Indian Strategic Studies: 15 skills LinkedIn say will help you get hired in 2020

It can be difficult to discern which skills companies are prioritizing, and what makes your résumé — but not another — stand out to recruiters. This common gripe among job seekers is why LinkedIn uses its vault of business data to create a job market road map each year.

This year, the company used data from 660+ million professionals in its network and 20+ million job listings to determine the hard and soft skills that are most in-demand (and most likely to get a candidate hired) in 2020.

To define the most in-demand skills, LinkedIn focused on skills that are in high demand relative to their supply. Demand was measured by identifying the skills listed on the LinkedIn profiles of people who are getting hired at the highest rates. Only cities with 100,000+ LinkedIn members were included in LinkedIn's evaluation, according to the company.

Below, we compiled the most in-demand hard and soft skills of 2020, according to LinkedIn. The online courses we listed to help you build these skills — LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, Coursera, and edX — are among the most popular and inexpensive options available today.

Coursera and edX allow you to take classes from the top universities in the world, like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and more, for a fraction of the cost. You can audit nearly all of these courses for free, but auditing typically doesn't include graded homework or full access to course materials. You also don't receive a certificate of completion when you audit, which you can add to your résumé, CV, and LinkedIn profile. Enrollment fees for these online courses typically range from $30-$160.

Udemy offers over 100,000 video courses and typically prices them around $13 each. LinkedIn Learning offers over 15,000 courses and comes with a free one-month trial. After the trial period, access is $29.99 a month or $240 a year.

Below are the 15 hard and soft skills that are most likely to get you hired in 2020, according to LinkedIn:

The most in-demand hard skills in 2020

Most of this year's hard skills are in rapidly evolving fields and emphasize the importance of analyzing data. 2020 is the first year blockchain has topped LinkedIn's in-demand skills list, and business analysis (now #6) climbed 10 spots since 2019.

1. Blockchain

Bitcoin uses blockchain technology.

Image: davidmcbee/Pexels

Blockchain Basics, available on LinkedIn Learning

Blockchain Basics, available on Coursera

Blockchain Specialization, available on Coursera

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies, available on Coursera

Blockchain: Foundations and Use Cases, available on Coursera

Professional Certificate in Blockchain Fundamentals, available on edX

Blockchain for Business, available on edX

FinTech, available on edX

Developing Blockchain-Based Identity Applications, available on edX

Blockchain and Bitcoin Fundamentals, available on Udemy

Blockchain A-Z: Learn How To Build Your First Blockchain, available on Udemy

Ethereum and Solidity: The Complete Developer's Guide, available on Udemy

2. Cloud and distributed computing

Cloud and distributed computing

Image: Coursera

Learning Cloud Computing: Core Concepts, available on LinkedIn Learning

Learning Cloud Computing: Cloud Security, available on LinkedIn Learning

Distributed Systems & Cloud Computing with Java, available on Udemy

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Ultimate Exam Training 2020, available on Udemy

Cloud Computing Specialization, available on Coursera

Cloud Computing Basics (Cloud 101), available on Coursera

Cloud Computing Concepts, Part 1, available on Coursera

UMGC and USMx's Cloud Computing, available on edX

3. Analytical reasoning

Analytical reasoning

Image: Serpstat/Pexels

Business Analytics Foundations: Descriptive, Exploratory, and Explanatory Analytics, available on LinkedIn Learning

Strategic Thinking, available on LinkedIn Learning

Time-Tested Methods for Making Complex Decisions, available on LinkedIn Learning

Business Analytics for Data-Driven Decision Making, available on edX

Fundamentals of Logic & Reasoning Skills, available on Udemy (no longer accepting enrollments)

4. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Image: Alex Knight/Pexels

Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Thinking Machines, available on LinkedIn Learning

