By Andrew Seaman, Senior Editor for Jobs & Career Development at LinkedIn News
There are a lot of concerns about how humans will fare in the workforce alongside artificial intelligence. One report from early last year estimated that about two-thirds of jobs can be — at least partially — automated thanks to AI. The report said about a quarter of all current work can likely be done by AI.
The good news is that the same report from Goldman Sachs highlighted the fact that technology doesn't replace humans in the workforce; it displaces us. New technology has historically created more jobs than it takes. The challenge for humans is to remain adaptable, allowing us to move into roles not automated by AI and other technology.
One of the best ways to stay adaptable in the age of AI is to focus on the skills that make us uniquely human. These are often called soft skills and include active listening, time management, and many others. My colleagues at LinkedIn Learning recently announced the most in-demand skills of 2024. The list of 10 skills highlights those that employers prioritized on LinkedIn in the past year.
They are:
Communication
Customer Service
Leadership
Project Management
Management
Analytics
Teamwork
Sales
Problem-Solving
Research
The team also identified the skill with the largest increase in demand from 2022 to 2023. Adaptability rose to the top!
How can you use this list?
You may identify as a customer service representative, accountant, IT professional, or any other profession in existence. Yet, at the end of the day, you are a person with a collection of skills that can come together to get a job done. The key is to keep adding and improving your skills to stay competitive in the workforce.
LinkedIn's 2024 most in-demand skills is a handy guide to staying competitive by highlighting what employers are looking for in the people they hire. What stands out to me is that many of these skills are those soft — or human — ones that AI can't replace, such as communication, leadership, management, teamwork, and more.
As AI and other technologies chip away at the technical side of work, such as how to code or how to process customer complaints, employers will still need people with the above-mentioned skills and others to fill in the gaps.
The key is to continue to hone these skills through practice. For example, you can work on becoming a better problem-solver by learning systemic approaches to finding solutions. Or, if you want to improve your leadership skills, you can find a mentor and also learn how to coach others through projects and challenges.
Focusing on skills is a great career strategy
Aside from becoming increasingly valuable to potential employers, focusing on your various skills opens up a world of opportunities to you in the labor market. Recruiters and hiring managers are increasingly using skills to fill open positions instead of previous job titles, degrees, and other factors.
The reason behind this change is that hiring people based on their skills exponentially increases an employer's talent pool. Instead of limiting their search to people who have held a similar role, they can instead simply look to see if the person has the skills to do the job — regardless of their previous titles or degrees.
The result is more pathways to opportunities for you and everyone in the workforce, especially those without degrees and from underrepresented communities. The key is to keep working on your skills while keeping an open mind about your future and opportunities that pop up.
Two ways to take advantage of this new approach to hiring is to make sure you're including your strongest skills on your resume and a curated list on your LinkedIn profile. Both of these actions, in tandem with a comprehensive job search strategy, will put you in the strongest position to connect with the best opportunities for you.