(Image credit: Rex)
Want to supercharge your career by January? Get tooled-up with the most sought after skills bosses are looking for in 2017.
Whether you’re looking for a new job, or want to progress in your current one, learning a new skill will propel you to the next level. But which courses are actually worth investing time and money in? We asked the experts at LinkedIn what employers are looking for right now. Here’s what they said.
- Data – We looked at the most in-demand skills from recruiters on LinkedIn in 2016 and the word ‘data’ dominated the top ten list. Whether it’s delving into data and analysing statistics, presenting data in a visual way or working on the science behind data infrastructure, data is a hot topic. Alessandra Di Lorenzo is Chief Commercial Officer for Advertising and Partnerships at lastminute.com group, says. 'Tech skills aren’t just vital for IT companies – they’re key for businesses in every industry. Understanding data is absolutely key for us to learn how our customers like to travel, which helps us to give them the best possible information and experience across our sites.'
- Search – Our reliance on search engines as our online best friends shows no sign of going away – which explains why skills around SEO (search engine optimisation) and SEM (search engine marketing) also make it onto this list. This is all about helping companies to generate business through search engines – whether that’s running the promoted adverts you see at the top, or helping websites appear high up in the lists from online searches.
- Mobile - If you want to be employable for 2017 and beyond get yourself on a course with ‘mobile’ in the title. Most of us now view the internet on the move and according to Ofcom, 71% of UK adults own a smartphone, so businesses of all shapes and sizes are investing time to help us shop, bank, and play on our mobiles. 'Mobile is by far the reigning queen of screens. People take their mobile devices everywhere, so savvy skills around the technology that drives engagement and targeting is essential to businesses' Daniel at AdRoll adds.
- Ownership – It’s not just technical skills which are important to learn - improving your ‘soft’ or interpersonal skills is just as important. LinkedIn found that ‘ownership’ was the most difficult soft skill for UK recruiters to find in their candidates. That means taking responsibility for your own work, deadlines and ideas. Alessandra from Lastminute adds: 'employers want someone that they know is a safe pair of hands. Someone that can demonstrate skills such as great communication, ownership and care for their work is someone we know can handle anything that comes their way.'
- Teamwork - In the same way, all employers are looking for people that are real team players. 'All successful businesses are built on a foundation of great teams - and in my opinion collaboration is key to any team that consistently produces results' says Chris Lewendon, Head of Talent Acquisition at Just Eat. 'Collaborative teams not only drive better outputs but also show greater levels of engagement and help shape a positive culture for the business. That's why I always value candidates who can display examples of when they've put the team before the player.'
- Persistence – Over a third of recruiters told us that this was up there with the toughes skill to find in candidates. Employers want people on their teams that don’t give up easily, but work hard to overcome issues and push through tasks to their completion. For that reason, problem solving also featured on the list. 'Resilience is a key attribute that we look for in new recruits – and it’s one which is critical to business success, especially in a start-up where determination and relationships are so important in building an innovative business', says Daniel Doody, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at AdRoll.
Linked-in is hosting a Week of Learning from Monday 24 – Sunday 30 October. To celebrate they are giving away a free access to over 5,000 online courses from management to movie-making. #AlwaysBeLearning