Artificial Intelligence, available on edX

Computer Science for Artificial Intelligence, available on edX

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), available on Coursera

Machine Learning, available on Coursera

AI For Everyone, available on Coursera

IBM Applied AI Professional Certificate, available on Coursera

rtificial Intelligence: Reinforcement Learning in Python, available on Udemy

Artificial Intelligence A-Z: Learn How To Build An AI, available on Udemy

5. UX design

UX design

Image: picjumbo.com/Pexels

Interaction Design: Interface, available on LinkedIn Learning

Adobe XD Essential Training: Design, available on LinkedIn Learning

UX Design: 1 Overview, available on LinkedIn Learning

UI/UX Design Specialization, available on Coursera

User Experience Research and Design Specialization, available on Coursera

Introduction to User Experience Design, available on Coursera

Interaction Design Specialization, available on CourseraHuman-Computer Interaction, available on edX

Design Thinking: UX and Advanced Topics, available on edX

User Experience Design Essentials - Adobe XD UI UX Design, available on Udemy

6. Business analysis

Business analysis

Image: goumbik/Pexels

Business Analysis Foundations, available on LinkedIn Learning

Learning Digital Business Analysis, available on LinkedIn Learning

Business Analytics Specialization, available on Coursera

Business Statistics and Analysis Specialization, available on Coursera

Introduction to Business Analytics: Communicating with Data, available on Coursera

Business Analytics, available on edX

Business Analysis Fundamentals, available on Udemy

Fundamentals of Business Analysis, available on Udemy

7. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing

Image: Kaboompics/Pexels

Affiliate Marketing Foundations, available on LinkedIn Learning

Marketing Tools: Digital Marketing, available on LinkedIn Learning

Improve SEO for your E-Commerce Site, available on LinkedIn Learning

Amazon Affiliate Marketing + SEO, available on Udemy

ClickBank Success: Zero Cost Advertising Affiliate Marketing, available on Udemy

8. Sales

Sales

Image: PhotoMIX Ltd./Pexels

Asking Great Sales Questions, available on LinkedIn Learning

The Persuasion Code: The Neuroscience of Sales, available on LinkedIn Learning

Business-to-Business Sales, available on LinkedIn Learning

The Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process Specialization, available on Coursera

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills, available on Coursera

Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator, available on Coursera

Sales Training: Practical Sales Techniques, available on Udemy

Business Development For Startups and Tech Companies, available on Udemy

9. Scientific computing

Scientific computing

Image: Markus Spiske/Pexels

The Introduction to Quantum Computing, available on Coursera

Introduction to Programming with MATLAB, available on Coursera

Quantum 101: Quantum Computing & Quantum Internet, available on edX

Parallel and Concurrent Programming with Python, available on LinkedIn Learning

Introduction to Quantum Computing, available on LinkedIn Learning

Data Science Foundations: Python Scientific Stack, available on LinkedIn Learning

Using Python with Excel, available on LinkedIn Learning

Master MATLAB through Guided Problem Solving, available on Udemy

10. Video production

Video production

Image: ngu.donaldtong/Pexels

Social Media Video for Business and Marketing, available on LinkedIn Learning

Connecting with Your Audience Using Video, available on LinkedIn Learning

Social Media Video Strategy: Weekly Bites, available on LinkedIn Learning

The Complete Video Production Bootcamp, available on Udemy

Complete Filmmaker Guide: Become an Incredible Video Creator, available on Udemy

Mastering Final Cut Pro, available on Coursera

The most in-demand soft skills in 2020

Soft skills are harder to quantify than hard skills. They're typically what interviewers are trying to gauge by asking about your management style or how you've handled career setbacks in the past. Four of the top five soft skills in 2020 are the same as they were in 2019.

1. Creativity

Creativity

Image: Pexels

Organizations need people who can creatively approach problems and tasks across all business roles, from software engineering to HR. Focus on honing your ability to bring new ideas to the table in 2020.

Banish Your Inner Critic to Unleash Creativity with Denise Jacobs, available on LinkedIn Learning

Creativity For All (Weekly Series), available on LinkedIn Learning

Creative Exercises to Spark Original Thinking, available on LinkedIn Learning

Creativity, Innovation, and Change, available on Coursera

Innovation: From Creativity to Entrepreneurship Specialization, available on Coursera

Creativity & Entrepreneurship, available on edX

Innovation and Creativity Management, available on edX

Design Thinking and Creativity for Innovation, available on edX

2. Persuasion