According to LinkedIn data, there are at least 50,000 professional or work skills worldwide. While everyone has certain skills by birth or education, you want to learn something new every month/year, in order to stay ahead and relevant. But there comes a challenge. Out of those 50,000 skills that you could potentially learn, which are the ones you should pay maximum attention to? Or more precisely, which skills are in-demand and have the greatest dividend in the current economy or market.
Talking to a few friends in recruitment helped me understand that another gap – the gap between technical and soft skills. While it is obvious that rise of automation and software-powered operations have skyrocketed the demand of certain technical skills, businesses still need soft skills like – creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, team management, and communication.
According to LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 57% of the people in senior leadership agree that soft skills are more important than hard skills.
So, if you are planning to learn the most important skills in 2020, I would suggest to keep balance between hard and soft skills. In the following, I am listing down some of the most in-demand skills in 2020, as endorsed by researches from LinkedIn, Udemy Workplace Learning report, CNBC and others.
The Most Important Soft Skills to Learn in 2020
Here, we are listing down some of the most in-demand soft skills that companies will be looking for in the candidates.
1. Creativity
Why creativity matters? The simplest answer is that creativity is the fuel for innovation and growth. While robots can be excellent tool for automation, companies will always need people with great creative skills and ideas – to create something better for a better tomorrow.
2. Growth Mindset
Peter Drucker famously said: “Business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.” Having a great product or platform is one thing, but being able to convince people to buy it is another. And for this to happen, you need people with persuasive skills and growth mindset.
3. Collaboration and teamwork
Great products are made by great people with shared purpose and excellent work chemistry. With involvement of cross-functional teams into projects and production, it is vital that your team mates have the right and collaborative mindset and they know how to work with the people and processes.
4. Adaptability
They say, change is the only constant in the world. While this has always been true, the pace of change we’re witnessing today is unprecedented. Hence, companies are in hunt for people who have adaptable minds who could easily navigate from one position/solution to another. This is vital for futuristic strategy and growth.
5. Focus
Time is money and if you are able to master time management, this one skill will help you get the most out of your career for the rest of your life.
In addition to these, communication, culture awareness, and emotional intelligence are some other skills that companies will look for in a candidate.
“Business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.”
Peter Drucker
The Most Important Hard Skills in 2020
When you see the list below, you will realize the growing impact of digital on business and our lives. Companies are looking for the talent that could help them optimize customer experience and build great products.
Digital is also driving unique and new use-cases for old skills. For example, voice over or recording was previously done only for films and radio productions; but you have podcasts, digital ads, storyboard animations etc. where voiceover and audio production play very important role.
So, here is a list of the most in-demand skills in 2020.
- Python
- React (web)
- Angular
- Machine learning
- Docker
- Django
- CompTIA
- Amazon AWS
- Deep learning
- React Native (mobile)
However, this may not be applicable to every case since every profession has different demands and preferences.
Marketing Skills Companies Will Be Looking for in 2020
While the required skills-set is different from industry to industry, there are certain role-specific skills that every digital marketing professional should learn and polish.
1. Digital marketing
This includes a number of skills and platforms including inbound marketing, SEO, SEM, performance marketing, and online advertising through search engines, websites, social media platforms and mobile apps.
2. Python & SQL
While these are fundamentally programming languages, they are key tools in data analysis, database management, and infrastructure development.
3. Web Development
This covers a number of things, from being able to map the right structure of the website, their search-friendliness, technical SEO, and user experience management.
4. Google Ads:
Google has a bunch of advertising channels and platforms that businesses can use to advertise their products and services. Since this is the biggest digital advertising network (Google’s primary revenue source as well), its mastery is vital for modern marketers.
5. Google Analytics
This is another important digital tool powered by Google. Google Analytics is basically a web analytics service that helps you track and monitor a website traffic and users’ behaviour.
Companies expect marketers to grasp these skills and show leadership in adopting new ways to optimize outreach and maximize revenue. If we closely observe, companies are excessively becoming data-centric and data-focused; therefore, mastery of analytics and data tools like Microsoft Excel is vital for marketers.
If you think I missed out any important skills, please help me get it in the comment section below, or reach me out on Twitter at @tahirakbr.