In-demand skills you need to get hired in 2022.

1. Data science specialists: Analyze and manage big data while finding actionable insights or trends. 

• Top job titles: Data Scientist, Data Science Specialist, Data Management Analyst
  
• In-demand skills: creativity, time management, proactivity, data analysis and statistics, IT automation, and project management
   

2. Specialized engineers: Develop software, computer systems, applications, or websites. 

• Top job titles: Web Developer, Frontend Developer, Full Stack Engineer
  
• In-demand skills: creativity, adaptability, software development, IT automation, project management, strong, active communication
   

3. User experience professionals: Design digital and physical products that provide the best possible user interaction. 

• Top job titles: User Experience Designer, Product Designer, User Experience Researcher
• In-demand skills: adaptability, compliance and self-discipline, writing, IT automation, artificial intelligence
   

4. Experts in workplace diversity: Manage diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.

• Top job titles: Diversity Manager, Diversity Officer, Diversity Coordinator
• In-demand skills: virtual presence etiquette, conflict management, data analysis, strong, active communication, artificial intelligence, video and audio production
   

5. Digital content creators: Create digital content to attract and maintain target audiences. 

• Top job titles: Content Coordinator, Writing Consultant, Podcaster
• In-demand skills: creativity, time management, proactivity, data analysis and statistics, graphic design, project management
   

6. Digital marketing professionals: Promote products or brands on the internet. 

• Top job titles: Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Manager, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist
• In-demand skills: creativity, conflict management, virtual presence etiquette, data analysis and statistics, IT automation, project management 
   

7. Business development and sales professionals: Play an integral role in boosting the growth or revenue of a company by selling products and identifying strategic expansion opportunities.

• Top job titles: Sales Consultant, Sales Operations Assistant, Strategic Advisor
• In-demand skills: creativity, time management, proactivity, data analysis and statistics, IT automation, project management
   

8. Education professionals: Shape the minds of tomorrow’s job-seekers through innovative, technology-forward approaches to learning. 

• Top job titles: Teaching Assistant, Elementary School Teacher, Mathematics Tutor
• In-demand skills: creativity, strong, active communication, virtual presence etiquette, data analysis and statistics, graphic design, project management
   

9. Mental health specialist: Support others as they navigate the stresses of the modern world. Individuals in this line of work help people get back on track when they face mental health concerns, feel down, or lose their way. 

• Top job titles: Behavior Therapist, Mental Health Specialist, Psychotherapist
• In-demand skills: creativity, conflict management, digital marketing, sales, project management
   

10. Professional and personal coaches: Partner with clients and establish a process that inspires them to get the most out of their personal and work lives. 

• Top job titles: Career Coordinator, Life Coach, Business Coach 
• In-demand skills: strong, active communication, conflict management, project management, IT automation, artificial intelligence

4 tips to make yourself the dream candidate for your dream job.

Now that you have a better idea of what jobs are in demand, it’s time to get hired. Stand out from the competition during the job interview process by expanding your skill set in the following four ways:

1. Diversify your knowledge.
2. Expand your hard and soft skills.
3. Prepare while you’re getting an education.
4. Get your portfolio ready.

1. Diversify your knowledge.

A professional with diverse knowledge and skills can solve problems outside the normal scope of their designated role — giving them a significant competitive advantage. 89% of survey respondents said they believe they could receive more compensation if they better understood a diversity of complex skills, allowing them to gain a more holistic perspective of how their professional role fits into the overall company landscape.

For example, a software engineer who also possesses business development and sales skills could potentially get a salary increase by promoting their company’s digital products and earning commissions in addition to their everyday engineering tasks. In fact, they actually may do better than the traditional sales team since they have in-depth knowledge plus an alternate perspective of the products.

Among those surveyed, 31% estimated a potential 30% to 40% salary raise after attaining more skills. Having diverse knowledge and range of skills can lead to significantly more opportunities in the workplace, such as moving between different roles within a company or earning promotions at a faster rate.

Diversifying your knowledge doesn’t necessarily require taking extra classes. Take advantage of the endless online resources available today, including blogs, podcasts, webinars, and tutorials.

Sales professionals and people in the education industry, for example, can benefit from an understanding of graphic design skills even though it’s not their primary role, whether they’re creating an online brochure or designing educational materials. Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) tutorials guide beginners through the basics tools to enhance their graphic design and video-editing skills in creative apps like Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, and Illustrator.

