4 Key Questions (and Answers) to Help
Your Career in 2021
Building a career can be daunting — and a bit scary.
A little bit of knowledge goes a long way in helping you chart your career path. To help you we gathered important career and employment research that could influence your 2021 job search.
The questions below are instrumental in providing context for developing a successful career:
What Makes Workers Happy?
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Should Artificial Intelligence Be Feared?
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How Is Social Media Changing the Job Search?
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What Skills and Sectors Are Most Valuable in 2021?
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How Are Women Faring in the Workplace in the Wake of #MeToo?
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Bonus: Stats that Help Journalists Understand the Challenges Facing Job Seekers
VIEWHere are 12 points of interest (three from each
question) that offer a preview of the series.
What Makes Workers Happy?
- Sixty-eight percent of workers say they're satisfied with their job (up from 61 percent in 2018). Jobvite
- When forced to choose between a higher salary and more benefits, 56.8 percent of employees chose a salary increase and 43.2 percent chose more benefits.
- Praise from their direct manager (67 percent), attention from leaders (63 percent) and opportunities to lead projects (62 percent) all outrank monetary incentives in increasing employee engagement. McKinsey
Should Artificial Intelligence Be Feared?
- About three-quarters of Americans (76 percent) are largely optimistic about the impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on people's lives and work. Northeastern University, Gallup
- By 2022, AI-enabled automation will displace 75 million jobs but create 133 million new ones, according to the World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum
- Dun & Bradstreet found that 40 percent of companies are adding jobs because of AI, while only 8 percent report cutting jobs. Dun & Bradstreet
How Is Social Media Changing the Job Search?
- About a third of workers (35 percent) say they almost entirely learn about job openings on social media platforms, and 41 percent of younger workers are most likely to search for jobs there. Jobvite
- The vast majority of organizations (84 percent) already recruit on social media while an additional 9 percent plan on starting. SHRM
- Nearly half of employers (47 percent) say that if they can't find a candidate online, they are less likely to call the candidate for an interview. CareerBuilder
What Skills and Sectors Are Most Valuable in 2021?
- Since 1980, jobs requiring stronger social skills, such as communication and management ability, have increased by 83 percent, and jobs requiring high levels of analytical skills increased by 77 percent. In comparison, during that same time, jobs requiring physical labor have seen little change in numbers. Pew Research Center
- By 2030, workers will spend 60 percent more hours on jobs that require technology skills than they did in 2016. International Labour Organization
- The vast majority of workers (87 percent) see ongoing training as important to finding success in their careers. Pew Research Center
How Are Women Faring in the Workplace in the Wake of #MeToo?
- Women have been the majority of college-educated adults for about four decades. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Only 72 women are promoted or hired to manager for every 100 men. McKinsey & Company
- The percentage of women reporting sexual harassment to HR grew from 43 percent in 2018 to 51 percent in 2019. Fairygodboss
Bonus: Stats that Help Journalists Understand the Challenges Facing Job Seekers
- This page contains facts and statistics on job skills and sectors, social media, and job satisfaction for journalists' understanding and use.
Don Sjoerdsma
Career Advice Expert
Don is a freelance writer with more than five years' experience in digital media. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Oprah.com, Yahoo! and HuffPost. While at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, his creative use of archival content...
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