Digital marketing most sought-after skill: Shine.com

Shine.com connects jobseekers and recruiters by accurately matching candidate profiles to the relevant job openings through an advanced two-way matching technology. While most job portals only focus on getting candidates the next job, Shine focuses on the entire career growth of candidates through Shine Learning, a career skills platform for working professionals with over 500 courses and certifications.

The 14-year old online job portal works closely to bridge the gap between talent & opportunities and offers end-to-end recruitment solutions. In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Vijay Nair, VP – Marketing at Shine.com, explains digital marketing is the most sought-after skill in the current market scenario across all sectors.

What is the popular work culture, hiring trends, leading job markets and skills in demand?

As compared to FY21, the number of employment opportunities and openings has significantly boosted the opportunities in FY22. In fact, the job market in April-May 2022 has witnessed a massive boom as opposed to the same period last year.

Our findings also revealed that 48 per cent of the companies intend to start functioning from the office in 2022-23, while 40 per cent prefer the hybrid model and the rest 12 per cent are happy with the work-from-home approach.

Moreover, 81 per cent of the companies admitted that hiring has increased in non-metro towns. This is primarily due to the remote working facilities and offices shifting to non-metro areas because of cost-cutting opportunities and expansion possibilities.

This hiring trend is remarkably more pronounced in the cases of new-age startups.

What is the most sought-after skill in the current market scenario across sectors?

Digital marketing is the most sought-after skill primarily. It is followed by programming languages like Python, cloud computing and DevOps, whereas in this study we have discovered that the third most popular skill is expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

What do you think is going to be the top demand for skills and talent in the upcoming months?

The most in-demand talent across all industries, including MNCs, corporations, start-ups, and others, is digital marketing. It is followed by cloud computing, DevOps, programming languages and AI & ML knowledge, which come in third place.

On the other hand, the data scientist has the title for the most prestigious job description. It is followed by blockchain engineer and cloud architect.

What has been the impact of the pandemic in the employment opportunity and job market in metro and non-metro cities?

Our report showed a noteworthy shift in hiring trends. 81 per cent of the companies admitted that hiring has increased in non-metro towns. This is primarily due to the remote working facilities and offices shifting to non-metro areas because of cost-cutting opportunities and expansion possibilities.

This hiring trend is remarkably more pronounced in the cases of new-age startups.

What could be the trends in increment in this financial year?

Sectors like startups, IT, BFSI, where attrition is high, are expected to roll out higher increments. With 20 per cent plus attrition levels, now companies are rolling out double digit pay hikes to retain talent. A third of those who surveyed with us said that their firms were rolling out 20 per cent hikes to their current remuneration.

What is Shine.com's role in the job market and how do they plan on becoming an essential player?

Shine.com has always worked to provide job seekers and fresh graduates with trustworthy information, statistics, and comprehensive perspectives to help them choose the best career path. By precisely matching applicant profiles to the appropriate job opportunities using a cutting-edge two-way matching engine, Shine.com links recruiters and jobseekers.

Our focus is on candidates' overall career advancement, unlike the majority of job portals, which merely work to place people in the next job position. With more than 500 courses and certifications, Shine Learning is India's leading job skills platform for working professionals.

What are the key trends and career fields in 2022?

Digital marketing is one of the most popularly trending professional sectors across all industries, including MNCs, businesses, startups, and others. Programming languages, cloud computing, DevOps, and expertise in AI & ML came in second and third, respectively.

On the other hand, the most esteemed job title belongs to the data scientist. It is followed by a cloud architect and a blockchain engineer. Nearly two-thirds of surveyed employees said that Covid-19 has caused people to reflect on their purpose in life.

Nearly half said that they are reconsidering the kind of work they do because of the pandemic. We do see various employers and sectors embracing remote working and access to the best talent regardless of geographical location is opening up new opportunities that were not available previously.

Even our study saw the job shift happening to tier-2 cities. Hence, employers are looking at new ways of engaging with talent. It is an important time to develop your digital skills as these can help you to show a potential employer your flexible skillset.

Work on reskilling, take skill set courses building rapport with your old colleagues and being part of the trend is very important. Ensure that when you get a job interview that you can clearly articulate how you spent your time during the pandemic, such as working on a project, volunteering, learning a new skill, helping out in the family business, or working in your part-time job.

All of these are important and relevant to an employer as it can demonstrate how adaptable and motivated you are as a potential employee.