​Has there ever been a more volatile job market? Post-pandemic work shifts, talent shortages, and the growing need for new skills have employees and organizations alike wondering how to best plot their next steps for future growth. Emphasizing internal career development is the ideal way to engage and retain valuable workers to maximize performance.While 95% of company leaders are investing in training and continuous learning opportunities to help employees build skills1, many don’t understand how to effectively use the right technologies and tools to help assess capabilities, facilitate career conversations, map out career paths, or match individuals to suitable coaches.Understanding and using technology for career mobility doesn’t have to be a challenging puzzle. Here’s how the pieces fit together.Jumpstart career conversationsWith the rapid pace of digital transformation hitting organizations today, the only way leaders can get ahead of the curve is through a well-prepared and skilled workforce. To achieve this, managers need to speak with employees to understand their capabilities and motivations as well as identify any gaps to be filled. These conversations should help managers pinpoint what individuals want so they can target opportunities within the organization. Yet 38% of employees have had no or limited career conversations, and 31% say they do not have a career plan in place.2Many managers hesitate to engage in these conversations, mainly because coaching is a skill they have not mastered, and they believe having these discussions will lead to expectations they are unable to fulfill.3Online career coaching platforms like RightCoach can resolve these issues by improving manager communication and problem-solving skills through easy-to-use virtual sessions, helping leaders to build the confidence they need to support career development.Wells Fargo, a financial services company with 8,700 locations in 36 countries, is committed to using coaching in a “learn and grow” management program, which prepares employees at every level to succeed. Managers learn and then teach best practices, adjust approaches to accommodate individual personalities, and motivate staff to keep learning to quickly advance careers.4Jan Blomstedt, who manages Well Fargo’s Global Talent Acquisition digital presence, credits her 35-year tenure with the company to its “collaborative, diverse environment that ensures your voice is always part of the conversation.”5Support career progressionDespite the head-spinning number of people leaving organizations daily, nearly half of employees would consider a position either at their current organization or at a new organization equally.6Many workers, though, are in the dark when it comes to when and where they might move internally or how the transfer may benefit their career goals, if they have even considered them.Career management software tools such as RightMap can help managers and HR professionals map out competencies and skills needed for each position in the organization to enhance visibility to internal career progression opportunities. Thereafter, they are able to benchmark their current workforce against these competencies and align employees with the roles that best match their skillsets. A number of these tools use artificial intelligence technologies to help pave career paths for employees, which is especially challenging in large organizations where opportunities can be difficult to identify. The process may involve self-assessments, the exploration of open positions that align with an employee’s skills, and the determination of necessary training to ensure the employee is well-positioned to move forward.Stretch your team through upskillingWriter and poet William Butler Yeats once said, “Education is not the filling of a pot but the lighting of a fire.” Leaders should embrace this kind of passion for learning when structuring career training programs, as it’s clear that upskilling and reskilling talent pays off. While 93% of CEOs who introduce upskilling programs see increased productivity and retention,747% of employees say they spend less than 3 hours a month training. In fact, most feel that they could benefit from much more.8As hybrid work environments continue to increase in popularity, technology is becoming more vital to providing flexible, on-demand training employees can benefit from at a time and location that works best for them. It is essential for training programs to not only guide employees through everyday situations in which they need direction but also to prepare them for stretch assignments that take them outside their comfort zone.Dropbox, a leading global cloud storage and collaboration platform with over 500 million registered users across 180 countries, has developed a collaborative work environment that is constantly upskilling and reskilling its team members. The company created Hack Week, which allows team members to drop their regular work and pursue another professional or personal interests for an entire week. According to Giancarlo Lionetti, Head of Digital Demand Generation at Dropbox, the program has gained enormous traction with employees. “Seeing the company grow has been awesome, but I’ve also seen myself grow since I’ve been here- whether by learning from other Dropboxers or expanding within my role.”9Learn more about how the right technologies can benefit your career development strategy and positively impact retention by visiting ManpowerGroup’s Workforce Career Management.

