WORKFORCE
campusreview.com.au
Attention all
jobseekers
LinkedIn releases list of the top 10 skills hirers
want, but the most important trait of all may be
one for which there is no formal qualification.
Cliff Rosenberg interviewed by James Wells
S
Cliff Rosenberg Photo: LinkedIn
26
tudents make up one of the fastest-growing
demographics flocking to LinkedIn, and the social
network has unveiled the top 10 skills their potential
employers are seeking.
LinkedIn pieced together this list by analysing all the
recruitment activity on the site from January to September
this year. The employment networker grouped all the skills
candidates said they had, and those that employers were
looking for in job descriptions, into several dozen categories.
For example, skills like proficiency with Android and iOS
devices would be grouped into the ‘mobile development’
category. From there, LinkedIn identified the categories
that were more likely to get jobs and receive interest from
recruiters. Most of the skills on the list are STEM-related.
Despite the tech-heavy list, employers are having just as
hard a time finding people with the right soft skills. Almost
two-thirds of hirers reported to LinkedIn that it’s harder
to find people who can work well in a team and interact
with customers than it is to find employees with the right
technical skills. This was discovered via research on 1297
hiring managers across Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, the
Netherlands and India.
Cliff Rosenberg, managing director of LinkedIn Australia,
New Zealand, and South-east Asia, said the onus is on
students to reach out and learn these skills.