Fresh grads may find themselves stumbling into an uncertain employment market as recession fears and layoffs dominate the news.
A recent study of 1,000 recent U.S. graduates aged 18 to 54 revealed that many are concerned about their "career preparedness.
According to the survey, nearly half of new grads did not apply for entry-level positions because they felt underqualified.
This is especially difficult for people who are fresh to the workforce.
"One of the obstacles that young workers may have as they enter the profession is a lack of experience," said Pooja Chhabria, career advisor and head of editorial for Asia-Pacific at LinkedIn.
While Gen Z workers (those aged 18 to 24) may be concerned about their lack of experience, LinkedIn reports that some businesses are "aggressively" hiring.
For example, job posts on the platform increased year on year in October 2022 for industries such as government administration, which increased by 52% in Australia and 88% in Singapore.
Retail job posts increased 114% in Australia and 49% in India, while logistics and supply chain vacancies increased 41% in Singapore.
UAE Invest - https://berojgarclub.uae-Invest-low-carbon-energy.html
These positions may be from diverse industries, but they all have one thing in common: a focus on soft skills, which Chhabria emphasises is appreciated across multiple sectors and jobs.
How To Make Yourself Stand Out -
According to Chhabria, companies are transitioning from a "conventional experience-based" hiring approach to a skills-first one.
This is due to the "fast rate of change and disruption" that industries are experiencing, and skills-based hiring allows employers to hire personnel that meets the changing needs of their organisations, she added.
"87% of recruiters believe that skills are important when evaluating prospects. A skills-based strategy also produces a far larger talent pool, and variety of talent is required to compete in today's market." es the changing demands of businesses, she noted.
"LinkedIn research shows that a skills-based approach to hiring will boost the whole Gen Z talent pool by 10.8 times in Australia, 14.1 times in India, and 7 times in Singapore across Asia Pacific," she said.
While hard abilities are always important for landing a job, soft talents can help individuals stand out from the crowd.
"Hard skills can help you catch the attention of a recruiter, but soft skills can help you land the job," Chhabria noted.
"Hard skills are the technical abilities needed to perform your work. For example, if you're applying to be a sales professional, you need be familiar with sales processes and how to use a CRM platform," she explained.
′′[However], soft skills such as presentation skills to deliver a fantastic sales pitch to your customer or communication skills to speak confidently with your team and the customer are also required."
According to LinkedIn, the top five soft skills that young professionals should focus on developing in the new year are:
′′[However], soft skills such as presentation skills to deliver a fantastic sales pitch to your customer or communication skills to speak confidently with your team and the customer are also required."
According to LinkedIn, the top five soft skills that young professionals should focus on developing in the new year are:
Interpersonal skills: In a post-pandemic workplace, the capacity to develop relationships and communicate with teams throughout the world is critical.
"Getting out of your comfort zone is one approach to acquire these skills. "Taking on new assignments or projects can strengthen your problem-solving skills and provide opportunity to learn how to deal with stress, criticism, and disagreement," Chhabria explained.
"Young professionals can also think about joining professional organisations or networking groups. These are fantastic opportunities for you to hone your communication and interpersonal skills."
