Communication Skills
Communication skills are often an important part of virtually any job.
Employers are likely to want team members who can successfully interpret what is asked of them and communicate effectively with others.
Common communication skills to include on your resume include writing, speaking, listening, and negotiating.
- Leadership Skills
Leadership is one of the soft skills that many employers look for in candidates.
From managing a team to contributing to a project in a leadership role, leadership skills help you motivate others and ensure tasks are completed quickly.
Common leadership skills to include on your resume include active listening, reliability, the ability to give and receive feedback, and patience.
- Teamwork Skills
Teamwork skills are an important asset for any employee who is part of an organization or who works with others in its daily operations.
Regardless of your job title or industry, many employers prioritize teamwork skills when evaluating applicants for an open position.
Some examples of teamwork skills to highlight include collaboration, honesty, communication, and responsibility.
- Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills allow you to interact and work well with others.
Even if you’re not in a position that requires you to work directly with clients, you’ll probably end up working with colleagues and managers, making interpersonal skills important.
These skills allow you to build relationships, communicate effectively, and handle situations appropriately. Interpersonal skills that employers often look for include motivation, flexibility, and empathy.
- Learning/Adaptability Skills
Learning skills help you learn new things and adapt to new situations in the workplace.
This is especially important given the ever-changing workplace and the need for employers to remain competitive by implementing new initiatives.
Having good learning and adaptability skills can set you apart from other candidates and show employers your willingness to learn and change when necessary. Some examples of learning skills include collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
- Self-Management Skills
Self-management allows you to manage your time and be as productive as possible in the workplace. These skills ensure that you prioritize tasks effectively, focus on your professional growth, and contribute to your organization as a whole.
Good self-management skills to include on your resume include time management, organization, and self-motivation.
- Organizational Skills
Organizational skills help improve an employee’s productivity, time management, and goal achievement. They are beneficial in any professional position and are highly sought after by employers. Organizational skills that are especially important include planning, critical thinking, attention to detail, and conflict management.
- Computer Skills
Almost every occupation requires the use of a computer in some capacity. Many jobs require a more in-depth knowledge of computers, so including computer skills on your resume can help inform employers that you are familiar with computer basics at a minimum.
If the job you are applying for requires more advanced computer skills, it is advisable to highlight these on your resume as well. Computer skills to highlight include proficiency in word processing software, spreadsheets, social media, data visualization, and email communication.
- Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills help you manage challenging situations at work in a productive and positive manner.
These skills can be useful for employees who work in a large organization or as part of a team. Common problem-solving skills to include on your resume are communication, decision-making, and research skills.
- Open-mindedness
Open-mindedness is an important skill for anyone starting a new position. Even if you’ve already held the same position at a previous company, the new company you work for may do things differently. Being open-minded to learning a new way of performing your tasks and being willing to learn and try new things can be a valuable characteristic for job candidates.
- Strong work ethic
A strong work ethic is another great skill to highlight when applying for a job.
Employers want employees they can trust to perform their duties and meet deadlines without having to micromanage them.
Having a great work ethic can help you complete tasks and manage your work without any supervision.
Highlight these skills to employers
Employers look for a candidate’s skills in different places, such as resumes, cover letters, and interviews. Here are the factors to consider when highlighting your skills in each of these settings:
Mention relevant skills on your resumes
The best place to highlight your top skills is in the “Skills” section of your resume.
You can list your skills in bullet format and include a brief description or provide examples of each.
You can also incorporate mentions of these skills in the experience section of your resume into your job descriptions.
Posting your resume on your Indeed profile can give employers a comprehensive overview of your experience and may make them more likely to call you in for an interview.
Use storytelling in cover letters
Your cover letter can mention two or three of your most marketable skills as they relate to the job you’re applying for.
Consider including these skills in the body of your cover letter, along with examples of how you’ve used these skills in your previous work experience.
You can use storytelling to personalize your work experiences and showcase your skills to potential employers.
Showcase Your Skills in Interviews
A job interview is a great time to openly discuss your marketable skills with the employer.
During the interview, you can provide examples of how you have used your skills in the past. Try to mention all the skills that are relevant to the position, especially the skills that were specifically mentioned in the job posting.