​Monday has a reputation problem. Even if you absolutely love your career, making the transition from your own weekend schedule to getting up early and commuting back to the office can feel like a chore. But there are small ways to make a Monday mood better, or at least more bearable. Here are tips to starting your week on the right foot and avoid a case of "the Mondays." Keep a regular sleep cycle Your mind may know the difference between weekdays and weekend, but your body doesn’t. Your circadian rhythm will try to keep any routine you train it to follow. If you sleep late for two days on the weekends, don’t be surprised if it’s harder to get to sleep on Sunday night and you feel groggy on Monday morning. Keep a regular sleep schedule on the weekends and it will be easier to get up when your alarm goes off on Monday morning. Start in the middle After the weekend, sometimes the hardest part of Monday is knowing where to start. You can help yourself on Friday by ending at a stopping point that will be easy to pick up on Monday. Leave yourself a post-it note on your monitor to remind yourself exactly where to start. Clean your desk Instead of working right up until the weekend, spend a half hour before you leave work on Friday to clean and organize. Purge what you don’t need anymore, file away what you want to keep and make sure your workspace is ready to jump in on Monday morning. Your future self will thank you. Treat yourself What people like about Fridays is the anticipation of the weekend. It’s having something to look forward to that gives people a boost when they head to work. You can use the same principle for Monday and plan on a reward for starting your week. This can be something small like planning to have your favorite specialty coffee drink or going out to eat after work. The anticipation of a reward will help you approach the day with a more positive attitude. 

Yet the quietness of holidays can also present an opportunity to be productive, finish projects and get a jump on work before everyone returns. Here are tips to staying productive through the end of the calendar year to make a strong start for after the holidays.Start with the hard tasksAll your meetings are canceled and projects aren’t due until later. With all that extra time, you may give yourself permission to “productively” procrastinate by seeing what’s in your inbox. Next thing you know, you have 50 tabs open, it’s lunchtime and you don’t have anything tangible to show for your morning. Instead, set a schedule and start with something you need to get done. Catching up with email can wait until later.Get organizedYou know the huge stack of papers and emails you’ve been avoiding for weeks? Now is the time to dive in, delete, file and recycle. Nothing makes you feel more ready to take on big projects like a clean and organized workspace.Set a timer for regular breaksWithout a full slate of meetings, you may find yourself fixated on the same task. While this may allow you to accomplish a lot on one project, it’s also healthy to take a break and allow time to gain perspective. Set a timer to work on one project for 25-30 minutes and remind yourself to take a break.Reflect on the yearPerformance reviews aren’t the only time you should reflect on your work. As the end of the year approaches, take time to write down what you thought went well, what you wish you could improve, and what you want to do once the busy season starts up again. Embrace the downtime to look inward, not just outward.Make connectionsNow take a break— with others. Seek out the small group who is still in the office to make more meaningful connections than when the office is busier. Go out to lunch together, spend more time at the water cooler or start a happy hour. You’ve earned it.Want to give yourself the gift that keeps giving? Be productive this holiday season. Your future self will thank you for the present.

​This personal virtue is more than simply something to remember around the holidays, however. Research also shows that kindness can also offercompetitive advantagesfor your career. Here are reasons –beyond just being a good person –to increase your kindness.Effective leaders are likeableKindness is aleadership trait. Those who reach high levels in an organization don’t get there by being cold and difficult. In asurvey of 51,836 leaders, a tiny percentage –just one in every 2,000 –were rated at the bottom quartile in terms of likability but in the top quartile in terms of overall leadership effectiveness. Be kind and likable to be a leader.Kindness is linked to creativityCreativity is a competitive edge for employees, and it doesn’t happen by accident.Multiple studiesshow that “respectfully engaging with other organizational members can augment creativity for individuals and teams.” Being kind to your colleagues – or what researchers call “respectful engagement” – is related to creative behavior at both the individual and team levels. Creativity, in turn, is a crucial soft skill that will help keep you relevant as the world of work changes. Your reputation is your resumeKindness isn’t just a one-time act. Over time, how you treat othersbuilds a reputation. A way to develop a bad reputation at work is to take credit for another person’s work and being difficult to work with. Giving credit where it is due, recognizing others and being kind will become an extension of your resume. Kindness attracts othersThe easiest way to turn off an employer? Being a jerk. Even entrepreneurs who have had a history of bluntness and difficulty have had a change of heart about the effectiveness of being a kinder person.  As Mark Cuban admitted, "people hate dealing with people who are jerks," Cubanwrote in a 2014 Entrepreneur article.Kindness is its own reward – but it also can provide more. Be kind, and you might also be hired and be promoted. 