If you’re looking for even more ways to enrich your skills, there are plenty of resources available. Platforms like Udemy and Masterclass have robust learning libraries for skills like SEO, conflict resolution, web development, and much more.

2. Expand your hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are measurable, like a person’s experience and ability with a particular software platform. On the other hand, soft skills like communication, conflict resolution, and time management are intangible. These skills may be more challenging to quantify than hard skills, but they could be even more critical to an employer. Mastering hard and soft skills is vital for career success, and it's possible to improve both over time no matter your skill set today.

If you’re curious what high-demand hard and soft skills to master in 2022, consider creativity and visual communication first and foremost, as they will likely have a significant impact on your career no matter which path you choose. Businesses need people who can creatively approach problems. According to LinkedIn’s Top Skills rating, creativity continues to be the number one most in-demand soft skill.

Our Student Outcomes research found that the volume of new hires with creative skills has grown 78% over the past two years. This group also sees 2-3x higher salaries with a higher projected career trajectory.

In fact, continuing to hone your creativity is one of the best ways to continue growing your career. And, the creativity you gain can even be applied to your skills enrichment process. Companies are always looking for creative and innovative approaches to learning. Diversifying your skills, in itself, allows you to offer your company a fresh perspective on how to both gain experience and better reach employees.

If you feel like you struggle with creativity right now, there’s no need to worry. Creativity is something you can learn and improve over time. It’s not a “you either have it, or you don’t” scenario. Even if you’re just a beginner, applying any level of creativity to your other soft skills — like communication, teamwork, and organization — will only enhance them.

Top in-demand skills for 2022.

Let’s look at the top-most in-demand skills based on our survey:

Visual communication: every industry needs eyes.

The modern digital landscape is fast-paced. Ads on social media platforms, mobile apps, and websites are all clamouring for the user’s attention. Bold, eye-catching visual communication that can quickly convey important information is necessary in every industry.

Knowing how to design a stunning presentation is a skill anyone, in any industry, can benefit from. It’s not just for designers anymore. Your ability to present your ideas and data in simple, graphical format can help you in sales, education, business negotiations, and more.

Here are just a few roles that possessing visual communication skills can help land you:

• Business development and sales
• Digital marketing
• Digital content
• Education
• User experience

A perfect everyday example would be a sales presentation. If you’re looking for a job in sales, your ability to put together a visual presentation that tells your story will be pivotal to your success. You’ll need to prepare a slide deck that clearly and concisely communicates the value your proposition brings to your audience. While you may not be a designer, your ability to put together clear and compelling graphics will be the deciding factor in your success.

According to the LinkedIn 2021 Workplace Learning Report, recent graduates secured a higher starting salary by up to 16% when they listed visual communication skills on their LinkedIn Profile. If you’re looking to give yourself a similar pay raise, these types of skills are easily attainable through digital tools. For example, the creative field industry standard is Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.

According to LinkedIn’s 2021 job listings search, 230,000 jobs in the US require Adobe skills, while only 3,982 jobs require knowledge of other digital platforms. And, when users search job boards for terms such as “Creative Cloud,” “Photoshop, “Illustrator,” “XD,” “InDesign,” “Premiere Pro,” and “Acrobat” versus “Canva,” results show 5,693% more jobs requiring Adobe skills than competing platforms. 84% of professionals feel that, in large part, they’ve been hired into their current position thanks to their familiarity with Adobe products.

3. Prepare for your career while getting an education.

In the entry-level job market, receiving training in marketable career skills while still in school can help to set you apart from the competition. Among those who didn’t prepare for their career while still in school, our survey showed that 56% believed they would have received a higher starting salary if they’d had more knowledge of the required hard skills beforehand — and they weren’t wrong.

Unprepared former students were getting paid, on average, 20%-30% less than students who attained the required skills beforehand. Additionally, 56% were required to acquire specific skills after being hired. Of the students who pursued graphic design skills while still in school, 84% felt their knowledge helped them get a job, and 69% felt proficient in all required skills. They also averaged a 30% to 40% higher salary. Any skills you can attain to round out or enrich your knowledge base while still in school will put you way ahead of your competition in the job market.

