Soft Skills Becomes Mandatory For Getting A Good Job – Linkedin Survey

If you’re a brainy introvert or a nerd, you need to work on your social skills as those brains alone will not help you if you want a job! According to a report by LinkedIn, your talent and brains are of no use if you lack certain social skills.

What are some criteria on the checklist of employers while hiring you? Read on for the full details.

The 2019 Global Talent Trends Report

This report is based on a survey in which over 5000 talent professionals from 35 countries participate. Amongst these participants, there are around 400 professionals from India too. This report,  by Microsoft – owned LinkedIn, delves deep into the changing dynamics at the workplace, the relationship between employees and managers, and most importantly, hiring trends that will impact the future of the HR industry, both India and globally.

The four hiring trends that will dominate the HR industry are – soft skills, work flexibility, anti-harassment, and pay transparency.

Here’s what the report says:

Soft Skills

Soft skills is at the top of the list with 91% participants voting for it. Candidates with strong soft skills will be picked at priority. Soft skills cannot be determined through the candidates’ body language and answers that they provide at the interview, but they will be the most important hiring trend in the HR industry.

Work Flexibility

No one works at a 9 to 5 job anymore. Thanks to technology, people can work from any location and at any time. Hence, job flexibility will be another top concern while hiring people. After all, work-life balance is important too! 72% of the participants voted for work flexibility. There has been a 78% increase in job posts on LinkedIn that require work flexibility.

Anti-harassment

Given the latest #MeToo movement, this one doesn’t come as a surprise. Anti-harassment policies need to be in place for every employee as it is clear from the many sexual harassment accounts that have surfaced. The reveal of these cases has led to a rise in female leadership. The report also explains, “female leaders may be more sensitive to the issue and thus more likely to use their influence to combat it.”

Pay Transparency

Disclosing pay related information is not banned anymore. In fact, pay transparency helps clear up any misunderstandings, and will also give rise to gender equality, fair pay for any gender and race. With 53% participants voting for pay transparency, it stands fourth in the top hiring trends.

Summarising the report: Assess soft skills accurately to future-proof your workforce in the age of automation. Allow employees to work when and where they need to for greater productivity and retention. Improve the way you combat sexual harassment to protect your employees and your employer brand. Trust your employees enough to be transparent about your pay policies to earn their trust in return.