5 Must-Have Skills To Remain Employable In 2024

As seen on Forbes.

As we’ve discussed before, no job is truly safe. Whether it’s unstable economic conditions, disruptive technological advancements, or even toxic workplace politics, there’s never a guarantee that you will secure your role forever.

While job cuts are not something you can control as an employee, what you can do is to ensure that your current skills remain relevant and that you’re able to bring value wherever you end up. Here are five skills that will help you get any job in 2024.

1. Strategic Thinking (What AI Can’t Do)

Artificial intelligence has definitely taken giant strides in the past few years. Generative AI, in particular, can now write, generate images, audio, and even video in a level of sophistication never seen before. What it can’t do, however, is to employ strategic thinking. 

Strategic thinking refers to the ability to devise strategic solutions to problems identified after analyzing complex situations and identifying trends in the data. While AI is particularly excellent at analyzing chunks of information and condensing it into neat summaries, it still lacks the human ability to employ the creative and critical thinking skills required to make decisions because it’s not sentient. For now at least, strategic thinking is something only breathing humans like you and I have. 

Even better news: strategic thinking skills come with experience and practice. Like any muscle, repeated exercise will help make strategic thinking come easier to you. 

So, to get better at strategic thinking, make it a habit to analyze even the simplest problems from multiple angles and come up with multiple potential solutions. It’s also helpful to break down big tasks into manageable chunks, allowing you to tackle them systematically.

Do all of this consistently, and you’ll be able to position yourself as a valuable contributor to any team. 

2. Intentional Communication Skills 

The ability to express and articulate ideas clearly in any format will always be an important skill. But with AI’s recent technological leaps, it’s a good idea to go beyond simple expression and move up to intentional communication.

What is intentional communication? A lot of the time, our primary goal is just to express ideas, with no thought of what might happen afterward, at least not consciously. When we do intentional communication, we do so with a clear purpose.

To be clear, I don’t encourage manipulation, which involves withholding or distorting information for your gain. Instead, I encourage the practice of creating a well-thought-out message that considers the needs of your audience, the context of the message, and your desired outcome. 

Intentional communication skills are particularly important for employers because they demonstrate someone’s ability to get people to work towards a common goal. Intentional communicators engage in meaningful conversations, ask insightful questions, and express genuine interest in people and the organization, making them excellent leaders and collaborators in the workplace. 

3. Data Skills 

With organizations striving to make data-driven decisions, the ability to turn raw data into actionable insights is still a coveted skill set that could land you a role this year. Even more exciting is that data skills are needed in practically every industry. 

For example, data experts are particularly in demand in marketing as their skills can help interpret consumer data to tailor campaigns and optimize ad spend. Data skills are useful even in retail, where companies need to know how to manage inventory efficiently and get a pulse on customer trends. 

Where there is a need to reduce cost, optimize resources, or streamline operations, the ability to analyze and interpret data will always be helpful. So, if you’re looking to acquire a new skill and have a knack for working with numbers and patterns, data skills should be at the top of your list.

4. Leadership

When Silicon Valley companies did their massive job cuts starting last year, one of the main reasons was the push for leaner teams. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously branded 2023 as their “Year of Efficiency,” and proceeded to cut more than 10,000 jobs, a third of which were middle managers.

Given that fact, it would be tempting to assume that leadership skills are no longer much of an asset and that you’d be better off as an individual contributor. On the contrary, leadership skills are even more useful in lean teams, where smaller teams are pushed to achieve the same, if not greater, levels of success with a smaller headcount. 

Having good leadership skills in leaner organizations means having the ability to motivate team members in the face of tight deadlines and increased responsibilities. Because there are fewer levels of review, managers in this kind of environment also have to be adaptable and strategic in their decision-making process. 

It’s also worth noting that just a few months after making the job cuts, Meta is set to “hire strongly” again in 2024, which means that those middle managers were let go primarily because of economic and financial reasons, not because their skills were no longer required. 

5. Sense of Humor 

I say people should be proud to be the personality hire in the office. They play a big role in helping their team but also elevating the people and culture around them. The truth is people like working with people they like. And funny people are mostly universally liked. You can be the hardest worker in a room, but if you can’t articulate ideas and don’t work well with others, then you’re less likely to be considered a real asset to the organization.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to be the office clown, but if you have the ability to lighten up the room and create a positive vibe, then a hiring manager is statistically more likely to call you back for an interview. I can say that from my personal experience! Work on these skills and you have a bright career ahead of you. Rooting for you!