If you're looking for a job, the most important skill this year is adaptability

• A new LinkedIn report noted adaptability as the "top skill of the moment."
• LinkedIn's Aneesh Raman said this skill is important given how AI is emerging in the workplace.

Pivot, don't panic.

That's the advice of Aneesh Raman, a workforce expert at LinkedIn, who said adaptability is key right now amid the rise of artificial intelligence.

Anyone looking for a job or thinking of making a change needs to be ready to adjust to the newly popular technology as some companies reference ChatGPT and other generative AI tools in their job descriptions.

"We're in a moment where the economy is starting to reset what skills are valued the most based on what AI capabilities are and what that means for human capabilities and the needs for people at work," Raman told Business Insider. "Being adaptable right now or being able to adjust around this change is key. And I would say, to me, the biggest thing about what is adaptability is being a 'learn-it-all.'"

Adaptability is considered the "top skill of the moment," according to a new report by LinkedIn. The platform compared demand for skills from May through October 2023 to the same period a year earlier to determine this.

"Adaptability is looking at everything that is changing in work and seeing where the opportunities are — for you and your career but also for the organization you work at," Raman said. "And that starts by being able to focus on what you bring to the table."

Adaptability is important too given the number of jobs impacted by AI.

"Today, more than half of LinkedIn members hold jobs that stand to be disrupted or augmented by AI," the report stated.

Adaptability might not just be important because of AI. It could also be important for those who have seen layoffs at their company as workflows change amid cuts. Workers might also have to embrace adaptability if they're told to move around within a company.

Some workers and job seekers have also had to adapt to what hybrid teams look like or what a return-to-office policy means for their daily routine and their expected work performance.

Asking what AI can do

So how do you make sure you are an adaptable person amid AI and other workplace changes? Raman said to look at your daily job tasks and categorize them in three ways: ones that AI will likely do more of, ones you can do with the help of AI, and ones AI cannot really help with because they need to be done by a person.

"Start to really assess, is my job heavy in certain areas and light in other areas? And then go to your manager and say, 'I'd love to get opportunities that I see as good for the organization that will help me build out these skills,'" Raman said.

The report also highlighted LinkedIn's ranking of the 10 most in-demand skills, based on what employers were looking for in 2023, as opposed to the change from 2022 to 2023 that was used to calculate the skill of the moment. Communication ranked as the most sought-after skill. Customer service ranked No. 2, teamwork ranked No. 7, and problem solving ranked No. 9.

"The main takeaway for me is that communication, not coding, is the number one skill across jobs," Raman said. "That is really important for people to understand because it signals to me that we are entering a period where people skills are going to become core to how individuals succeed, and people-to-people collaboration is going to be core to how companies succeed."

Build your adaptability

Like communication skills, people can also work on their adaptability. One way to do so, according to an Indeed career guide, is to not be afraid to ask questions and to get advice from your colleagues about how to do something. The guide also notes you can learn from others in the workplace how they take on changes that arise.

"Consider the way they showcase their adaptability in certain situations and how you can apply those same concepts," the post said.

As job seekers search for work in a labor market with 1.4 US job openings per unemployed person as of December, being adaptable could be important regardless of whether you're looking for work.

"Given the amount of change that is playing out, I think if you can become adaptive, if you can become a learn-it-all, if you can start to build your skills on the people side of the equation, there is tremendous opportunity for you coming in the next few years and in the next decade," Raman said.