​The impact of tech means that soft skills are more important than ever – which means that skills you already have may be more useful than you realized. While all skills need update, there are certain core soft skills that can transfer from one role to the next and have a lasting impact over time.As technology transforms organizations, skill needs are changing rapidly, and companies are struggling to find the talent they need. ManpowerGroup's report —Robots Need Not Apply: Human Solutions in the Skills Revolution— surveyed 20,000 employers across 42 countries on the impact of automation, and found that soft skills that are of greatest value are the hardest to find.Developing soft skills can have an immediate and long-term impact on your career. The soft skills employers want most are communication, collaboration and problem solving, according to ManpowerGroup’s 2018 Talent Shortage Survey.When considering professional development, here are soft skills that everyone should add or refine in their repertoire.CreativityOne of the ways to differentiate yourself is to become the person known for generating the greatest and most creative ideas for problem solving. This process shouldn’t be viewed as another thing to add to an already over-scheduled day but viewed as a means to create a competitive advantage.Follow this modelfor producing ideas to make the creative process more accessible.PresenceIn terms of communications skills, a sense of presence includes the gravitas of how you behave or act, how you speak and how you present yourself. These areskills that can be learned and developed. Seeking coaching and solid skill building in personal career management can guide and support leaders in building executive presence in a way that compels people to follow you, which increases your ability to collaborate.LearnabilityNew problems will arise as the digital landscape continues to change how we work. In order to meet these new challenges, learnability is necessary.Learnabilityis the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout careers. Ask yourself, when was the last time you read something from an unusual perspective? When have you taken the time to wrap your head around a new industry? When have you engaged in conversation on a subject outside your comfort zone? To keep your learnability skill sharp, take the time to find unfamiliar topics and dig beneath the surface.For those wishing to move up in their career, soft skills are critical. Even though they’re not the skills added to a resume, they undergird and complement all other abilities. Embrace them, and they’ll continue to benefit you throughout a career.

​Nearly half of employers today say they can’t find the skills they need, according to ManpowerGroup research. This shortage presents an opportunity for employees and job seekers, who can step into new roles with the right approach. Here’s how to cultivate a career move using the strategies aligning with how organizations are finding talent.Build: Grow from withinOrganizations are developing talent in-house, which means opportunities to expand roles into new areas. Employers are emphasizing that continuous learning is essential for individuals to keep growing in their roles, and better grow with the organization. For employees, this requiresembracing learnabilityand a growth mindset. The role that you find yourself in an organization may be very different tomorrow than it is today.Buy: Sell your skillsIt’s a simple law of supply and demand. Due to the shortage, employers are attracting employees with competitive wages, perks or other benefits will allow organizations to buy talent. Those who are looking to make a move now have better options at different organizations. To maximize marketability, job seekers can work on selling themselves through means of their resume, LinkedIn, networking and applying for new roles.Borrow: Lend your talentThe “side hustle” is becoming both a resume builder and supply of extra income for the next generation. Both workers and organizations are increasingly turning to flexible employment opportunities including part-time, freelance, contract and temporary workers. As organizations cultivate workers inside and outside of the company, employees can take advantage of the gig economy by fitting into flexible opportunities.Bounce: Make the leapBouncing can mean leaping up in an organization. In today’s changing landscape, agility is needed to consider how someone’s skills can be moved around inside the same organization, or in another role in a new company. For employees, this means identifying their adjacent skills to see how they can adapt to new roles.Today’s organizations are building, buying, borrowing and bouncing talent to fit their needs. If employees are aware of these trends, they can take advantage and accelerate their careers.

You get an email from a recruiter wanting to know if you’re interested in an attractive new role for you. However, the email also includes several terms and requirements –and you’re not exactly sure what they mean. Use this glossary of recruiting terms to familiarize yourself with terminology that you may hear in career-related conversations. Assessment Before moving forward with an interview or offer, a recruiter may ask you to take an assessment. What makes you valuable? And what distinguishes you from your peers? Essentially, what is your value proposition? To answer any of these questions, you first have to assess your strengths through assessment. Today, there is a plethora of online tools at your fingertips to help you assess your skills and learning style, including your Learnability Quotient. Learnability Quotient (LQ) reflects your desire and ability to grow and adapt to new circumstances and challenges throughout your work life. Soft skills A recruiter can look at your resume, but knowing what soft skills it doesn’t necessarily reflect can be just as valuable to placing you in a new role. These are all just some of the personal attributes that indicate a high level of emotional and personal intelligence, also known as soft skills. They include communicating, critical thinking, meeting deadlines, being well-organized, collaborating and the ability to analyze and innovate. Employers are seeking these skills more than ever as they are broadly applicable across job titles, industries and changing times. Soft skills can also be developed and grown. Expectations It’s common for a recruiter to ask about your salary expectations. But expectations for a new role may go beyond money, including what kind of career coaching ar offered for employees. To succeed in today’s workforce, you need to continue learning and growing your skills. Successful companies recognize that they also play a part in building successful careers, which benefits them in the long run. Start a career conversation by letting them know that you understand your success translates into their success. ​When a recruiter first makes contact with you, it’s important to open the lines of communication. Make sure you both understand what is being discussed. If you’re not clear about anything, make sure to ask. It’s best to do that at the beginning of the process.

