Top Skills In Highest Demand Right Now

One way that job hunters can increase the likelihood that they will be considered by an employer is to familiarize themselves with the skills that are in the highest demand by employers in 2015. According to ERE Media, the typical online job posting yields approximately 250 skills in high demand. In order to stand out from a host of competing applicants, job seekers should focus on developing a skill set that encompasses as many of these high demand skills as possible. The top 10 skills in highest demand can be categorized as either soft skills or technical skills, and many are used by employees at every skill level.

Soft skills are vital to the productivity of a successful business. Soft skills relate to a person's ability to work well with other employees. Because it can be challenging to articulate soft skills on a resume, many job applicants fail to mention them on their resumes. The top five soft skills sought by employers in 2015 include communication, teamwork, prioritization and planning, decision-making and research ability. Job hunters should be aware that soft skills can be successfully integrated into a resume by linking the skill to a quantifiable event. For instance, an applicant can state, "Facilitated the assembly of temporary office space for 10 new employees 5 days ahead of schedule through prioritization and planning."

Technical skills are easier to quantify than soft skills and are thereby easier to reference on a resume. The five most sought-after technical skills in 2015 are as follows: data analysis, data security, database management, development (web, app, mobile/device, program) and project management.

Given the nature of this collection of technical skills, job seekers should quickly recognize the importance of buttressing their data science skills. Keppie Careers owner Miriam Salpeter recommends that job hunters complete free online courses in data science through a site called Coursera. Citing the increase in the data science field, Salpeter claims that, "This is the perfect time to start building data science skills."

In addition to building their data science skills, job hunters should strive to improve their project management skills. In particular, potential job applicants should be aware of the high demand for project managers who are able to employ the most current tools and methodologies. And Mary K. Pratt of Computerworld emphasizes that, "Companies need project managers who can oversee large projects that span the enterprise."

While development of these soft skills and technical skills can help you gain an edge over your fellow job applicants, it is important that you not neglect the soft skills that you already possessed. Job seekers should remember to carefully review each individual job posting, as employers may be seeking some of your pre-existing skills. Moreover, job hunters can increase the likelihood that they will be ranked highly by an applicant tracking system (ATS) if they can closely relate their resumes to individual job postings.

While the unemployment rate is finally beginning to decline, job seekers should still take every measure to build their marketability. By incorporating the soft and technical skills listed above into your resume, you will increase the likelihood that you will distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicant pool.