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Tips to Impress Potential Employers
Here are some tips to keep in mind when showcasing your skills to impress potential recruiters:
– Tailor your application materials: You can customize your resume and cover letter to match the requirements of each job posting.
– Use specific examples: It can be helpful to provide concrete examples of how you have used your skills in previous positions.
– Quantify your accomplishments: Consider using numbers and statistics to demonstrate the impact of your skills.
– Showcase transferable skills: You can highlight skills that can be applied across different industries and positions. – Develop a strong online presence: Consider creating a professional profile on job search platforms like Indeed.
– Prepare for interviews: It can be helpful to research the company and practice discussing your skills and experiences.
– Be specific and concise: Consider clearly and briefly explaining how your skills align with the requirements of the position.
– Show enthusiasm and interest: You can mention your passion for the industry and the position, and express your eagerness to learn and grow.
Skills-based hiring is about more than just sourcing candidates
The following contribution is from the HRDIRECTOR portal, which defines itself as follows: We are a leading independent resource for HR and people leaders, founded in November 2003.The HRDIRECTOR is a respected global publisher in the HR and people management industry, providing HR and people leaders in the public and private sectors with thought leadership, strategic content, best practices, innovative thinking and peer networking.
As a publisher, we focus on providing information, expert guidance, shared experiences and strategic thinking to a readership that is responsible for the employee experience of millions of people around the world.
June 22, 2021
Michael Baker is Vice President of Sales and Account Management for EMEA at Cornerstone. Michael leads the strategy and execution of client acquisition, expansion, and retention across EMEA, ensuring clients and prospects are successfully navigating the digital HR transformation within their organizations, providing solutions to attract, onboard, develop, and retain the talent they need to thrive in the skills economy.
Skills-based hiring is not new, but it is now more important than ever. Not just for the benefit of individual organizations, but for the working generation at large.
This article explores the concept of skills-based hiring as a means to benefit society, not just organizations, and how organizations can improve skills-based hiring through technologies such as AI.
Let’s face it, 2020 was not the year of recruitment for many organisations for obvious reasons
Industries hit hard by lockdowns and lack of footfall had to drastically cut back on hiring, while others prioritised and focused on upskilling the current workforce.
But 2021 is already looking very different. As revealed by the ONS, there has been an uptick in hiring in the first quarter of 2021, and with the UK economy rebuilding and sectors slowly reopening in the coming months, organisations are no doubt keen to get back to normal and find new talent to restore their businesses for the post-Covid world.
But if the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we cannot and should not go back to our traditional ways of working
The world around us has changed and we must adapt to it – including the recruitment sector. For a long time, and still to some extent, organisations prioritised the experience of people in the industry.
If you had 10 years of experience working in a specific industry or job role, you were considered more valuable to the company than, say, a fresh college graduate.
But with many people’s careers on hold or slowing down due to furlough schemes or other reasons, judging a candidate by how long they’ve been in the industry simply isn’t valid anymore.
Instead, organisations need to look at the skills a candidate can bring to the organisation and the skills that go beyond the technical side. Technologies like AI can help match candidates’ skills to their role in the company, but what’s often missing from this strategy is the link to learning.
A candidate may have only 60% of the skills required for the role, but have a keen interest in learning and growing
So how can organizations factor that into their hiring process?
Buying or building skills
Both candidates and organizations have a perception that each and every candidate who comes into the organization for an interview must know everything.
Candidates don’t want to admit that they haven’t worked in that specific industry or used a specific tool for fear that they might be penalized or judged compared to a candidate who does have that experience. Organizations, on the other hand, want to find the perfect candidate.
But the reality is that the perfect candidate doesn’t exist. Plus, acquiring all the skills that are needed instead of focusing on developing them will only result in organizations having to start the process all over again when the organization goes through a transformation.
Leveraging the individual skills a candidate brings to the table
Whether it’s soft skills, such as communication and empathy, or technical skills, it means organisations can train employees however they want, making them a more valuable asset to the organisation and helping to retain key talent. And this doesn’t have to apply only to external recruitment. Why look outside for skills when your next best candidate could be sitting right next to you?
This is where AI and skills taxonomies come into play – by mapping out the skills in an organisation, identifying skills gaps and the training required, organisations can get a better idea of where to buy the skills and where to develop them.
