The proportion of people working primarily from home has nearly tripled worldwide, from 10% in 2019 to 28% in 2023. Online freelancing is also the most popular holiday side hustle: 66% of Americans say that they plan to pursue that theme this season.
What exactly do employers expect from remote employees? A new study from SEO agency Search Logistics used data from LinkedIn, Upwork and Glassdoor to identify the skills most in-demand among employers.
For each popular skill, the researchers calculated a demand percentage using LinkedIn. The metric reflects how many remote jobs required the skill out of all remote jobs available on LinkedIn.
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The researchers then used Upwork data to populate the general job category that each skill fell under. Finally, they used Glassdoor data to determine the average annual salary of those with each skill.
The resulting list of the most in-demand skills for remote work includes interpersonal skills like teamwork and technical skills like Java.
“It’s no surprise that teamwork, problem solving, leadership and customer service are in the top 10,” says Matthew Woodward, senior director of Search Logistics. “These skills are useful in virtually every industry and position you can imagine. So if you don’t know how to improve your work performance, developing your knowledge of one of these skills is a good place to start.”
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Here are the 10 most in-demand skills you should have on your resume when applying for remote positions.
1. Teamwork
Category (according to Upwork): Admin Support
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 49.98%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $116,000
2. Analytical thinking
Category (according to Upwork): Engineering and Architecture
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 37.24%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $62,000
3. Software development
Category (according to Upwork): IT and Network Administrator
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 31.47%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $131,000
4. Problem-solving skills
Category (according to Upwork): Sales and Marketing
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 29.04%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $59,000
5. Java, Java script
Category (according to Upwork): IT and Network Administrator
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 21.73%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $122,000
6. SQL, Python
Category (according to Upwork): IT and Network Administrator
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 19.05%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $116,000
7. Data analysis
Category (according to Upwork): Data Science and Analysis
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 18.57%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $109,000
8. Leadership qualities
Category (according to Upwork): Admin Support
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 15.16%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $117,000
9. Sales
Category (according to Upwork): Sales and Marketing
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 13.52%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $149,000
10. Customer Service
Category (according to Upwork): Customer Service
Demand percentage (via LinkedIn): 13.24%
Average annual salary (from Glassdoor): $44,000