LinkedIn may be the first social network most people think of when it comes to a job search. However, branding through social media can take place on any platform, from Instagram to Twitter. For job seekers, here are tips to maximize positive exposure through strategically using social media channels.Complete a social media auditFirst, scan the landscape of your social media footprint and take note of all the places where you show up. Are your social media profiles public or private? Did you stop updating your blog years ago? Do you post content that shows your talents or interests? These are questions you should have in mind when you start combing through your online presence. Consider what your social media profiles say about you to someone who has never met you and if you are satisfied with the picture it portrays.Optimize your profilesNext, take action. You may want to make certain profiles private, create secondary accounts or start purposefully sharing content that matches the job you are seeking. Here are tips to tidy up your social media profile for a job search.Reach out to others – when relevantWhat’s the etiquette for social media messages regarding a job search? It’s no different than using any other channel. A personal message to someone who can help make a connection or introduction can be welcome – as long as it’s relevant and doesn’t come across as spam. Do your research prior to firing off a direct message to show that you’re interested in talking to this person specifically, rather than spamming your network.Grow professionally using social mediaWhether a job search is active or passive, social media can always be leveraged to grow, learn and make ongoing connections. For example, YouTube is a trove of tutorial videos that can teach coding skills, networking tips or countless other important career skills. Instead of wasting time on social media, use it for your professional advantage.Social media is just one tool in a job search, so don’t only post or tweet at the expense of networking, polishing your resume and developing your career. But combining traditional career advancement with social media can accelerate your job track.

As COVID-19 recovery continues, those who are still working from home are best served by making some upgrades or changes to their routines.For many workers suddenly shifting from home, any space from the kitchen table to a spare bedroom would do. Now as the pandemic-induced spike in working remotely goes beyond temporary, here is how to organize a home workspace to optimize productivity. Speed up your wifiHas your internet speed slowed to a crawl with the stress of Teams calls, multiple devices and virtual learning happening at the same time? There are steps you can take so you won’t have to wait painfully like the days of dial-up. Talk to your organization about helping make investments in a home office, which could includeupgrading and customizing your network.Set up boundariesWhen you work from home, it can sometimes feel like you live at work. Having ready access to work can provide flexibility, but it can also create an always-on mentality that can lead to burn out. Remember to set up boundaries to designate a workspace with a living space, whether that’s a physical environment or a set time to step away from a workspace. You can even put up a sign or a post-it reminder at a boundary that outside these parameters, you are off duty.    Designate work devicesWhile working from home, it can help create a more work-like environment with specific devices that are devoted to only to work. For example, an author might have a low-cost Chromebook that only includes the files to their book without web browsers or other apps that have distractions. Especially for bigger assignments, this can help put everything in one place while minimizing the digital distractions of what else might be on your laptop or phone. Go on the gridThere’s no way we could do our work without interacting with others, but sometimes that interaction in person or virtually can be detrimental to productivity. This is especially true if it’s a significant other or family member that needs something. When you need to really focus, put an in-the-office message on your chair or workspace to let others know you are unavailable -- the WFH equivalent of an out-of-office responder.  Any home office is a balance between flexibility and productivity. Give yourself permission to adjust that equation as needed, and your workspace will benefit you in the long term.

The ability to project manage, relate to colleagues, speak in public and other human skills will be consistently relevant over time.Soft skills pay. More than half (56%) of employers say communication skills, written and verbal, are their most valued human strengths followed by collaboration and problem-solving, according to the global Talent Shortage Survey. These soft skills will help your career both in the short and long term.Whether you are looking for a job or want to move up, mastering the soft skills will help. Here’s how to polish these necessary elements. Nurture your creative side One of the ways to differentiate yourself is to become the person known for generating the greatest and most creative ideas. This process shouldn’t be viewed as another thing to add to an already over-scheduled day, but viewed as a means to create a competitive advantage. Follow this model for producing ideas to make the creative process more accessible.Be accountable You can measure your progress by meeting with your manager and asking to keep you accountable for your soft skill growth. For example, you may ask your manager to rate you on your leadership ability before and after you join committees at work. Having this external measure at the end of a development cycle will help keep you motivated and accountable.Practice Learnability New problems will arise as the digital landscape continues to change how we work. In order to meet these new challenges, learnability is necessary. Learnability is the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout careers. Ask yourself, when was the last time you read something from an unusual perspective? When have you taken the time to wrap your head around a new industry? To keep your learnability skill sharp, take the time to find unfamiliar topics and dig beneath the surface. Finally, go back to the beginning when you checked all these boxes. Mastering soft skills isn’t a one-time task. Keep going. 