Recruitment equals learning
So you’ve matched candidates with the skills you’re missing using a skills taxonomy or otherwise, but what may still be missing is the learning element.
Identifying skills gaps and matching candidates is just the first step. How exactly do you go about developing those skills? Part of the solution is mindset.
Treat candidates as if they are already employees and showcase and offer training opportunities from the start.
Including training and upskilling in recruitment is beneficial for both the candidate and the organization.
The candidate will have the opportunity to learn a new skill and the organization will demonstrate how much it values a person’s development, as well as observing the candidate’s aptitude for learning.
Improving the quality of skills beyond the organization
The skills gap remains a threat to almost every industry, and while there is a war for talent and skills, companies need to look at the bigger picture.
The search for talent is now just a short-term strategy and only solves the immediate problem.
The long-term strategy – building the data on missing skills – is about knowing which skills we can’t acquire and which we can, and planning ways to find and develop skills for the future.
With COVID-19, we managed to adapt and change radically in a short time
Mainly because we had to do so to survive. And now we must bring our agility and adapt it for the next challenge.
By integrating learning into the hiring process now, hiring teams have the opportunity to not only develop the skills of organizations, but also develop them for society and future generations.
Competition over credentials: The rise of skills-based hiring
The following contribution is from the prestigious BCG consultancy As a leading consulting firm, BCG helps its clients with total transformation: driving complex changes, enabling organizations to grow, and generating an impact on the bottom line. And the authors are Sagar Goel, Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic, Rucha Vankudre, Scott Bingham and Julia Nitschke
Key takeaways
When rapid technological change demands that employees dynamically upskill and reskill, again and again, a static college degree starts to seem less relevant.
Organizations struggle to find the talent they need. They must explore different ways to fill open positions.
We found that those who are hired based on their skills are promoted at a comparable rate to traditional hires.
Additionally, skills-based hires are more loyal to their employers. They stay with their organizations 9% longer than traditional hires.
By embracing skills-based hiring, organizations will tear down the paper ceiling that has prevented people without degrees from entering certain occupations and advancing once there.
It’s been called the “death of the degree.”
A static college degree seems less relevant when rapid technological change requires employees to dynamically acquire new and evolving skills, to upskill and reskill, again and again.
Job seekers agree: In a 2022 BCG survey, many job seekers told us they wished employers would look at skills and experience rather than degrees and certificates.
And now, many companies say they’re doing just that.
But how much, and how successfully? To better understand the prevalence and impact of skills-based hiring, Lightcast and BCG took a big data approach, examining more than 20 million job postings.
As noted, technology is driving a constant need for new skills, especially given the advent of AI and generative AI.
But according to Pearson Business School research, only 13% of college graduates have the skills necessary to start a job right away.
Furthermore, 54% of college graduates don’t work in their original field of study, and the jobs that will be available in five to ten years might not even exist today. For all of these reasons, the value of a traditional degree has been called into question.
At the same time, organizations are struggling to find the talent they need
Unemployment remains remarkably low, the workforce is aging, and open positions remain unfilled.
Additionally, employee expectations have evolved. Workers are increasingly mobile. They seek flexibility. And they hold the power in a market where there is greater competition for talent than ever before.
Meanwhile, candidates who are self-taught or who acquired their skills through experience are becoming a major force in the labor market: in the U.S. alone, 70 million people can be classified as “STARs” (workers without a bachelor’s degree who trained through alternative routes).
In the resulting tug-of-war to obtain skilled people, organizations must rethink their hiring approach
They must broaden their hiring lens to capture the diverse skills and experiences of a changing workforce. They must move from “degree and pedigree” to “will and ability.”
By embracing skills-based hiring, they will tear down the paper ceiling that has prevented people without degrees from entering certain occupations and from advancing once they do.
As one CEO we interviewed told us, “A person’s educational credentials are not the only indicators of success, so we are advancing our hiring approach to focus on skills, experiences, and potential.”
Where is skills-based hiring taking hold?
In many countries and professions, it appears that employers are beginning to embrace skills-based hiring.
In our analysis, we looked at jobs that would historically require a college degree or equivalent (“college-level jobs”) and compared the percentage of job postings that actually required one in 2017 versus 2022.
