This guest post is written by Rebecca Barnatt-Smith from Solvid UK.
The modern job market is competitive, fast-moving, and more technologically advanced than ever before. If you’re hoping to make your résumé stand out, one thing is clear: employers are no longer hiring solely based on experience; instead, they’re seeking candidates with transferable skills.
Thanks to LinkedIn’s data on the top ten skills on the rise for 2025, we can now take a closer look at the candidate must-haves this year for hiring managers.
From AI literacy to remote adaptability, this article will break down this year’s most in-demand skills and how you can leverage them to create a winning résumé that will help you secure your dream position.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LinkedIn’s top 10 skills on the rise
LinkedIn recently released its 2025 Skills on the Rise report, detailing the fastest-growing skills and qualities that have appeared in their job listings and successful profiles over the last year.
So, whether these are hard skills, such as software proficiency, or soft skills, like communication and teamwork abilities, or even self-taught skill developments, adding them to your résumé can secure you an interview in a skills-based job market.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the top ten skills on the rise according to LinkedIn’s data:
1. AI literacy: 78% of businesses now use AI in at least one job function. To stand out as a candidate, showcasing your AI literacy skills is crucial.
2. Conflict mitigation: Teamwork makes the dream work. If you can anticipate potential conflicts and put measures in place to stop them before they start, you instantly become a key candidate for consideration.
3. Adaptability: In an era dominated by technological change, adaptability is one of the most critical skills to possess. Showcasing examples of how you adapted throughout the changes and challenges in your career is a smart move during the recruitment stage.
4. Process optimization: This skill demonstrates the ability to improve efficiency and reduce costs, two key skills recruiters are hunting for. If you can list the instances when you boosted productivity, eliminated waste, and automated tasks, you can sell yourself as a potential asset to the business.
5. Innovative thinking: The best workers don’t just go with the flow. If you can demonstrate true passion in your industry and its development, you’ll find yourself scoring interviews in no time.
6. Public speaking: Listing public speaking skills in your résumé tells an employer that you have strong communication skills and can confidently share ideas.
7. Solution-based selling: Solution-based selling is all about having strong problem-solving and analytical skills. If you can create tailored, value-driven solutions rather than just selling products, you can easily become a top candidate.
8. Customer engagement and support: If you’re applying for a customer-facing role, demonstrating to the recruiter that you have experience engaging and building relationships with leads is essential.
9. Stakeholder management: It’s one thing to be able to sell a product to a customer, but can you sell a strategy or idea to a stakeholder? This skill is becoming more crucial than ever, especially in a start-up-dominated corporate landscape.
10. Large Language Model (LLM) development and application: Cycling back to the rise of AI in the workplace, having the ability to work alongside LLMs is an edge. If you have experience working with AI tools, be sure to mention it.
It’s no surprise that AI-related skills will top the list in 2026. With more than 40% of global companies now investing in AI across their entire businesses, LLM development skills, AI proficiency, and digital knowledge are invaluable in a tech-first job market.
Soft skills matter more than ever this year. Skills in adaptability, conflict mitigation, and even public speaking are some of the most desirable qualities currently in demand.
The question is, how do you showcase these skills in your résumé? Finding the balance between listing hard skills and soft skills, amongst other achievements, can be tricky when you’re limited to just a page or two.
Why these skills matter more than qualifications
The shift towards skills-based hiring is becoming more apparent in recent years. Some of the globe’s leading companies, such as Hilton, American Express, and Accenture, are de-emphasizing degrees and titles to focus on accepting candidates based on skills match alone.
In fact, as the recruitment sector welcomes AI itself, more employers are now screening candidates via skills-based filters on LinkedIn and ATS systems. Conventional HR systems usually filter out candidates who have no degrees even though their skill set may qualify them.
But with more focus on skills now, qualified job seekers can finally secure roles in key industries that don’t require a college degree. Candidates with the right skills that match the job role will have the chance they deserve once degrees are no longer a requirement.
Skills-first approach in résumé writing
Your résumé is your first chance to shine in front of a hiring manager. But with recruiters being pressed for time when screening hundreds of résumés, the time constraint is one of the biggest hiring challenges. This means job seekers have a very small window of opportunity to grab their attention.
Making a one-page document shine requires strategic thinking. Highlight your most valuable traits as a professional, list your most desirable skills, discuss your career development goals, and spotlight any achievements that will make you stand out from the crowd.
In a skills-based hiring market, there’s a demand for creativity, and finding innovative ways to showcase your qualities effectively is key to securing interviews.
Here are five key tips to keep in mind when crafting a skills-based résumé this year:
1. Take a skills-first approach: When creating a résumé, ensure that you bridge skills gaps by including a dedicated ‘skills’ section. This should be prominently displayed on the page and tailored to each job title you apply for.
2. Write a résumé headline: A powerful résumé headline is the key to piquing the viewer’s interest right from the beginning. This is often a brief statement, positioned directly under your name and contact information, which offers hiring managers a quick introduction to your critical skill set in two to three sentences.
3. Use scannable, ATS-friendly templates: A concise and impactful résumé design enhances readability and clarity for recruiters. For those submitting an online portfolio or linking to a personal website, we recommend using a UX-optimized template for your online résumé, one that’s ATS-approved and is designed to make your application stand out from the crowd.
4. Include the right keywords: Keywords are everything in a skills-based résumé. Start by carefully reviewing the job description of the role you’re applying for, then identify the target keywords used within the job listing. Alternatively, you could also use a tool to search for jobs based on your CV to help find roles that match your skills and experience.
5. Highlight digital and remote skills: There’s always a demand for skills in the digital sphere. Highlighting qualities such as ‘advanced IT experience’ and ‘basic data input’ could help your résumé skyrocket to the top of the pile.
Wrapping up
The hiring process is evolving fast. A standard résumé is no longer sufficient to get an interview in a company that moves and evolves with technology.
This year, job seekers should leverage their mix of skills to their advantage when crafting a winning job application that reflects their professional growth.
The key here is to showcase your qualities, display inspiring confidence, highlight your achievements, and, most importantly, make yourself adaptable in an ever-changing job market.