If you are one of the bright-eyed and eager college graduates ready to enter the workforce in 2018, your future might not be quite as bright as you expected. A new study from Learning House revealed that about half the US. Human Resources leaders don’t think college prepares young people for work.
What prompted these HR managers to respond this way? In 70 percent of the companies surveyed there are more than 500 jobs that are not filled, due to unqualified applicants. It’s all about the skills gap.
What skills are they looking for? Companies prefer hard skills over soft skills. Analytics is very high on the list of skills valued by HR leaders, which supports the list of skills Chief Marketing officers are looking for in 2018.
Underemployed College Graduates
Here’s another stat: There’s a 45 percent under-employment rate for graduates with an advertising or PR major. Add analytics to your resume and that number drops to 35 percent, giving you a marked edge over other applicants.
“There is a significant mismatch in the skills requirements listed in job postings and those noted in applicant resumes. This applies to both hard and soft skills. In fact, the data shows that job seekers’ resumes only match 59 percent of hard skills and 62 percent of soft skills in job ads, which is evidence of the chasm between what employers and applicants see as valuable.” 2018 Skills Gap Report
The Demand for Analytics
Analytics and the ability to extract insights from data are also high on the list of needed skills
In a recent Forbes article Michael Ringman, of TELUS International said, “Machine learning and data analytics are going to continue to grow and change the face of the IT industry as we know it today. I’ve even encouraged my daughter to take analytics as her major knowing that it’s going to be a game-changer in the near future.”
According to LinkedIn these are the most desired skills for 2018:
- Cloud and Distributed Computing
- Statistical Analysis and Data Mining
- Middleware and Integration Software
- Web Architecture and Development Framework
- User Interface Design
- Software Revision Control Systems
- Data Presentation
- SEO/SEM Marketing
- Mobile Development
LinkedIn’s advice: If you see a skill that you’ve had on your list to work on, or even master, be sure to carve out a bit of time to learn it.
The PR Measurement Course could fill in the skills gap in your resume.
