Skills for 2020

Comprehensive details about new demands of skills which can get you hired in 2020.

It’s 2020 and the new decade demands new skills. Self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, quantum computing — these are no longer the fantasies of sci-fi authors or Hollywood directors. This is the reality of our future, and the future is almost here! In order, to cater to these growing technological advancements and changing business dynamics, requires that prospective candidates cater to skill demand of the market.

Even after graduating from top institutes, students are failing to meet the expectations of the corporate market. This may be because, by scoring good grades in academics, students are able to get degrees, but they fail to learn real-life skills required by employers.

However, this does not mean that doors to learn are closed for students. There are many platforms available online and many resources available in the market which can help to learn these skills and get them ready for the job market. Here, follows the top 5 soft and 5 hard skills you should learn to increase your employability in 2020 along with guidelines to learn them:

Soft Skills

1. Creativity: Creativity is predicted to become a key skill in the future, so before you dismiss yourself as ‘non-creative’ person, remember that creativity is a non- exclusive domain of artists. If you are able to connect the dots with seeming disparate information and throw all ideas together to present something ‘new’ then you are a creative person. Some free courses from Linkedin Learning can help you in enhancing these skills: Banish your inner critic to unleash creativity, Creativity for All, Creative Exercises to Spark Original Thinking 
2. Negotiation: Reaching to the desired agreement without any argument or dispute is the key element of negotiation skill. Most people often fail to make an agreement that they want to, because they lack in negotiation skills. They cannot argue with the people and then is bound to agree on what they say. Mastering this skill requires clarity of goals and proper presentation and discussion of ideas. This grows with practical experience, meeting and having conversations with people above your level. Online resource for learning this skill are Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills, Successful Negotiation: Master Your Negotiating Skills.
3. Collaboration: Coordinating with others is a part of people management. The success of a team highly depends on the coordination among its members. This skill improves when you first understand others and then get yourself understood. A team cannot win only by the effort of a single person. Therefore, in order to lead your team and achieve your common goals, you must master this skill. Key collaboration courses worth investing some time on include Being an Effective Team Member, Shane Snow on Dream Teams, and Teamwork Foundations.
4. Adaptability and Cognitive Flexibility: If you’re ‘not a creative type’, make it a point to learn an instrument, take up hip-hop dancing or try your hand at an art class. If you’ve got the soul of a creative, but your eyes glaze over when you hear words like ‘financial markets’ or ‘the economy’, make it your mission to read The Economist or The American Economic Review. Expand your interests, read outside your comfort zone, and embrace people who challenge your worldviews. Your career (and your brain) will thank you for it. Adaptability is a highly regarded skill in an ever-evolving business landscape. The ability to embrace change with a positive attitude and maintain professionalism in high-stress situations is highly valued. To enhance adaptability, there are various courses worth considering, including Managing Stress for Positive Change, Developing Adaptability as a Manager, and Finding Your Time Management Style.
5. Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to control and manage one’s own emotions and capability to control other’s emotions too. Success requires control i.e. control on one’s own mind. Mastering this skill is very important for your own personal growth. Before controlling other’s emotions, you need to first have control of your emotions. Only then you can influence others and have works done together. It is a very important skill in leadership. Developing Your Emotional Intelligence, Social Success at Work, and Influencing Others are some of the available free courses from LinkedIn Learning.

HARD SKILLS

1. BLOCKCHAIN: Blockchain was born in 2009 to support the use of cryptocurrency. But blockchain’s novel way to store, validate, authorize, and move data across the internet has evolved to securely store and send any digital asset. The small supply of professionals who have this skill are in high demand.  Courses from LinkedIn Learning designed to improve blockchain credentials include Blockchain Basics, Blockchain: Beyond the Basics, and Blockchain: Learning Solidity , Learning Blockchain.
2. CLOUD COMPUTING: Cloud computing was the number one hard skill in 2019 and has slipped position to number two. Still, there’s a lot of value tied to cloud computing, especially considering that Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect Certification is the highest-paying IT certification of 2019. Courses that can help bolster your cloud expertise include Learning Cloud Computing: Core Concepts, Azure Administration Essential Training, and Cloud Native Development With Node.js, Docker, and Kubernetes.
3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Artificial intelligence (AI) augments the capabilities of the human workforce. The people who can harness the power of AI, machine learning and natural language processing are the ones who will help organizations deliver more relevant, personalized, and innovative products and services.  AI can be transformative; it branches into various segments like machine learning (ML) and natural language processing that can streamline various processes and enhance businesses. Some useful courses to take include Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Machine Learning, Big Data in the Age of AI, and Introducing AI to Your Organization.
4. USER EXPERIENCE(UX)/DESIGN: UX Design is just a fancy way of saying user design, which is just another fancy way of saying that you understand what users want, then make designs look good based on what you learned. A UX designer’s job includes tasks like initial research, user testing, visual design, and usability testing. Improve your skills: Since UX Design typically means you need a product and users to refine your skills, it’s a little tough to do, but not impossible. Want to really impress employers? Try developing your own app, then using UX Design to test it before release.  Key courses to consider for UX design include Getting Started in User Experience, Learning Adobe XD, and Interaction Design: Software and Web Design Patterns.

One should be cautious and keep his options open to learn new skills developing with time because you will need more than the skills listed earlier. Alvin Toffler once said, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

I would also recommend reading a lot of books. Books are the best resources in terms of skills and building up the knowledge of the current scenario. You will accomplish a lot by reading for about an hour every day