​​The path to so-called “hard skills” is often clear: Get a degree or certification and you’re suddenly qualified with a new line on your resume. Then there are less clear milestones such as learning to plan a long-term project, negotiate with clients or give a clear presentation. Fortunately, there are concrete ways to cultivate soft skills for the Skills Revolution.Start with specificsMany New Year’s Resolutions fail because they are too ambiguous, such as the goal of getting in shape. What, specifically, do you want? At work, make a list of potential soft skills you need such as interpersonal communication, leadership and personal branding. Then drill down to make it specific. For example, focus on interpersonal skills in a specific way by providing written feedback for colleagues in project meetings.Don’t do too much too soonTo go back to the New Year’s Resolution analogy, another pitfall is trying to do it all. Maybe you want to lose weight and travel more, two goals which may cancel each other out. The same is true of soft skills at work. For example, if your goal is to become a dynamic public speaker, you may want to wait on the next goal of providing better interpersonal feedback, which takes a different ability.Make it measurableMeasuring a goal can take the form of both inputs and outputs. If your goal is to improve your leadership throughout your organization, for example, you may make a goal of joining three volunteer committees. That’s an input metric. Then how do you know if you’re making progress through that action? That takes the next step, output metrics.Set accountabilityOutput metrics are often associated with 360s and performance reviews, which play a part in developing your soft skills. But you can also create your own output metrics by meeting with your manager and asking her to keep you accountable. For example, you may ask your manager to rate you on your leadership ability before and after you join three committees at work. Having this external measure at the end of a development cycle will help keep you motivated and accountable.Finally, go back to the beginning when you have finished this cycle. Skills in demand from employers, and your ability to develop these talents are crucial to advancement

How Can I Improve My Job Skills? ​Upskilling and adapting to a fast-changing world of work is the defining challenge of our time. Here’s how you can keep your job skills up to date as the work world evolves. ​​​Learning and improving your job skills shouldn’t end after you’re hired. Improving your job skills through learnability is a career-long process. Whether you’re looking to learn a new digital tool, pick up transferable skills or hone your soft skills, you can always keep improving. Here are some tips for going above and beyond. ​​​Visit your library ​One thing successful people have in common: They read. A lot. Whether you crack open a book or listen to an audio version, you can constantly keep learning from the experts in any field. Need somewhere to start? This list will give you books for CEOs, entrepreneurs, history buffs and more. ​​​Listen to podcasts ​You have access to a huge free professional development library on your phone, which can enrich your commute or other down time. You can listen to through Apple podcasts or any podcast listening app like Stitcher, Spotify or Soundcloud. Search for keywords in your industry to find relevant subject matter, or you can even try your own at developing a podcast to help you become an industry thought leader with free tools like Anchor.fm. ​​​Talk with your manager ​Do you know what skills you need to develop? If not, ask. A new employee has a learning journey, and so does someone who has been at the organization for 10 or 20 years. A manager can help employees understand where they are in the learning journey for their career. In the short term and the long run, that benefits everyone. ​​​Join industry associations ​The best industry associations offer many practical benefits including certification, conferences, webinars, networking events and job boards. Industry associations often commission industry research, so members can keep up with trends that are likely to shape the industry. All these benefits are important to anyone looking for a job. Look into joining a recognized industry association to stay current with your job skills. ​​​No matter what work you do, continuing education is vital to advancing your career. Employers are looking for candidates with skills and adaptability for this changing environment.

