COVID-19, automation, artificial intelligence, climate change, and world events have significantly changed the world of work in recent years. Workers must adapt to changing employment trends to keep or land jobs and succeed in their jobs. As a result, the top skills employers want in 2023 are very different than before 2020.
Those in the recruiting industry know that tech skills like cloud computing and programming are in demand heading into 2023. The recent AI trend will likely increase that trend and add new skill requirements for jobs in the near future. But ALL employers are looking for important soft skills when developing their workforces.
Continuous Learning
Training industry professionals understand the skills gap that employers face. Getting to work on time and completing tasks and projects isn’t enough anymore. Succeeding at work now means bringing skills and motivation to work and improving continuously rather than just slogging it out for a paycheck.
Improving employment skills helps workers not only perform well, but advance and move up in their organizations. Employers want and need candidates and employees who want to learn new skills and believe in continuous learning to improve themselves to benefit their careers and their employers. Workers who don’t make learning new things will not only be unproductive, they will most likely be left behind and lose opportunities and jobs.
Forbes contributor Bernard Marr advises employees to cultivate a mindset of continuous learning. Staying flexible, embracing change, and being curious and willing and ready to learn new things and develop new skills is important for the near future of work. In addition, keeping your skills updated and in sync with the changes your employer is going through is necessary to keep up and succeed in any job and career.
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to control and express emotions is a key soft skill employers want and look for in candidates. Understanding how emotions affect behaviors, managing emotions well at work, and seeing situations from others’ perspectives is emotional intelligence. Staying under control instead of reacting emotionally, overreacting, or being intolerant of others that you work with is an essential skill for the near future.
Soft skills such as emotional intelligence are more important now because machines can't replace them. Employers need employees who work well together, can empathize and understand others’ points of view, and work collaboratively, staying away from conflict. Forbes Council member Yolanda Lau discusses how emotional intelligence enables people to be more productive, be better listeners and communicators, and develop better bonds with coworkers, customers, vendors, and business associates.
Lau explains that how someone treats others really shows their true nature, and those with emotional intelligence show respect and are genuine at work. In addition, those who are emotionally intelligent work hard to find common ground, communicate well, and stay engaged and interested to achieve goals.
Collaboration
Teamwork at work today is different than it was even five years ago. It’s changed because of pandemic conditions that sent many to work from home. Today’s world at work includes hybrid work environments, remote workers, independent contractors, and temporary specialists for project work. This makes collaboration an essential skill employers need in their workforces.
To work successfully with the variety of workers in today’s workplace requires effective collaboration. Even remote workers must collaborate well with on-site teams, remote teams, remote managers, and company-wide resources. Cross-functionality is another critical component of collaboration, understanding others’ roles, and being able to assist in areas outside your team.
Being interested in how other teams and departments work and contribute shows both empathy and willingness to assist others. Robert Half reports that 32 percent of employers feel teamwork is the most important skill for employees. That means that those who have worked successfully in a team environment and understand collaboration will be valuable employees.
Creativity
All the changes that the worldwide pandemic have brought to the world have forced organizations to turn to creativity to stay in business. Employers need creativity in their workforces in 2023 and beyond. They need employers who can bring new ideas and solutions to their roles and their businesses.
Collaboration and emotional intelligence are skills that prompt creativity. They are skills that enhance each other and work synergistically. Employees that work to understand their own roles and the roles of others and work together will be able to contribute in new and vital ways.
Creativity brings new possibilities to business offerings and goals. Creative employees introduce imagination and solutions to keep their employers’ businesses moving forward. Creativity will become increasingly important at work to drive improvements and new products and services, especially as artificial intelligence and automation take over many jobs.
Time Management
Time management has always been an important skill, but it’s going to be one of the more important skills employers want in employees. It’s essential to high performance and productivity. Effective time management prevents burnout and enhances work/life balance. Employees who are energetic and healthy work with fewer distractions and fresher perspectives.
The pandemic has shone a bright light on the importance of mental health and different ways employees are affected by stress. Any skills that reduce or eliminate stress are valuable skills in the workforce. For example, successful time management helps workers feel comfortable and confident, rather than overwhelmed and stressed out.
In today’s world of work, with all the different work environments and technology available, time management is essential to stay focused and productive. Employees must demonstrate their understanding of and experience with time management to prove their competence and gain employer trust.
The Future of Work
The future of work is not crystal clear, but what is clear is that new and different employment skills will be needed in 2023 and beyond. To be successful and competitive in the workforce in 2023 means having a varied set of skills that employers need and value.
Although we can't predict the future of work, we can keep an eye on the evolving and developing skills needed in the workplace. Consider what skills are needed in your industry -- both hard and soft. How likely will these skills be needed in the future? And what can you do today to continue developing these skills?
The more we embrace the opportunities in front of us, the better we can develop our career skills for today and tomorrow.
Things You Need While Searching for a Job
Once you are armed with the knowledge about what kind of job will make you happy, there are core things to get lined up for a job search. Let's look at a few.
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What to Look for in a Job
Fun fact, most people will have about 12 different jobs in their working lifetime. This goes to show that finding a job that you love enough to hang onto takes some forethought and possibly a bit of trial and error. Just the same, you can make some plans in advance, helping you land in a position that leaves you perfectly content. Check out a few things to look for when looking for that perfect job.
