Looking for that rare gem? What 4.9 million job openings tell us about the future of work

Everyone says it: jobs are changing rapidly, and the skills we need are changing along with them. But are job postings changing too? Together with a team from Antwerp Management School, we investigated this on behalf of the Flemish Department of Labor and Social Economy. After all, a job posting is the gateway to an organization. If it doesn’t clearly show what a company is really looking for, the mismatch between supply and demand will persist.

What we did

Together with the software company Actonomy, we analyzed 4.9 million unique job postings from 2010 to 2016, provided by VDAB. Using semantic analysis, we extracted the required skills from the texts. We then engaged in discussions with recruiters, labor market experts, industry representatives, and employer and employee organizations through interviews and focus groups to understand what the figures mean. We focused on five sectors in which Flanders excels: engineering & technology, food, life sciences & health, sustainable resources, materials & chemistry, and smart logistics.

Finding 1: Standards are rising across the board

The number of skills required per job posting rose sharply over six years:

• Soft skills: from an average of 2.01 to 3.12 per job posting

• Hard skills: from an average of 2.41 to 3.20 per job posting

Soft skills are thus catching up, but hard skills remain important. For many jobs, it’s all about the combination. Well-defined jobs with few tasks are disappearing or changing, and they are being replaced by jobs with varied, cross-functional tasks that require people to switch between them seamlessly.

Finding 2: Independent and Collaborative

The three soft skills that saw the sharpest rise in demand were the ability to work independently, adaptability, and being a team player. This aligns with organizations that are shifting from hierarchical structures to self-managing teams, where individual responsibility and collaboration are becoming increasingly important. Together with the enduring importance of hard skills, this confirms the rise of the T-shaped profile: deep expertise in one domain, plus the ability to connect with others.

A common thread across all sectors was the growing importance of learning ability and adaptability. While these fall under the category of “soft skills,” they are actually particularly hard competencies.

Finding 3: A Paradox Among Employers

Organizations say that expertise quickly becomes outdated and that the ability to learn is more important than a degree. But when it comes to hiring, a degree or proven hard skills often remain the primary criterion. What’s needed to perform well tomorrow carries more weight than what’s needed to remain employable in the long term. That’s understandable, because managers primarily see what works today. But those who rely primarily on the certainties of the past are putting the brakes on their own progress.

The problem with the job posting itself

The focus groups emphasized the importance of soft skills and the ability to learn more strongly than the requirements listed in job postings. There therefore appears to be a gap between what is needed in practice and what is stated in job postings. We identified three issues in this regard:

1. Vague language. “SAP knowledge” is clear, but “team player” means something different in every context. Perhaps we should focus on behavior instead.

2. Obvious requirements are left out. Soft skills like communication are often not mentioned because they seem self-evident.

3. Everything is equally important. Job postings rarely distinguish between “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.” This may deter potentially suitable candidates, which contributes to the mismatch.

What does this mean for you?

As an organization: don’t automatically rely on an outdated job description. Ask yourself: What competencies does this team need to fulfill its roles? Is a degree really essential for that, or can it be learned on the job? Don’t ask, “How do we find the rare gem who fits this profile?” but rather, “What does this team need, and what can we develop together?” Also look at strengths and complementarity at the team level, rather than expecting everything from a single person.

As a job seeker: don’t view a long list of requirements as an insurmountable barrier. People who don’t meet every criterion often don’t apply, even though not everything on the list is equally essential.

For education: teach young people not only about their knowledge and skills, but also what soft skills are and which ones they possess. Dual learning programs and internships help with this.

For policymakers and intermediaries: organizations, especially smaller ones, need support in drafting job postings. Furthermore, this doesn’t apply only to job applicants. People who are already employed must also remain employable, so be sure to consider the internal job market as well.

Curious to see how this will work out for your organization?

Would you like to discuss the future of work, competencies, or sustainable careers within your team? Email me at info@sarabastiaensens.be.

I wrote this study together with Ans De Vos and Nele Cannaerts (Antwerp Management School). It was published in Over.Werk (1/2018). You can find the full report here.