​“Schooling doesn't assure employment but skill does.”― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words​Pay attention to the news stories about the hiring challenges facing companies around the world and a common narrative emerges. Loads of jobs, in virtually every industry, but a lack of talent hampering recruiting efforts. ​And the situation appears even more daunting in the tech sector given the competition for talent. Why? Because every company is now a tech/digital company. If they hadn’t already, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated efforts to adopt and deploy new technologies to help businesses pivot and stay afloat over the last year and a half. ​​According to our latest report, Stack It Up: Tech Skills in Demand, we found tech-related jobs make up more than 50% of the top 20 in-demand roles. Some examples of the most in-demand tech jobs include: ​Data analysts and scientists AI and machine learning specialists Big data specialists Digital marketing and strategy specialists Digital transformation specialists Information security analysts Software and application developers Database and network professionals ​While the search for qualified talent checking those skills’ boxes is ongoing, and an uphill battle, getting talent with the necessary tech skills is just one side of the coin. ​It’s not enough to just have the right technical skills anymoreThose roles are in demand at companies across a variety of sectors, from financial and professional services to healthcare to retail and e-commerce, government to logistics, advanced manufacturing, and more, and job functions. And when you couple that with the growing need for human soft skills to effectively execute these roles, demand for talent is going to continue to skyrocket and finding the right combo of skills is increasingly competitive. Some of the top soft skills that are desired are:  Analytical thinking and innovation Active learning Complex problem solving Critical thinking and analysis Creativity Leadership and social influence Resilience/stress tolerance/flexibility Reasoning/problem solving/ideation Emotional intelligence Persuasion and negotiationAs tech evolves towards 5G driven by the rapid rise in remote and mobile work, and demand for cybersecurity and cloud engineering continues at pace, the future profile of talent is morphing. ​​Two-thirds (64%)of companies do not have the skills required to implement their digital transformation strategy and capitalize on growth potential. What’s an organization to do?​​Build, Buy, Borrow and Bridge Changing workforce dynamics and the acceleration of tech adoption are forcing organizations across all industries to redesign their workforce composition and rethink their skills mix. Companies want to be employers of choice, achieve the first-mover advantage on scarce and in-demand talent, and ensure a durable competitive edge in the market.​Companies must develop sophisticated, competitive workforce strategies to Build, Buy, Borrow and Bridge to ensure they have the specialized IT talent and increasingly in-demand skills their organizations need. What do the 4 B’s entail? We’re glad you asked:​BUILD- Invest in learning and development to grow your tech talent pipelineBUY- Go to external market to find the best tech talent that cannot be built in-house in the timeframe requiredBORROW- Cultivate tech talent outside the organization, including part-time, freelance, contract and temporary workers to complement existing and emerging skillsBRIDGE - Help people move on and move up to take on new tech roles and acquire new technical and soft skills inside or outside the organizationHow Experis can helpTo maximize the return on digital investments companies need a forward-looking skills agenda: infusing a digital mindset in the workforce and making technical and soft skills development the focus of training and hiring programs.  ​As a global leader in IT professional resourcing, project solutions, and managed services specializing in Business Transformation, Cloud and Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Digital Workspace and Enterprise Applications, Experis supports companies to build a skilled talent pipeline with the powerful combination of in-demand technical and soft skills that are critical for business success. ​Our team has the data, insight and expertise to bridge the tech talent and skills gap with leading IT professional staffing (permanent and contract), innovative training and data-driven workforce solutions. ​​To learn more about Experis, visit: www.experis.com.id​

​Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, soft skills had been growing in demand to fill new roles that complement automation and new kinds of work. Today, that acceleration has only magnified the need for businesses to hire for, train and cultivate the right kind of skills among their workforces.According to new ManpowerGroup research, a K-shaped, two-speed recovery is emerging. Some industries and people are bouncing back faster and better – those in growth sectors and with high demand skills –while others are at risk of falling further behind. By 2025, humans and machines will split work-related tasks 50-50, while 97 million new jobs will emerge in AI, the Green economy and Care economy.1As the workforce moves quickly into a new chapter in the digital era, here are soft skills that employers today need most.Collaboration, communication and teamworkDrawing on multiple people’s talents from diverse backgrounds is the best way to foster the creativity and innovation needed to find solutions to today’s complex challenges. This includes the soft skills of being able to connect people between a variety of styles, generations and work environments. And, as the business environment becomes more complex and flexible work arrangements continue, effective communication skills will be even more essential. The collaborative nature of leaders and workers will be able to add value and glue together disparate elements to create more than the sum of their parts.Critical thinking and analysisComputers can generate big data. Spreadsheets can help analyze numbers. Machines can help automate responses and generate outcomes. But at the end of the day, humans are still needed to see the big picture, communicate effectively, incorporate data, feedback and insights to solve problems and make sound decisions. When there isn’t always a clear road map, the ability to think holistically and consider long-term implications is essential.Leadership and influenceWith uncertainty the norm, organizations need employees who can effectively navigate challenging environments, motivate teams and produce results. That is why transparency, resilience, and optimism are such essential traits of today’s leader.​While automation is augmenting work, effective teamwork and collaboration among humans will only increase in importance. A leader must, therefore, possess the interpersonal skills to guide and motivate teams to deliver results even in the midst of change and ambiguity.​Having the right soft skills will be even more essential as organizations transform and digitize at speed and scale. The biggest challenge, however, will be to bring all people on this transformation so that nobody is left behind.​Download the report, Skills Revolution Reboot: The 3Rs - Renew, Reskill, Redeploy for more insights on today’s soft skills and how to assess for them.1 The Future of Jobs Report 2020. World Economic Forum, October 2020.

