Skills are now ‘the new currency’ at work and corporations are employing skills-first.
Companies are continually in disruption mode, so employment requirements change all the time. Employers want agile IT talent who have future-proof skills to meet their needs.
In recent months, tech companies like Meta, Elon Musk-owned Twitter, and Amazon have laid off thousands amid economic uncertainties. What can help tech recruits get ahead of the game and stand out in the jobs market?
Develop skills.
Organisations are hiring skills first, with 40 per cent of LinkedIn hirers expressly using skills data to discover talent. Focus on growing industries (SQL, Python and AWS) where investments are being made.
If a new tech certification appears and is a developing trend, pursue it.
Search far and wide
While the tech industry may be laying off jobs, countless other industries have tech jobs, and the economy at large remains short-staffed. Look at what is available in professional services, retail, healthcare and financial services.
Understand the skills you need to ensure a job in those sectors. Soft skills like problem-solving, communication, customer services and resilience are valued by most employers, especially in hybrid workplaces with multinational teams.
Set up job alerts tailored to your line of work, as LinkedIn research shows you’re four times more likely to be hired if you apply for jobs as quickly as possible.
Connect with others
Join online communities and don’t be afraid to explore your networks, as this can lead to further connections who may be able to advise, support or refer you to companies or organisations that are actively hiring.
Be specific about your experience, skills and ability to teamwork.
Professional communities may also offer mentoring, and regular networking is more likely to help you secure a job.
Look into machine learning
At this point in time, machine learning is among the world’s most sought-after expertise – think Chatbox, Alexa, Siri, self-driving cars, ChatGPT and other innovative tech.
Machine learning can be used in healthcare, education, and finance and in the US, machine learning engineers earn $141,362 annually.
There are many online machine learning & data science courses that can teach you how to become a machine learning engineer.
Other sought-after expertise includes cyber-security, SEO/SEM knowledge, mobile development and UX/UI development.
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