What is the most important job skill in the market today?
May 14, 2015, 3:53 PM | Updated: 3:54 pm
This is the story that YOU wanted to hear us talk about! It received 45 percent of the vote in our Radioactive poll!
Good news for those still trying to decipher tricky computer systems or memorize marginalized skills to enter the workforce — you don’t need that knowledge anymore!
Well, not exactly, but employers have pinpointed a skill that is more valuable than any hard skill out there, according to Yahoo Finance. Jody Greenstone Miller, CEO of Business Talent Group, said there is one skill that employers value more than any type of technical knowledge: Agility.
“Someone who’s moved around and been able to be successful quickly, that is going to be the most important skill,” she said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “Someone who can go in, figure it out, and add value is going to be very valuable.”
Today, the average 50-year-old worker has held about 11 jobs over their lifetime. Many younger workers are even more mobile, since they do not tend to commit to an employer as long.
Employers suggest improving agility by being selective about the kind of work an employee would choose, even if that means a gap occurs between paid assignments. Agile professionals prepare for these gaps by living below their means and saving up for slow income periods.
Miller said employees are in charge of their own destiny in the workforce, often being marked as their own boss.
“Twenty years ago, you’d go to a company and they’d tell you your [career] route,” she said. “Today, it’s on you.”
