By India Today Education Desk: LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, recently conducted research to explore the shift in the attitudes of Indian professionals towards their careers over the last 20 years.
The survey, which revealed that 76% of professionals in India believe there is less importance now on degrees being a prerequisite for jobs as compared to two decades ago, demonstrates that professionals are embracing skills over degrees as a way to chart new career paths.
Professionals now believe that they need to constantly acquire a diverse set of skills as jobs are rapidly changing. Building a strong network and professional brand with a continued focus on upskilling is now more important than ever to land new opportunities.
RISE OF UPSKILLING
The importance of learning new skills has been reinforced by LinkedIn’s data, which shows that the skill sets for jobs in India have changed by around 29.63% since 2015.
Upskilling has become more important than ever, with 87% of Indian professionals stating that it’s more important to continually learn new skills now than it was 20 years ago.
OFF-BEAT CAREER PATHS
Non-linear career paths and career pivots are also on the rise, with a majority of Indians feeling that career paths 20 years ago were more straightforward, and the skill sets that were required were more obvious.
As more professionals pursue non-linear career paths, transferable skills have become more valued and acceptable, with 85% of Indian professionals agreeing that this is the case.
CAREER BREAKS AND SWITCHES
The survey also revealed that professionals are now more open to taking career breaks and pursuing different dream jobs at different stages, with 84% of Indian professionals stating that they are more open to career pivots compared to 20 years ago.
ALIGNMENT OF VALUES
Whilst salary remains important, there is a shift in priorities when searching for a job, as Indian professionals now want to work for companies that align with their values.
A majority of professionals (87%) believe it is now more important to work in a company that demonstrates a commitment to the culture and values that they support and believe in compared to 20 years ago.
LinkedIn data also reveals that views for jobs mentioning culture witnessed 20% higher growth than postings without any mention of culture.
To help professionals find jobs that align with their values, LinkedIn has introduced a new job search filter so they can easily search for open roles based on an organisation’s commitment to values such as work-life balance, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), career growth and learning, social impact, and environmental sustainability.
NETWORKING
Networking is another key to career success, with a majority of Indian professionals (84%) believing that a strong network is more critical to career success today than it was 20 years ago.
Networking can lead to opportunities and career growth, and professionals in India rank the top benefits of networking as being able to learn from experts, building confidence, and career progression and enhancement.
LinkedIn data reveals that there has been growth in connections on its platform in India, from 22.94 connections made per second (Feb 2020 to Jan 2021) to 34.82 connections made per second (Feb 2022 to Jan 2023).