If you’re on the hunt for your next role and are finding it hard to land the perfect fit, you’re not alone.
Nearly three in five (58%) of people across the globe plan to look for a new job in 2025, and half of them are frustrated by the search, saying that the process has become more difficult over the past year, according to LinkedIn research.
These days, even candidates who have strong academic credentials might not stand out to recruiters. More than 30% of companies eliminated bachelor’s degree requirements for certain positions last year, and 25% of them planned to eliminate or continue to eliminate those qualifications by 2025, data from college prep company Intelligent revealed.
So what, exactly, do job candidates need to set themselves apart from the competition — and up for success — in 2025?
The U.S. freelancing platform Upwork decided to find out. In a new report that sourced skills data from the platform’s database and was based on freelancer earnings, two skill sets emerged as the most critical.
Related: How Skills-Based Hiring Leads to Better Recruiting Decisions
Companies need employees with technical skills to keep up with rapidly advancing AI. Yet leaders estimate that only a quarter of their current workforce can effectively use AI solutions today. According to the report, nearly half of full-time workers now depend on freelancers to address critical gaps and help them do their work.
Data extraction, analytics and visualization, all helpful in evaluating and applying AI models, are in high demand, and AI annotation and labeling are among the fastest-growing skills on Upwork — rising by as much as 220%.
This increasing preference for technical expertise is already showing up in skills-based hiring practices: 81% of C-suite executives report embracing removing degree requirements and emphasizing skills assessments, per Upwork’s research.
Leaders who want to help their current workforce expand their technical skills to keep pace with increasing AI development require another important asset in new hires: the human-centric ability to coach and guide others effectively. Career coaching, training and development are among the fastest-growing skills within their category on Upwork.
In some cases, those essential soft skills might help a candidate overcome a lack of technical expertise during the interview process, especially if they’re willing to grow.
Related: Why Prioritizing Soft Skills in Hiring is Crucial to the Modern Workplace
“If your skills don’t yet align with your dream job, look for guidance about how you can learn more,” chief people officer at edtech company D2L Amy Clark told Entrepreneur. “Remember, your human skills — communication, collaboration, problem-solving — are just as important as the technical skills you need (sometimes even more important). Don’t neglect them.”
