This week, Calcalist Tech published an article that according to a LinkedIn survey and forecasts, the importance of Academic degrees and experience when hiring employees will diminish because the future will bring with it a focus on soft skills and character traits.
LinkedIn's outlook shouldn't come as a surprise to organizations, specifically for senior executives, recruitment managers, and human resources. In the last decade, attention has been directed to power skills, which I believe are the "crown" of soft skills, such as critical thinking, adaptability, resistance to pressure, agility of thought, leadership abilities and more.
According to the survey, 50% of employers still prefer a college degree because it feels less risky. But emotions are not facts. We all know that an academic degree does not necessarily impart development or improvement of skills such as assertiveness or a balanced perspective. Anyone who has graduated with a degree can attest that this is not where the focus is in Academia.
As we know, "hard" skills or an academic degree does not necessarily impart one of the most critical skills in life, resilience.
What is more surprising is that resilience is a skill that you will usually not find in the basket of must-have skills in organizations. Check that list in your organization. Do a simple online search on soft skills or power skills and you'll get impressive results that include a long list of critical skills, but commonly, you won't see mental resilience there, if at all.
The HR Times blog has compiled an impressive list of 21 most sought-after skills in organizations, from inspiring leadership, accountability, assertiveness, perspective and more. Guess which skill isn't on the list? That's right, mental strength.
In my previous post, "Resilience: The New Power Skill That Will Differentiate People from Organizations," I mentioned two reasons why developing and improving resilience should wear the "crown" of critical power skills.
When you accept that developing and improving mental resilience among your employees is indeed the "crown" of power skills, you can move on to the next question.
How do you develop or improve mental resilience among your employees?
1. Start with awareness. Talk about it. Everything has a first step. Read a little bit about mental resilience and why in my humble opinion it's the most critical trait to master in life.
2. 2. Invest in it. True, like any soft skill, it is more complex to train a person to be resilient, as we normally become more resilient through life experience. But we absolutely do not have to wait for moments of crisis, stress, or radical changes to learn how to get us through complex periods in life. This skill can be sharpened, this skill can be strengthened, and most importantly, attention and resources can be directed to improving the individual resilience of employees.
Start today.
חוץ, ח'. (11 יוני 2023). כישורים לפני הכל: בלינקדאין מזהים מגמה חדשה בשוק העבודה. אוחזר מתוך כלכליסט-טק. הייטק והון סיכון: https://www.calcalist.co.il/calcalistech/article/bkgdel7w2
מיומנויות רכות שחשובות בעיקר כשעובדים מרחוק. (22 פברואר 2021). אוחזר מתוך HR TIMES: https://synerion.co.il/blog/21-soft-skills/
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