Top 15 career trends that are on the rise in 2021: LinkedIn

LinkedIn announced findings of a new Job Seeker research to discuss how job seekers in India are overcoming challenges of finding a job today, and how they are leaning on their communities to find new career opportunities in 2021. Based on 1,016 survey responses, findings show that more than 3 in 4 professionals will consider changing jobs or actively look for a new role in the next 12 months.

But the research also reveals a sense of professional uncertainty and worry among Indian professionals as the job market continues to get more competitive in 2021. More than one-third of job seekers in India are worried about too many recruitment stages (38%) and extensively long application documents (32%), while 3 in 4 (74%) professionals say they have reservations about networking.

Despite this uncertainty, India remains resilient towards career growth as 2 in 3 (64%) professionals say they are confident about their future progression while 2 in 5 think attending networking events (38%), and investing in online learning (37%) will be critical to landing a job in 2021.

As job seekers continue to navigate the uncertainties of the job market today, LinkedIn has launched the 2021 ‘Jobs on the Rise’ India list to empower professionals with critical insights about the dynamic jobs landscape, especially those who may have lost their jobs during the pandemic. The list looks at 15 fastest-growing career opportunities that have seen the highest year-on-year growth rates in hiring based on LinkedIn data for the time frame of April to October 2020. This year, LinkedIn’s Economic Graph data scientists looked across 15,000+ job titles to uncover the jobs that have grown the most compared to 2019 levels, those titles were then grouped into 15 career trends that capture as many as 25 job titles within each category.

Top 15 career trends as per the Jobs on the Rise 2021 India list

Freelance content creators (Podcaster, Creative writer, Youtuber)

Social Media and digital marketing roles (Social Media Marketing Manager, Social Media Strategist, Growth Hacker)

Marketing roles (Brand Associate, Affiliate Marketing Specialist, Networking Marketing Specialist)

Business Development and Sales roles (Business Development Associate, Sales Team Lead, Strategic Advisor)

Specialized Engineering roles (Network Expert, Software Engineering Specialist, Back End Developer)

Finance roles (Equity Trader, Regulatory Compliance Analyst, Treasurer)

Education roles (Academic Advisor, Admissions Officer, Curriculum Developer)

Artificial Intelligence roles (Machine Learning Specialist, Artificial Intelligence Specialist, Machine Learning Engineer)

E-commerce roles (Online Specialist, Ecommerce Coordinator)

Cybersecurity roles (Security Researcher, Cybersecurity Specialist)

Data science roles (Data Science Specialist, Analytics Consultant, Data Analyst)

Healthcare roles (Medical Officer, Psychologist)

Human resources roles (Human Resources Generalist, Human Resources Assistant, Human Resources Coordinator)

User experience designer roles (User Experience Designer, User Interface Designer)

Customer service roles (Customer Service Specialist)

5 job trends based on this year’s list

1. Brands and individuals are engaging audiences online

India’s top Job on the Rise features freelance content creators, who use creative storytelling skills to produce entertaining content across a range of channels such as podcasts, videos, and social media posts to name a few. Freelance content creators, marketing, and social media & digital marketing roles will present broader opportunities for the workforce in 2021.

2. Cybersecurity is critical to a digital-first future

Cybersecurity and Data science roles will continue to rise as data safety becomes a key priority for consumers and organisations alike. Specialised engineering roles, Artificial Intelligence roles, cybersecurity roles, and data science roles will continue to attract recruiter interest as we head deeper into a digital-first future.

3. COVID-19 is accelerating emerging tech solutions

As the EdTech, HealthTech, and FinTech sectors continue to experience a significant digital overhaul, professionals who can pivot to digital-based operations smoothly will be particularly sought after. Causally, finance, education, healthcare, and e-commerce roles are expected to gain popularity in the job market.

4. Customer experience is key

The disruption of COVID-19 has fuelled demand for customer services roles as brands navigate customer concerns and adapt to how they deliver their services online. User experience designer roles and customer service roles will be critical in helping organizations forge stronger and enduring relationships with customers in this turbulent scenario.

5. Lifelong learning will keep talent ahead of the curve

The rise of tech means all talent now needs to master basic digital skills to stay ahead of the game. While roles in Human Resources, and Sales and Business Development still rely on the same core skills, they will require additional digital tools to boost performance.