On average, we found a slow decline in the share of job postings requiring degrees. However, we found important differences driven by geography and occupations.
Trends by country. When it comes to a decline in degree requirements, the five countries we looked at show very different trends.
Labor market conditions do not explain these differences; for example, lower unemployment does not translate into a tendency to relax hiring requirements.
Different starting levels for degree requirements could explain some of the difference, but not all of it. Cultural factors are likely at play: are employers open-minded, for example? Do they see the value of a diverse workforce?
The US is leading the shift to skills-based hiring, across all career fields
Many large employers with sizable US workforces are embracing the trend, including Dell, Accenture, IBM and Amazon.
The US government is doing so, too: In January 2021, the White House announced limits on the use of educational requirements for hiring IT positions.
Predominantly considering college degrees, it said, “excludes capable candidates and undermines labor market efficiency. Hiring based on degrees is especially likely to exclude qualified candidates for jobs related to emerging technologies.”
In Canada, the UK, Australia and Singapore, there is a minor shift and a different mix of affected career areas
In some areas, the requirement for a degree even increased from 2017 to 2022. This is particularly notable in Singapore, where the emphasis on degrees continues, despite the Singapore Institute of Management stating in March 2023 that “there are 2.5 vacancies for every unemployed person here in Singapore… employers should seek to broaden the talent pool by going beyond the convention of looking at educational qualifications.”
However, the Institute noted that a job advertisement seeking a heavy vehicle driver listed a bachelor’s degree as a requirement.
Trends by career areaNot surprisingly, the nature of a job has a significant impact on degree requirements. What’s surprising? The vast differences we see across markets, even within the same career area, such as IT, business management and marketing.
For some occupations, the need for degrees is declining in all five countries: in community and social services (e.g., counselors and social workers), in health care (e.g., support roles such as laboratory technicians, hospital staff, and medical office managers), and in hospitality, food, and tourism (e.g., event planners and entertainment managers).
Because the developed world faces significant talent shortages in these three areas, it is not surprising that employers are relaxing their expectations.
In several areas, degree requirements are also declining in at least four of the five countries.
Among them:
Education and training roles, which do not necessarily mean teachers. The biggest change is in support positions, such as college and university administrators, school principals, and instructional designers.
College-level occupations in construction, quarrying, and architecture, such as architects, landscape designers, and construction managers—this is another area well known for labor shortages.
In several professional areas, the picture is mixed. These include sales, marketing, manufacturing, and, interestingly, given the high demand for talent, IT.
Although the U.S. shows a decline in degree requirements in IT fields, other markets often think differently.
Do IT workers need degrees?
Engineering is the only field where the role ceiling remains in place: employers in four out of five countries have increased demand for degrees in this field. This may have to do with security concerns and regulations affecting these roles, as well as the highly specialized nature of engineering jobs; shorter courses and on-the-job learning may not easily replace full degrees.
Is it worth hiring based on skills? In a word, yes.
This is a message that the American Psychological Association gave decades ago and still holds true.
A skills-based hire, compared to an education-based hire, is five times more likely to predict job performance.
For our analysis, we looked at promotion rates and tenure at companies, using the US as an example (the US is a pioneer in skills-based hiring and data is widely available).
Promotion rate. Overall, those hired based on skills are promoted at a comparable rate to traditional hires
On average, they were only 2% less likely to be promoted in the same period than their traditionally hired peers.
This suggests that in some professional areas, employees appear to be promoted more slowly (law, business management, and customer service, for example) and in others, more quickly (social work and call centers).
This suggests that skills-based hires perform similarly to their peers and perhaps need a little more time to earn their first promotions.
Our interviews with experts support this finding
Several interviewees mentioned that skills-based hires work harder and are more motivated. “Hiring managers were surprised by the performance of skills-based hires who did not have a degree,” said a representative from a major US streaming company.
In addition to hard work, skills-based hires also bring with them specific experiences and skills.
During our interviews, presentation skills, problem-solving skills, and overall maturity stood out as differentiating factors.
Seniority. We found that skills-based hires are more loyal to their employers. They have a 9% longer tenure with their organizations compared to traditional hires.
This trend is true across most industries and professions, but is especially pronounced in trade, transportation, and food services, as well as government, information and communication technology, and professional services.
