Four soft skills LinkedIn says are most likely to get you hired in 2018

 

• The job market is constantly shifting, but soft skills translate to every career.
• LinkedIn used billions of data points from its 500+ million members to determine which hard and soft skills are most actively sought by employers, and which ones helped LinkedIn members get hired in 2018.
• Of the 2,000 business leaders surveyed, 57% identified soft skills as the most important to them.
• You'll find the top soft skills below, along with courses you can take to improve them.
• Find the top hard skills employers will look for in 2018 here.

Navigating the job search as a candidate can feel pretty opaque. From your perspective, it's difficult to identify which skills you should prioritize to remain competitive, and which areas of your résumé you need to build out in order to stand out from the crowd. In other words, what are employers in 2018 looking for, and how do you gain and demonstrate those skills?

Putting its billions of data points to good use, LinkedIn created a "roadmap" for job seekers in 2018. Using data from its 500+ million members and a survey of 2,000 business leaders, the company identified both the soft and hard skills that are most in demand (and likely to get candidates hired) this year.

Though you might typically focus more on hard skills, 57% of the business leaders surveyed said they believe soft skills are most important. You can always progress technically, but soft skills translate to any career path and most aspects of being a great employee, teammate, and leader.

We've laid out LinkedIn's most in-demand soft skills of 2018 below along with courses you can take to back up your claims of aptitude. While you might be able to convey a substantial amount of soft skills within the parameters of an interview, a course or certification is an advantage for giving examples and anecdotes within the interview process.

The online-learning sites we included — Lynda, Udemy, Coursera, and edX— are among the most popular and inexpensive.

Coursera and edX allow you to take classes from the top universities in the world, nearly all of which are free to audit with a fee of $29 - $160 to add a verified certificate that you can include in your resume and LinkedIn profile. Udemy houses more than 65,000 courses and 15 million students and frequently discounts courses worth $200 by up to 90% off. Lynda is owned by LinkedIn and comes with a free one-month trial (which should cover most of those compiled below). After that, access is $29.99/month.

Below are the four most important soft skills that employers are looking for in 2018, according to LinkedIn:

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1. Leadership

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Body Language

• Body Language for Entrepreneurs, available at Udemy
• Body Language for Leaders, available at Lynda

Strategic Thinking

• Master Strategic Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills, available at Udemy
• Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization, available at Coursera
• Strategic Management and Innovation Specialization, available at Coursera
• Strategic Thinking, available at Lynda

Informal Leading

• Leading without Formal Authority, available at Lynda
• Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, available at Coursera
• Soft Skills, 3 weeks, available at edX

2. Communication

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Communication

• Communicating with Confidence, available at Lynda
• Communicating with Diplomacy and Fact, available at Lynda
• Advanced communication skills for 21st Century leaders, available at Udemy
• The Complete Presentation and Public Speaking/Speech Course, available at Udemy

Influence

• Leadership and Influence, available at Coursera
• Influencing Others, available at Lynda
• Master Persuasion Psychology, available at Udemy

Feedback

• Giving and Receiving Feedback, available at Lynda
• Workplace Communication: Effectively Deliver Criticism, available at Udemy
• Managing Teams, available at Lynda
• Leading with Emotional Intelligence, available at Lynda

3. Collaboration

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Listening

• Effective Listening, available at Lynda
• Conscious Listening, available at Udemy

Building Relationships

• Building Business Relationships, available at Lynda
• Culture-Driven Team Building Specialization, available at Coursera
• Inspiring and Motivating Individuals, available at Coursera

Managing Others

• People Management, available at edX
• Finding your Introvert, Extrovert Balance in the Workplace, available at Lynda
• Personality Types at Work, available at Coursera
• Leading People and Teams Specialization, available at Coursera
• Relationship Management, available at Coursera
• Conflict Management Specialization, available at Coursera

4. Time Management

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Habits

• Creating Great Workplace Habits, available at Lynda
• Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity, available at Coursera
• Effective Time Management: Get 10X More Done in Less Time, available at Udemy
• Habits Mastery: How to Create Bulletproof Habits, available at Udemy

Delivering

• Getting Things Done, available at Lynda
• Practical Project Management for Managers and First Time PMs, available at Udemy
• Productivity and Time Management for the Overwhelmed, available at Udemy