Experts Spill the Secrets – How Do Hard Skills vs Soft Skills Stack Up in Today’s Workplace?

The hard skills versus soft skills debate could soon be settled – experts predict that by 2030, soft skill-intensive positions will make up 63% of all jobs. What does this tell us about the future of certain skill sets in the workplace?

Let’s look at the most popular hard and soft skills among employers and employees in 2023, to determine which skills are coming out on top.

Hard Skills Outrank Soft Skills by Just 4%

What do we mean by “hard skills” and “soft skills”? Hard skills are the abilities you need to complete job-related tasks, while soft skills are personal qualities that affect the way you work. Both skillsets are important for success in your career – but which really matters more?

We compared Glassdoor job postings across five industries:

• FinTech
• Education
• Digital Marketing and Advertising
• E-Commerce
• Healthcare

We used this data to find out how many employers are prioritising hard skills, and how many are focusing more on soft skills.

Currently, more employers are looking for hard skills in their employees, but the gap is closing and soft skills are coming in a very close second. Hard skills were mentioned a total of 464 times in Glassdoor job postings across these five industries, while soft skills were mentioned 445 times. This means there was a difference of just 4% between the mentions of hard skills vs soft skills.

Employers Want Better Communication, Teamwork and EQ

We looked deeper into our job post findings to analyse which hard skills and soft skills are most in demand, and which industries are prioritising which skills.

Top 10-ranked hard skills and the industries where they matter most:

Top 10-ranked soft skills and the industries where they matter most:

Across the board, communication was ranked as the most desirable soft skill, with 91 mentions out of 150 job posts across the five industries. This isn’t surprising, considering the increased need for digital communication and virtual collaboration that we’ve experienced in recent years.  

Job-Seekers Believe Teamwork is their #1 Soft Skill

Which skills are showing up most often in job-seekers’ CVs? We looked at the most prevalent soft skills and hard skills mentioned in LinkedIn CVs across the five industries, to find out how applicants are marketing themselves to potential employers.

Teamwork is the number-one soft skill found in CVs for the E-Commerce, Education and Digital Marketing sectors. Communication is also a high priority, with top rankings in the Healthcare and FinTech industries.

Building “Best of Both” Skillsets

While technical competencies (hard skills) will always be needed, the right soft skills will create a happier and more productive environment in the workplace. Even if you have excellent qualifications on paper, you can’t perform your job effectively without also developing your communication, problem-solving and time management skills.

We can clearly see the rise of soft skills’ importance in the workplace; employers and employees alike need to focus on fostering a healthy mix of soft and hard skills to build and maintain a thriving work environment.