Monday, February 9, 2015

The 10 Must-Have Career Skills for 2015



Even with unemployment falling, the job market is tight; in most industries, employers remain in the drivers’ seat. So if you’re looking for a job or internship for now or this summer, having the right resume skills on your resume is a must.

But what skills are most in-demand? What should we be learning and improving? What should we be “selling” to employers?

5 Must-Have Soft Skills

Soft skills can be harder to feature on a resume, because they are less easy to pin down than whether you know something concrete, such as a certain software program or professional certification. While they may be tough to quantify, they’re crucial to workplace success, and hiring managers place a lot of emphasis on them when making hiring decisions.

These are five of the most in-demand soft skills for 2015:

  •     Teamwork
  •     Decision-making
  •     Communication skills
  •     Planning and prioritizing
  •     Research skills
The most effective way to incorporate soft skills on your resume is to frame them as accomplishments. Featuring accomplishments on your resume improves your candidacy, because it shows the hiring manager what you, specifically, achieved—as opposed to listing off the duties that anyone swapped into your role would have carried out.

5 Must-Have Hard/Technical Skills

Technical skills are more role- or industry-specific than the soft skills already mentioned… and will vary greatly depending on your career choice. Overall, however, here are the technical skills most sought-after by employers in 2015:
  •     Data security
  •     Data analysis
  •     Development (web, program, app, mobile/device)
  •     Project management
  •     Database management
Project management might stand out as seemingly less technical than the others on the list, but it’s no less crucial. “Companies need project managers who can oversee large projects that span the enterprise,” according to Mary K. Pratt of Computerworld. The most sought-after project managers have the technical knowledge to effectively lead teams who are using the newest tools and methodologies.

Data security might not come cheaply, but bad press can be even more costly. According to Pratt, “Executives and board members are willing to spend more money on security because security breaches are making big headlines these days.” Makes sense: No one wants to be the next Sony.

Miriam Salpeter, owner of Keppie Careers, recommends that job seekers—or anyone interested in professional development in 2015—complete a selection of data science courses from Johns Hopkins University offered for free through Coursera. “Data science is quickly becoming a high-demand field,” she says. “This is the perfect time to start building data science skills,” Miriam says.

Even if you don’t yet know Excel from SQL, learning more about data can make you a more attractive job candidate. No matter what level of familiarity you’re starting from, you can make your resume shine in 2015 by demonstrating a commitment to learning about data.

These 10 hard and soft skills could be used in just about any role in any field, but don’t forget to pay close attention to the job description of each job that interests you.

When applying, tailor your resume to highlight all of the soft skills you possess that are featured in the job posting. Using Jobscan for an instant resume analysis can help you find ways to better target your resume to the job and to make sure that you are calling attention to the right skills and experience.

How many of these 10 must-have skills are on your resume now? Perhaps a more important question: what will you to obtain the skills you don’t yet possess?

Culled from: http://www.youtern.com

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