​​Moving from college to the workplace traditionally requires major adjustments, including acquiring new skills on the job and learning to balance independent projects. Right now, economic and public health uncertainty only adds to the stress on college graduates. But stepping back, slowing down and taking concrete steps can help mitigate anxieties and improve your outlook. Here are ways to help navigate the unchartered waters. ​Build a mentor relationship In college, students can easily stop by a professor’s office hours or book an appointment with your academic advisor or job counselor. The same principles of mentorship are just as important to getting started in the workplace. After you graduate, you have to be more proactive about securing your own mentor. Having a mentor will enable you to learn what employers expect from new grads and you can use the information to make yourself job ready, and also help find new opportunities in sectors that are hiring. ​Take a skills inventory Does your resume reflect all that you are capable of accomplishing? Make sure that you reflect not just your major and hard skills, but also soft skills like learnability that shows you can make adjustments during turbulent periods. Research from ManpowerGroup has concluded that 65% of the jobs Generation Z will perform do not even exist yet, and right now is certainly a time of disruption and change. Show how your past has prepared you for a future that is evolving and being invented in front of us. ​Be open to new forms of work Look beyond the full-time permanent roles. In some sectors, hiring is ramping up right now for temporary or short-term work. Taking a temporary job to help meet demand may provide an in to a company, or an end in itself. Today, nearly 9 in 10 workers are open to NextGen work– part-time, contingent, contract, freelance or temporary. As younger workers bring tech-savvy skills to the workplace, new graduates can turn to flexible employment opportunities where it is needed most. ​Reach out to help others Right now, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision with respect to your own needs. No one will blame you for that. But many others are going through the same uncertainty, and seeking ways to help is not a zero-sum game. Over time, how you treat others builds a reputation. Recognizing others need assistance, offering to be of service through small acts like proofing someone else’s resume or sending an email with encouragement will become an extension of your resume. Do it for its own reward, and it’s likely to help deepen and expand your network as well. ​After years of being in the school system, it will take new grads time to transition to a new world –– and that’s never been true more than now. For college graduates, it’s important to be patient, keep being productive where you can be, and keep the faith. 

​​Having a plan for your career was important before the pandemic – and it’s even more critical now as companies are adapting and accelerating changes throughout their organizations. Do you know where you are headed? Below are steps you can take to develop a plan for the next months, years or decades of their careers.Know your skills and strengthsFirst, take a skills inventory to know your strengths and where they could apply in the future. Many soft skills like communication, creativity and leadership that helped you in a previous or current role can be transferred to future opportunities. To help with this process, use an outside resource that can help spot hidden strengths. The SkillsInSight tool, for example, is a free and short assessment that you can take to receive immediate feedback on what your personality traits say about your strengths and opportunities in the workforce. Have career conversationsThe organization you work for should seek to help you on your journey, whether that means developing hard skills or soft skills to take the next leap. Schedule conversations with your manager to discuss how they can assist. You can also check with your HR department to see what virtual tools or career growth classes they may offer, or if they provide tuition remission or other assistance to take ongoing education. Make your goals and plans known to those in the organization so they can help you succeed.Know your career optionsDo you want to seek out a new responsibility in your organization, and redeploy new skills to help colleagues? Or do you have an eye on a new kind of role in a different organization? Or are you excited to explore new emerging digital jobs that may not even exist yet? In any event, do research to see what options may exist in your immediate vicinity or beyond, and consider how they fit your short- and long-term career goals.No matter where you are in your career, taking the time to consider what you really want is an important strategy amid an ongoing crisis. Start planning today, and you give yourself the opportunity to reach where you really want to find yourself in the future. 