Our interviews with experts underscored the trend. “Skills-based hires have better problem-solving skills and are generally more interested in exploring the company,” said an interviewee from a US-based multinational e-commerce company. And an expert from a US-based multinational technology company noted, “Skills-based hires demonstrate a high level of engagement and motivation.”
How can organizations succeed with skills-based hiring?
We gathered insights into what makes skills-based hiring successful. Here are five practical tips for employers looking to broaden their hiring approach.
Challenge biases in your talent strategy
Be more open-minded. Is a degree really necessary for a specific job? Our data indicates that the academic degree boundary is disappearing even in jobs that traditionally required a degree. Of course, tradition can be hard to overcome.
So employers need to ask themselves: If this job seeker has the skills we need, does it matter how they acquired them?
For example, Goldman Sachs recently shifted to what it calls a “skill set recruiting” approach.
Through the firm’s new online platform, candidates don’t apply to jobs, but rather apply to specific skill areas, then participate in skills tests and are referred to the most relevant jobs based on their skill sets.
Know the skills you need
Our research shows that skills-based job ads list a larger number of skills than traditional job ads.
For example, traditional job ads for data scientists list about 28 necessary skills, while skills-based ads for the same position list as many as 37.
Skills-based ads, in particular, over-index on transferable skills, such as collaboration and communication, that can be the foundation for success in any job.
Therefore, employers who hire based on skills must have a deep understanding of those skills and advertise them. This involves being able to dynamically forecast skill needs, as well as a deep understanding of current and future skill profiles.
Improve your skills assessment
The big risk of hiring based on skills rather than a degree, especially a degree from a trusted institution, is the lack of “indirect proof” of candidates’ qualifications.
Instead, employers have to get that proof by assessing and testing candidates’ skills—something they often aren’t prepared to do or don’t know how to do efficiently.
They can look for other indirect indicators: microcredentials (learning badges from short, often digital courses), completion of online courses, recommendations, or the results of specific projects.
They can also test candidates by asking them to demonstrate their skills—writing code, participating in a probationary period, or playing a game-based simulation that will test their skills, for example.
New tools leveraging GenAI can largely simulate real interactions with little effort on the part of the employer—they can be a useful way to efficiently assess thousands of candidates.
Supporting onboarding and an inclusive culture
Sometimes the main barrier to skills-based hiring is cultural.
Managers want to hire people who have gone to the same schools as them. Recruiters don’t want to take the risk of hiring people from nontraditional backgrounds.
Many company leaders followed traditional routes and expect their successors to do the same
In such an environment, skills-based hires can feel discriminated against or simply unwelcome.
Just as employers are increasingly aware of their diversity, equity and inclusion agenda with regard to gender, race and more, they can also aim for diversity in employees’ educational and professional backgrounds.
Some practices to consider would be ensuring that members of hiring panels have diverse educational backgrounds, information about degrees on candidates’ CVs, training managers to avoid unconscious bias, or even setting targets for candidates with alternative skills.
Stay Skill-Based – It’s Not Just About Hiring
Once they’ve brought skills-based people into their teams, employers should continue to support the career progression of those employees.
Promotions should be skills-based, as should other internal moves and talent decisions. Various talent marketplace tools help facilitate this.
Novartis’ AI-powered internal talent marketplace uses insights into employee skills and goals to predict, match, and offer roles and projects, for example.
However, a shift like this requires a significant mindset shift in the organization—from “talent hoarding” to “talent sharing.”
Managers, as well as the HR function, need to be comfortable with enabling flexible, skills-based career paths, and senior leaders have an important role to play as role models.
Employer and employee ideas and perspectives are converging.
One executive said, “We are always looking for ways to bring broad and diverse perspectives into our workforce.” According to another, “It’s very important to us that we bring in people from all backgrounds.”
And a candidate seeking a position in education shared, “Sometimes employees with experience work harder and shine brighter than a degree.”
Another said, “I wish they would focus less on education and more on skills, experience, and examples of what you can do as a future employee.”
Given the need for more employees, given the need to develop skills, and given the makeup of the potential workforce, the doors are opening to less traditional hires.
Employers should welcome and support applicants who have the skills and willingness to step up and do the job.