According to our survey, students are most interested in courses and tutorials that will enhance their skills to boost future job opportunities. These include classes focused on resume design, professional web page design, online portfolio design, Instagram-worthy photos, and viral content. Similarly, students see earning badges, certifications, or credentials as advantages in the job market. Amongst the students we surveyed, 50% said they’d like to pursue an Adobe career-related course or badge.

Creative Cloud, student grades, and job preparedness.

Visual design and communication are two of the most valuable skills you can learn. According to Civitas Learning research, college students who mastered software tools like Creative Cloud and used them in their classes achieved a 4.5% higher rate of “A” and “B” compared to those who didn’t. And first-term students who learned to use Creative Cloud earned 2.4x higher grades.

In addition, students who became proficient in graphic design and other skills earned 0.2-point higher GPAs.

Ultimately, these stats prove the point — students often see higher grades and are better prepared to enter the job market if they learn visual communication and software skills while still in school.

Tip: If you're still a student, we have good news for you — get over 60% off the regular price for your first year with Creative Cloud for students.

4. Get your portfolio ready.

Your portfolio is your chance to showcase your professional expertise, personal work, and individual brand — all things that your resume can’t convey. If you’re in a creative industry like writing or design, a compelling portfolio or professional website will help you stick out in the minds of hiring managers.

But, as we mentioned earlier, visual communication and design skills aren’t just for the creative industry. Put your finger on the pulse of what's appropriate for your industry, no matter the field. Knowing how to pitch yourself is important, but it's equally important to have the right resume or portfolio format to fit your chosen industry's best practices.

When appropriate, potential applicants should incorporate stunning visuals into their resumes or portfolio. Sales numbers and marketing statistics may be dry and hard to follow. Synthesizing those numbers in a clever and comprehensible graphic could make all the difference in landing your dream job.

Take a look at our list of dos and don’ts to help you create the perfect portfolio.

Portfolio dos

1. Describe your role in each project you’ve included in your portfolio.
2. Add visuals where appropriate to help readers comprehend information easier.
3. Demonstrate your history of being a team player.
4. Describe the timeframe for each project, including when the project started and ended.
5. Showcase the project outcome. For example, if you worked on a new product design, you could share the final product.

Portfolio don'ts

1. Don’t list every project you’ve ever worked on. Curate your portfolio and select only the best works to show.
2. Keep project highlights short, sweet, and up-to-date.
3. Be as clear and specific as possible when discussing project details.
4. Don’t think of your portfolio in isolation. A portfolio should be tied to your resume so that anyone who reads it has a more complete picture of you as a potential candidate.

When you’re on the job hunt, put thought, time, and care into presenting your portfolio or personal website. There are tons of apps that can help, like Adobe Creative Cloud.

You can also use Adobe tools like Behance and Adobe Portfolio to quickly and easily showcase your best work online.

Creativity is always an in-demand skill.

Preparing for the career of your dreams doesn’t have to be intimidating. The in-demand skills that will set you apart are precisely that: skills. You can put in the work to learn and improve them.

You shouldn’t feel you’re out of luck if you’re not used to flexing your creativity skills. Creativity and visual communication apply to almost any job and can be learned by anyone. Taking the time to do so can increase your compensation, grow your career, and even give you a more well-rounded perspective overall.

Here are two quick tips you can implement today to help hone your creative juices:

1. Take time each day to write down ten ideas. They could be business ideas, inventions, ideas around your hobbies, etc. It may seem hard at first, but don’t quit until you have 10. Over time, this will become easier, and you’ll notice yourself start to become more creative in other areas of your life. Challenge yourself. Use your mind — and don’t look anything up online.
2. Take a walk or sit somewhere quiet and think. Use this time to be alone with your thoughts. You may want to keep a notebook handy to jot down any good ideas, but it’s not necessary. This exercise offers great insight into not just your thoughts, but why you think the way you do. Plus, it helps you open your mind to more creative ways of thinking — just make sure to leave your phone on silent.

No matter what career path you choose, being creative can help. And there’s no need to be intimidated by it. Creativity is a muscle you can strengthen and train — just like communication, conflict resolution, and those other important soft skills.

Regardless of the position you’re pursuing, with a little time and effort, you’ll have everything you need to make it happen.