Top skills needed to succeed in the job market

Many people have listed finding their dream job among their New Year’s resolutions – but before you go out searching, it could help to make sure you have the right skills in your arsenal to ensure you’re the most qualified for the gig.

A technology revolution is beginning to change the nature of jobs throughout the labor force – and along with it the skills needed to succeed at those positions.

Career website GlassDoor spoke with business leaders to find out what they want from employees interviewing for coveted jobs. Here’s a look at what researchers found:

Know your data

For companies across the globe, the statement knowledge is power has perhaps never been truer: Businesses are gathering an increasing amount of information – and employees need to be able to read, understand and utilize that data in a way that benefits their company.

Executives from Intuit, Microsoft Canada and Heap all told Glassdoor that data-proficiency is a desirable, if not necessary, skill among candidates.

Willingness to learn

It is often said that today’s children will work jobs that don’t even exist in the current job market – a reference to the rapid rate at which the labor force is evolving.

That’s why business leaders told Glassdoor that employees need to be open to continuously learning in order to stay on top of the latest industry trends.

According to the CEO of human resources at Kronos, key areas of interest include cloud computing, mobile, user experience, artificial intelligence, machine learning and Software as a service (SaaS).

In a similar vein, executives also listed adaptability as another key characteristic—meaning workers need to be able – and willing – to keep up with the pace of changes within their sectors.

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Customer-oriented

Initially referred to as the “Amazon-effect,” technology at companies across every industry has sought to make the customer experience easier and more transparent – from shopping to health care.

That’s why business leaders told Glassdoor that having a customer-centric approach is one of the top valued skills in today’s labor force.

Building relationships with customers wasn’t the only valued interpersonal characteristic. Glassdoor found that companies also wanted workers that were able to foster positive relationships with coworkers, as well.

While an executive from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital noted that teamwork was important for getting results, the ability to collaborate often becomes increasingly more important as an organization expands and processes or systems become more complex.