According to a new report from LinkedIn, some of the most in-demand job skills of 2024 are so-called “people skills,” which have become increasingly important as the roles of AI, automation, and other technological advancements continue to expand. While specific skillsets will vary from job to job, those identified in the report are broadly applicable across industries and professions.
But knowing that communication skills are important, and knowing how to develop those skills, are two different things. That’s why, in addition to the 11 most in-demand skills, I’ve included expert advice for improving them.
Communication
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To get better at communicating your own thoughts and ideas, start by working on your active listening skills, says Brittany Dolin, co-founder of the Pocketbook Agency, a Los Angeles recruitment firm. “It promotes understanding, helps build rapport, and allows you to respond more effectively in workplace conversations.”
Even casual conversations with colleagues or others you interact with over the course of a day are your chance to work on communication skills like getting your point across in a clear, concise way, and ensuring that when it ends, everyone involved understands the outcome—including any next steps. For more practice, Stephanie Licata, the learning strategist for Cloverleaf, suggests asking your manager or other team members for opportunities to lead meetings and participate in presentations in order to “grow your group-communication confidence.”
Customer service
Even if your job doesn’t involve interacting with “customers” in the traditional sense of the word, it may require you to provide some type of service for other people—whether it’s patients, students, guests, or people in other departments. To improve your customer service skills, Licata recommends regularly collecting and reflecting on both official and informal feedback you receive from customers (or your job’s equivalent). From there, come up with tangible actions you can take to respond to their needs.
Leadership
Employers may want people with leadership skills, but what if you have no interest in running a department or company? That’s not a problem, according to Licata, who explains that you can also do things like asking for leadership roles or accountabilities in key projects with high visibility, or seeking out opportunities to mentor new employees—even if your company doesn’t have a formal mentoring program.
Project management
If you don’t have experience managing projects involving other people, start with your own. The good news is that there are plenty of tools out there that can help you, says Amara Pope, PhD, a marketing and branding consultant. This includes management software like Asana and Hubspot, which she says can help you effectively organize tasks, timelines, and internal and external communications.
Management
But what about being a manager of people, and not just their projects? Similar to leadership, it’s also possible to develop your managerial skills without having to become a big boss. Once again, start small, offering to manage small, low-stakes projects “that most people would never volunteer to take charge of,” says Damian Birkel, the director and founder of Professionals In Transition. “This will give you invaluable experience, an opportunity to work one-on-one with your boss, and a chance to learn about their management style, and how they got their management experience.”
Analytics
Seek out opportunities to review or analyze data related to some aspect of your current job—even if you’re not required to do so. More specifically, Licata recommends applying data analysis to one of your current challenges as a way to gain clarity about it. Then, take it a step further, and identify areas where data isn’t currently being collected, but should be.
Teamwork
Whether you loved group work in school, or you were the one who was stuck doing everything—then having to make it look like a team effort—it probably didn’t take long for you to realize that you’ll be collaborating with others for the rest of your career.
You may not be thrilled about that, but don’t fight it; instead, make an effort to be someone that other people actually want on their team, says Birkel. “This means being on time, keeping your promises, holding other teammates accountable, and completing whatever tasks you volunteer for,” he says.
Meanwhile, interacting with your team is the perfect time to work on the communication skills you’ve been practicing—including explaining something in a way that holds people’s attention and gets your message across. As you’re actively listening to your colleagues, be open to their ideas, says Nicole Dayan, co-founder of the Pocketbook Agency. Though some people do this all the time, there are plenty of others who would benefit from hearing their colleagues out, and taking the time to consider their input. Plus, as Dayan points out, this demonstrates a willingness to learn and grow from experiences and feedback.
Sales
Even if you don’t have a literal sales job, it’s a skill that still comes in handy when you have to sell your ideas to colleagues at a meeting, for instance. But instead of focusing on pitching the same set idea to everyone, Licata recommends listening to—or asking—what the people on the receiving end actually need, and tailoring your pitch to meet their needs. In other words, whether you’re selling a concept, project, or product, know and understand your audience.
Problem-solving
To get better at problem-solving, Pope suggests continuously seeking new challenges. One way to do this is to set new goals for yourself on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis, then figure out what you need to do in order to achieve them. Doing this will not only foster an innovative mentality, but chances are, you’ll also gain new experiences, she says.
Research
Pope recommends engaging in workshops or courses to help improve your research skills, and gain exposure to different approaches to and ways of thinking about your field. It doesn’t need to be a major time commitment: You can learn a lot from signing up for one seminar or workshop each month.
Not sure where to start? The LinkedIn Learning course “How to Research and Write Using Generative AI Tools with Dave Birss” along with the rest of the company’s most popular AI courses are available for free through July 1, 2024. There are plenty of other free online courses and workshops that will help you sharpen your research skills, including ones from the University of Michigan, the University of California, Irvine, and the University of New South Wales.
Adaptability
Technically, LinkedIn’s report includes the top 10 most in-demand job skills—which are the ones listed above. But the authors also included what they call the “skill of the moment,” which was the skill that grew in popularity among employers the most in a set period of time: Adaptability.
“Companies want workers who will pivot, not panic, and change with them as the business or economy shifts,” says Dan Brodnitz, the global head of content strategy for LinkedIn Learning. “They are looking to hire people who want to learn new things, embrace any changes that come their way, and who are looking ahead to the future—even if that means doing things differently.”