Adzuna careers advice for 18-24 year olds: The alternative skills young people should include on their CV

Top tips by @andrewtc04 co Founder of @adzuna: The alternative skills young people should include on their CV to add thousands to their salary. 

●     More than one in five (21%) 18-24-year-olds admit writing and submitting a CV is where they’re least confident in the job hunt 

●     Job experts analyse the hidden skills young people may have that can aid in their job search, and how much these skills may be worth in the current job market

With over half (54%) of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK admitting they are considering a new job in the next 12 months, new insight reveals the skills these job hunters could be missing off their CV that will really help them stand out from the crowd.

A new study from leading job search engine Adzuna.co.uk, reveals that over a fifth (22%) of employed 18-to-24-year-olds in the UK admit writing and submitting a CV is where they feel least confident during the job application process. Choosing what to include and what to leave off your CV can be overwhelming and while the traditional skills of good communication and being a team player are still of value to employers, there are a number of alternative skills that young people have that can set them apart from other applicants.

Experts at job search engine Adzuna have analysed a variety of alternative skills and estimated how much additional value these can add to a CV, based on more than 920,000 job adverts currently live onsite, to show younger jobseekers the substantial value they possess. 

The valuable skills many young people may have are:

●  Proficient on social media

Younger people are often more clued up on the latest social media trends and know the ins and outs of different platforms. This is incredibly useful in the digital age, as social media has become a powerful marketing and promotional tool. A staggering 83% of 18-24-year-olds use Facebook, 78% use Instagram, 71% use Snapchat, 57% use Twitter, and there are rising numbers on platforms such as LinkedIn and TikTok.

In the UK, there are 19,983 social media jobs live at the time of writing, with an average salary of £30,178.

●  Photography

As 45% of 18-24-year-olds post on Instagram at least once a month photography is a key skill that many young people have naturally picked up. With a vast array of options for editing photos on Instagram, people who post frequently on the social network may pick up a number of photography skills, such as obeying the ‘rule of thirds’ and using contrast and saturation tools to balance a photo.

Photography jobs have an average salary of £37,362 as of August 2019 according to Adzuna.

●  Blogging

A huge 20,000 18-24-year-olds class blogging as an interest[4]. Running a blog page teaches many valuable skills such as copywriting, networking, marketing and even programming and web development skills, all of which can be highly desirable for employers.

Copywriting jobs have an average salary of £31,106. Meanwhile, web development roles offer an average salary of £42,398 and there are 11,629 of them currently available.

●  Videography

Smartphones now have sophisticated, built-in video editing functionality, which goes even further when delving into downloadable apps. What’s more, the recent surge in the popularity of the video-sharing platform, TikTok, has led to a whole generation of young people who have learnt impressive video and music editing skills. Learning to produce and edit videos could be a lucrative skill for young people as the average salary is £40,292.

Young people can also look to improve their soft skills to make themselves more employable and ultimately earn a higher salary. Strong communication, planning and time-management skills are highly sought after by hundreds of thousands of UK employers.

The young people of today often have these skills in abundance, but must endeavour to list them on their CV’s to avoid selling themselves short. For example, 34% of jobs ask for communication skills – but only 17% of candidates list this on their CV, indicating that soft skills are often underrepresented on CVs. 

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “The job market is fierce and young people can often feel overwhelmed when making their career choices and submitting their CVs with little experience. It can be easy to assume you don’t possess the traditional skills and experience often cited in job adverts, but there are a huge array of skills that young people can bring to the market that the current workforce just isn’t as exposed to.

“Having recently launched our free career coaching service, we hope we can help people of all demographics to find their dream jobs, regardless of their experience and qualifications.”

To find out more and to register for your own career coach, please visit: https://www.adzuna.co.uk/jobs/career-coaching