One minute you’re being told that selfies are a no-no on your LinkedIn profile, the next that you should never describe yourself as being creative or multi-tasking on your CV.

And with the rise of the side-hustle, the ever-increasing importance of having a social media presence and the pressure to have a whole host of multi-media skills, it can sometimes feel like having a traditional skill set just isn’t enough.

But according to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), those classic skills are making a comeback.

Entitled ‘The Future of Jobs’, WEF’s report delves into what employment will look like in 2020, and the skills that will be most needed.

And despite technology’s continual progression, WEF predicts that social skills will be more valued than technical skills by 2020. 

Listing your biggest attributes used to include things like ‘great people skills’ or ‘enjoy working in a team’ and although some research has advised leaving buzzwords like ‘team-player’ out of your CV, it looks like those skills are back in demand.

The report says, “Overall, social skills—such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and teaching others—will be in higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills, such as programming or equipment operation and control.”

You can see the full list of WEF’s growing skills and how much they’ll be in demand by 2020 below:

Complex Problem Solving 36%

Social Skills 19%

Process Skills 18%

Systems Skills 17%

Cognitive Abilities 15%

Resource Management Skills 13%

Technical Skills 12%

Content Skills 10%

Physical Abilities 4%

This is great news for millennials who feel the pressure to be all-rounders. And although learning that second language or taking coding night classes definitely won’t hurt, it’s good to hear that the computers aren’t taking over just yet. 

So, forget social media (not entirely, of course) and start brushing up your real life social skills for your that next job interview. 

Images: iStock