India, 8 November 2022 –Hirect India, the leading direct hiring platform has conducted research to identify the most sought-after soft skill requirements among organizations and recruiters in 2022. The study gathered data from over 2.5 lakh job postings on the platform to objectively determine the most demanded soft skills. The recently released survey includes hiring trends and insights across the industry. Let’s have a closer look at the survey.
The Survey’s Findings
The survey has ensured that the data has been driven from over 2.5 lakh active job listings, and from more than 3M job seekers to identify any gap between the skills of today’s job seekers and the skills sought by recruiters.
Here are some key findings from the survey:
- The most desirable soft skills among recruiters are communication and sales
- Less than 4 percent of recruiters prefer people management as a soft skill
- The survey reveals that less than 5.7 percent are interested in job seekers with solely creativity as a soft skill
- Recruiter value negotiation, team handling, and interpersonal skills in their candidates
Recruiters Are Prioritizing Communication and Sales Skills
According to the survey, 57% of job positions posted on Hirect in 2022 have strong communication and sales skill requirements. Recruiters expect their candidates to have a strong command of the language along with selling skills. This suggests that organizations might be attempting to expand their middle-level management and build their sales force to increase revenue. Consequently, jobseekers equipped with good communication skills and experience with sales are in high demand.
Since sales as a soft skill already require good communication skills, the report further identifies that recruiters are also prioritizing the hiring of candidates that possess strong negotiation, team handling, and interpersonal skills.
The survey also suggests that the most commonly emphasized soft skills among job seekers are in order – communication, leadership, relationship management, sales, and problem-solving.
People management is currently the least preferred soft skill among recruiters with less than 4% of recruiters dedicatedly searching for people who possess this skill. On the other hand, the least mentioned soft skill highlighted by the survey with less than 5.7% of job seekers is creativity.
Addressing the Shift in Recruiters’ Expectations of Candidates’ Soft Skills In 2022
While numerous soft skills have been prioritized by recruiters in 2022, the demand for each has fluctuated over these two quarters. According to recent data, during the initial months of 2022, recruiters preferred to have candidates primarily equipped with exemplary communication skills. However, in Q2 of 2022, there is a shift in preference regarding candidates’ soft skills. Recruiters are aggressively hiring specifically for candidates with exceptional sales skills.
“This survey will help educate job seekers about the recent trends and shifts in demand for certain soft skills. It helped us in determining which soft skills organizations prioritize in their workforce. Additionally, it is also the platform to understand the disparity that exists between the skills that job seekers possess and the ones that are in demand.” said Mr. Raj Das, Global Co-Founder and CEO of Hirect India.
