- 55% of professionals in India are frustrated by the job search as they say the process has become harder over the last year
- Almost 49% of professionals say they’re applying to more jobs than usual, but hearing back less
- LinkedIn is helping professionals adapt to job market shifts with new tools and new insights on the fastest-growing jobs with the annual Jobs on the Rise list
India 16 January 2025: Over 4 in 5 (82%) professionals in India plan to look for a new job this year, yet more than half (55%) say the job search has become harder in the last year, according to new research from LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. More than two-thirds (69%) of Indian HR professionals feel the same, signalling a necessary shift in the way professionals will need to apply for – and land – a job in 2025.
Steady optimism in challenging job market
Job seekers in 2024 faced a sluggish labour market, with little movement. As 2025 begins, one in five (15%) working professionals who were looking for a new job in 2024 are still looking for new opportunities. The tough market has held some back, with 37% saying they don’t plan to look for a job in 2025. But, there’s also growing confidence among many as 58% believe the job market will improve and they are optimistic about getting a new job in 2025.
Professionals need to adapt their job search to break through
Many professionals are applying to as many jobs as possible, but this strategy isn’t effective. In fact, 49%of job seekers are applying to more jobs than ever, but are hearing back less.Hirers are also finding the process increasingly challenging. Over one-fourth (27%) of HR professionals spend between 3-5 hours a day reviewing applications and 55% say that less than half the job applications they receive meet all the criteria.
Nirajita Banerjee, Career Expert and Sr. Managing Editor for LinkedIn India says“The job market is tough, but it’s a reminder for Indians to take a more thoughtful approach to their job search. Building the right skills is key, but so is keeping your LinkedIn profile updated and focusing on roles that truly match with your skills. Being more strategic and deliberate can reward you with new opportunities and meaningful career growth even in a challenging job market.”
LinkedIn introduces new ‘job match’ feature for job seekers to assess their role-fit
To help job seekers adapt their approach and stand out, LinkedIn is rolling out a new job match feature that shows how their skills and experience line up with open positions, helping them better focus their search on the opportunities where they’re more likely to hear back. With one click, job seekers get detailed insights into which qualifications they meet and which ones they might be missing so they can decide if they should apply.
Premium subscribers will also see a categorical rating that indicates if they are a high, medium or low match and if they have a higher chance of hearing back from the hirer as a Top Applicant. Additionally, Premium subscribers will have the option to tap LinkedIn’s AI-powered tools to improve their cover letter and resume.
As majority look for new jobs, LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise shows where to look next
Three out of 5 (60%) professionals in India say they’re open to a role in a new industry or area, and 39% plan to learn new skills this year to open up opportunities. In fact, there’s been a 140% increase in the pace at which LinkedIn members add new skills to their profile since 2022. AI will continue to drive up the value of skills as it becomes relevant to every job in the future and woven into most tasks, according to LinkedIn’s just-released Work Change report.
Those looking to make a job change and explore new opportunities can look to LinkedIn’s India Jobs on the Rise report for insights on the fastest-growing jobs over the past three years. Almost two-thirds (65%) of this year’s Jobs on the Rise roles are new to the India list and half (50%) of these roles didn’t exist 25 years ago. Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Robotics Technician, and Closing Manager are the top three fastest-growing jobs in India. This year’s ranking also spotlights an uptick in roles for security-focused engineering, travel and in-person service sector roles, as business-as-usual returns in many parts of India following pandemic shifts.
Helpful tips and tools for job seekers in the year ahead
As professionals look to break through the job search in 2025, LinkedIn can help job seekers stand out, find the right job and gain insights to explore their job potential.
LinkedIn Career Expert tips for adapting your job search and standing out in 2025:
- Adopt an adaptability mindset: Navigating the current job market is hard, but with a willingness to adapt, there is more opportunity for career growth. Be sure to highlight your soft skills, like adaptability and communication, during the hiring process, and spend time building these skills. You can upskill with LinkedIn Learning Courses, like Building Career Agility and Resilience in the Age of AI and Landing a Job as a Skills-First Candidate, all free until March 31, 2025.
- Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date. More than ever, it’s important to keep your LinkedIn profile current, especially in today’s job market, as it’s often the first place hirers look to discover talent and learn more about candidates. To stand out, be sure to highlight your skills in the experience section – those who list five or more skills on their profile receive up to 5.6x more profile views from recruiters and 24x recruiter InMails.
- Make your match: Quickly understand how your skills and qualifications match any job postings in seconds using LinkedIn’s new job match feature. This helps you to more easily identify which roles you’re best suited for and where to focus your time and effort.
- Search safely: To give you peace of mind and confidence when looking for your next opportunity, you’ll also see a verification badge on job postings that have been verified, which now make up about half of the jobs on LinkedIn.
- Discover new opportunities: Explore emerging roles in LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise, with actionable insights like current open positions, remote work availability, most common skills for each role, top cities hiring, and more to help professionals land their next role.
Appendix: LinkedIn’s Jobs On The Rise –
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
- Robotics Technician
- Closing Manager
- BIM Technician
- Sustainability Analyst
- Behavioural Therapist
- Travel Specialist
- Mechanical Engineer
- Food And Beverage Manager
- Influencer Marketing Specialist
- School Counsellor
- Artificial Intelligence Engineer
- Power System Engineer
- Cafe Manager
- Creative Strategist
Methodology
Consumer and Global HR Professionals Research: This research was conducted by Censuswide between November 27 to December 16, 2024 among 22,010 consumer respondents, and among 8,035 global HR professionals between November 28 to December 18, 2024. Markets included UK, USA, France, Germany, India, Spain, Brazil, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Australia, Indonesia, and Italy. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. Censuswide are members of the British Polling Council.
Work Change Report:For every occupation in the LinkedIn occupation taxonomy we calculate the number of distinct skill groups added by at least 1% of members globally among those members adding a skill in a given quarter between 2018Q1 to 2024Q3. When comparing the breadth of skills at an annual frequency, we convert these quarterly values to annual averages. We then aggregate across occupations by taking a member-weighted average and excluded any occupation that had fewer than 100 members adding skills in 2018 (on average). The increase in breadth of skills between 2018 and 2024 is taken as the percent change in these annual, overall member-weighted averages. The pace of members adding new skills between is calculated as the cumulative annualized growth rate (CAGR) between the years 2018 and 2022 and then again between 2022 and 2024. The uptick in the pace of members adding new skills is the percentage increase in the 2018 to 2022 CAGR as compared to the 2022 to 2024 CAGR.
Jobs on the Rise:LinkedIn Economic Graph researchers examined millions of jobs started by LinkedIn members from January 1, 2022 to July 31, 2024 to calculate a growth rate for each job title. To be ranked, a job title needed to see positive growth across our membership base and sufficient job postings in the past year, as well as have grown to a meaningful size by 2024. Identical job titles across different seniority levels were grouped and ranked together. Internships, volunteer positions, interim roles and student roles were excluded, and jobs where hiring was dominated by a small handful of companies in each country were also excluded. Additional data points for each of the job titles are based on LinkedIn profiles of members holding the title and/or open jobs for that title in the country.
