2020 Competencies Most in Demand by Employers and How to Articulate Your Matching Skills

 

Per a recently released study by The University Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, the 5 competencies most in demand by employers are: 

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Sales and Customer Service
• Leadership
• Problem solving and complex thinking
  

The competencies are general and what some career experts would consider mainly soft skills.

If you've read my blog article covering soft vs. hard skills, you may remember that I advocate for converting soft, general skills into hard skills for purposes of resumes and interview discussions. Hard skills represent developed proficiency and knowledge that can be more concretely, specifically and  measurably described than so-called soft skills.The reason for focusing on the former is that presenting oneself using hard skills puts you in the best position to improve your competitive position in getting hired.

Consider the following description of communication skills from a list of skills included in 2 candidates' resumes for a manager job:

Candidate 1

• Communicating effectively at all levels

Candidate 2

• Negotiating contracts and agreements
• Communicating through remote media applications
  

Candidate 1 makes a general statement about a soft skill that could be made by anyone. It won't credibly differentiate her as  better in communications for this job than anyone else, or how her communication skills would increase value to an employer. Candidate 2 states 2 specific harder skills in which strong competence in communication is essential, and which are consistent with requirements of this manager job.

According to the Georgetown study, communication is the most highly demanded competency across the entire labor market. In 2019, 90% of workers were in occupations in which communication was in high demand. So it would be wise to pay attention to that in how you construct the skills portion of your resume or how you speak about your skills in interviews. Be able to articulate specific hard skills that demonstrate your skill in communication rather than making general statements. Or if you make general statements about your communication skills, back them up with the hard skills that support them for the job for which you are applying.

Note, that across occupations, demands for different competencies varied, but the 5 mentioned in the first paragraph above were important overall. So depending on the published requirements of a relevant job, you will need to determine which of the 5 core competencies will be most important. Then include items phrased as hard skills in your list of skills that address those from the perspective of what the full job entails.

Here are some other examples of converting the general competencies or soft skills into more specific harder skills. Note that some skills demonstrate more than one general competency:

Teamwork

• Facilitating work teams
• Leading project development teams. 

These skills statements address both teamwork and leadership competencies.

Sales and Customer Service

• Influencing customers to purchase products
• Resolving difficult customer complaints. 

The second skill statement addresses both customer service and problem solving.

Leadership 

• Project management
• Resolving employee conflicts. 

These skill statements address leadership, teamwork and problem solving.

Problem Solving and Complex Thinking

• Brainstorming solutions to difficult problems
• Using problem solving software. 

The first skill statement addresses problem solving and implies teamwork competencies.

So, to increase your competitive edge in job seeking, keep in mind the 5 general competencies that are in high demand. Then articulate your skills as hard skills, that is, as specific, concrete, and measurable  as possible, to encompass both competency in the high demand areas as well as skill requirements of the job for which you are applying.