Professionals in India aim to reclaim their careers with 88% considering a new job in 2024

India, 17 January, 2024: Professionals are no longer being cautious about career moves in the face of economic uncertainty. New research from LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, has revealed that nearly 9 in 10 (88%) of professionals in India are considering a new job in 2024, up by 4% YoY compared to 2023.

This signals a shift in attitudes where professionals are no longer willing to stick it out, instead, they’re taking ownership of their careers and want to make up for lost time by focusing on productivity and career growth. LinkedIn data shows that job search activity on its platform has increased by 9% in 2023 YoY, compared to 2022.

The desire for better work-life balance (42%) and need for higher wages (37%) in a challenging economic environment are the biggest motivators for changing jobs. They are also willing to explore new career paths with almost 8 in 10 (79%) Indian professionals saying they are looking for opportunities outside of their industry or role.

Professionals are finding it hard to match their skills to the jobs they want

While professionals are bullish, they are finding it hard to keep up with the rapid change in skills required to do some jobs largely driven by the rapid developments in AI. Nearly half (45%) of professionals said they do not know how to match their skills to the job they want, making the job search process more difficult. LinkedIn data shows that skills for jobs have changed by 30% since 2015 in India. Professionals are also finding job hunting tough with 55% saying that looking for a job is frustrating and 59% saying they rarely hear back from recruiters.

Professionals are changing their job search approach to stand out

Amidst tough competition, professionals are altering their job search approach to stand out from the crowd. 72% of professionals said they have changed their job search approach, such as experimenting with new formats such as video and digital resumes. They are also keen on using AI with around 81% of professionals saying it can help make their job hunt more efficient and productive.

They are also taking control of their career by investing in building their professional brand and tapping connections that can help them increase their chances of landing a job. 79% of professionals are posting more content on LinkedIn and 83% are becoming more active in growing their professional network.

Nirajita Banerjee, Career Expert and Sr. Managing Editor for LinkedIn India says, “As Indian professionals take charge of their careers in 2024, it’s going to get increasingly competitive with more professionals entering the job market. To be successful in their job hunt, it's essential for professionals to stand out by dedicating time to spruce up their profiles, highlighting their skills, and staying informed about industry developments. This will help increase their chances of finding the job they want and develop skills needed to build a career with staying power.”

LinkedIn has also unlocked free LinkedIn Learning Courses such as A Career Strategist's Guide to Getting a Job; Navigating Your Career Through Restructuring, Layoffs, and Furloughs, and Recession-Proof Career Strategies to help professionals. These courses are available from 17 Jan 2024 until 1 July 2024.

Jobs on the Rise - the fastest growing roles and trends defining the future of work

LinkedIn’s latest Jobs on the Rise list provides new insights into the fastest-growing jobs over the past five years, uncovering the trends defining the future of work and where the long-term opportunities are. In India, Closing Manager, Influencer Marketing Specialist, and Design Specialist are the top three fastest growing jobs in 2024, with growth rates above 79%. The ‘Top 15’ fastest-growing jobs in India, can be found in the Appendix below.

LinkedIn introduces new features to help professionals stand out in their job hunt

To help professionals stay ahead and stand out, LinkedIn is also rolling out two new job features that give professionals more agency in their job search: Job Collections and New Preferences Features. Designed for professionals who want to explore new career paths or expand their horizons, LinkedIn will now show collections of personalised and relevant jobs across a variety of industries, specialties, and companies, such as pro sports jobs, remote jobs, or jobs at startups, all while highlighting where this is a match to preferences you share from location to employment type.

For Premium subscribers looking to supercharge their career, LinkedIn has recently introduced features such as Top Choice to signal to recruiters that they have strong interest in a role they posted. This can help increase their visibility – they are 43% more likely to receive a message back from a recruiter when using Top Choice. Subscribers can also hone their search and save time by narrowing the People search to see those who are Actively Hiring in or outside their network, and filtering by Jobs to see where they’d be a Top Applicant. LinkedIn has also started to roll out an AI-powered experience that will help make the job search faster, easier, and smarter for professionals.

LinkedIn Career Expert Tips on taking greater control over the job hunt in 2024:

● Create a standout profile: Be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date to stand out to recruiters. Be sure to include a short summary of your background and highlight your key skills. You can also let recruiters and your network know you’re open to new opportunities by enabling the “Open to Work” feature on your profile. And pro tip, you can use new AI-powered Premium tools to help you get started in crafting the Headline and About sections of your Profile.

● Tend to your network, even when you’re not job seeking: Tapping the right connections is a great way to get your foot in the door, so be sure to build and nurture your network often. Reaching out to your connections and engaging with their posts on LinkedIn from time to time can help you foster stronger relationships that might even lead to potential job opportunities. The same goes for hiring managers.

● Know where to look and go where there’s growth: LinkedIn has the inside scoop on the hottest jobs right now and the skills you need to get them – spoiler alert AI is still the talk of the town. The annual Jobs on the Rise list is packed with actionable info for job seekers, including the skills (and LinkedIn Learning courses to build them), top hiring locations and remote/hybrid availability for each role, making your job search more productive and efficient.

● Find the right job: Tap LinkedIn’s new Job Collections feature to explore collections of relevant jobs across a variety of industries, specialties, and companies to expand your horizons. Super linear career paths are now a thing of the past. Collections can help you embrace creative career pivots and create inspiration for roles you might not have previously thought about.

● Make your search more productive: Looking for a new job can be time consuming and stressful, but tools like Preferences on LinkedIn now make it easy for you to select and manage your preferences in one place, so that you can tend to these seeds and ensure the best possible chances for growth and an ideal job match. And once these preferences are set, we’ll highlight them in green to help you quickly evaluate the most fruitful opportunities. Want to save even more time? Premium subscribers can also narrow their People search to see those who are Actively Hiring in or outside their network, and filter by Jobs to see where they’d be a Top Applicant.

Appendix: LinkedIn’s Jobs On The Rise list for India:

• Closing Manager

• Influencer Marketing Specialist

• Design Specialist

• Drone Pilot

• Recruiter

• Sales Development Representative

• Demand Generation Associate

• Customs Officer

• Growth Manager

• Investor Relations Manager

• Political Analyst

• Delivery Consultant

• Client Advisor

• Creative Strategist

• Chief Revenue Officer