​​If you are a recent graduate, now is the time to work on refining certain skills to help your transition to the workplace.​This summer, a new group of ambitious college graduates will hit the job market. Along with their energy and enthusiasm also comes inexperience. Here are the top communication skills that employers want to see from new grads. ​Listen, listen, listenWhen you are just starting out, you should listen more than you talk. Really hear what the other person is saying, instead of formulating your response. Ask for clarification to avoid misunderstandings. The person speaking to you should be the most important person. Don’t multitask. This means that if you are speaking to someone on the phone, do not respond to an email, or send a text at the same time. ​Be clear and concise Maybe every once in a while, on occasion it could be said that a college student filled a 20-page paper will a few filler words to meet a minimum word count. In the business setting, however, time is money. Getting to the point in a presentation or meeting is a premium communication skill. Work on clearly articulating your point in a concise and direct manner.​Project management skills In college, a big project rarely lasted longer than a semester, and usually were much shorter. But in the workplace, you are often expected to juggle multiple projects that can last six months, a year or longer. Set several milestone goals, check in on progress regularly, get feedback, and use the resources of others around you. Practice the art of meetings Meetings in an office are also different than the group meetings or the dorms at college. To respect others’ time, always send out an agenda before the meeting, giving participants enough time to prepare. At the start of the meeting, establish the ground rules for communicating, and any other expectations. Finally, send meeting minutes to those who participated or who will be affected by what was discussed. ​​Organizations know that it will take time for new graduates to get acclimated to their new work environment. That’s also a two-way street. Spend time getting up to speed in your communication practices, and the transition will be smoother for everyone. ​

After a setback or mistake at work, at one time or another, we have all questioned our abilities or if we were in the right role. But it’s important to consider the big picture and get stronger from setbacks. Here are questions to ask, ways to learn from your mistakes and come back stronger. Determine your core strengthsDo you feel like your work is an effective use of your talents – or are you lacking in a key skill? This may seem overly basic, but for a variety of reasons sometimes your skills aren’t where you can best align them in your role. You may have missed the mark if you didn’t have the proper training, support or understanding of your role. Talk with your supervisor to learn exactly what you need to succeed, and where you can grow. Take pride in your workEvery job has elements that can feel like chores. But take a deeper look if this is a temporary unpleasantness or a systematic problem. Many successful projects will have trial and error or even failure built in on the path toward meaningful changes. Ask yourself at the end of the day, where can you reflect on your work and have a sense of pride in your accomplishments and what you’ve produced for the world?Find support from mentorsEveryone has their own examples of coming up short, and often that’s people on your own team who can relate most to the same type of mistakes. Lean into these relationships when you need them and ask for support. A robust support system can help you get through frustrations and setbacks, and one of the best indicators of job satisfaction is the relationships you build with colleagues, bosses and others at your work.Focus on what you can controlWith setbacks, there can be factors outside of your control. But you will be more resilient if you focus on what you can control, such as upskilling, growing and improving. Learnability is the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout our careers. To keep that skill sharp, ask yourself what a setback can teach you, and what you can learn. After a setback, the key is to continue to understand what happened and adapt. Look to the future, understand that mistakes will happen, and make the experience a catalyst for becoming better.

​​Grateful people are successful people.“Gratitude is the ultimate performance-enhancing substance at work,” says Professor Robert Emmons, a gratitude researcher and professor of psychology at UC Davis.Employees who excel at work don’t wait for something good to happen to be thankful; it’s often the other way around. To get yourself on the gratitude track, here are ways to increase gratitude in the workplace.Notice the small thingsAt the end of the work day, make a list of three things that went right. Even if it was a challenging day, anyone can find three positives, such as finishing an important email, booking a meeting or committing to taking a lunch break. Put this in a prominent place at your desk where you’ll see it when you arrive the next day. Be thankful for small wins and use the moment to start the day with momentum.Compliment a colleagueIt’s easy to get wrapped up in our routine and challenges we face. But even when you’re busy – and especially when you’re busy – pausing to notice the accomplishments of a colleague and thank them will lighten your load. When you pay attention to catch your co-workers doing something right, you’re less likely to negatively stew over your problems. The positivity will be reflected back on your mood and productivity.Write simple thank you notesYou don’t have to make a big show of gratitude. A simple post-it-note that’s left on your monitor or on a colleague’s desk will do the job just fine. It’s not the stationary that counts – it’s the thought.Create a digital gratitude folderWhen you get an email that means a lot to you, don’t delete it or let it sit in your inbox. Instead, start a gratitude email folder for compliments and projects you’ve accomplished. Scroll through it on days when you need the extra boost.Gratitude takes work, but it’s worth it. Being mindful of what’s right can help build momentum into a beneficial upward cycle. Thanks for reading – now pass it on.