The grass isn’t always greener but Australians seem to be throwing caution to the wind with more than three-quarters of us looking for a new job this year — up 15 per cent year-on-year.

The surge signals a shift in attitudes among Australian professionals who are no longer willing to stick it out and in 2024 are taking ownership of their careers by making up for lost time and focusing on productivity and career growth.

LinkedIn data shows that job search activity on its platform in Australia has increased year-on-year, with 16 per cent more job applications in 2023, compared to 2022.

The need for higher wages (49 per cent) in a challenging economic environment and the desire for better work-life balance (33 per cent) are the biggest motivators for changing jobs. Australians are also open to exploring new career paths, with 52 per cent of professionals actively seeking opportunities outside their current industry or role.

Professionals are finding it hard to match their skills to the jobs they want

While Australians are bullish, they are finding it hard to keep up with the rapid change in skills required to do some jobs, largely driven by the rapid developments in AI. 33 per cent of professionals said they do not know how to match their skills to the job they want, making the job search process more difficult.

LinkedIn data shows that skills for jobs have changed 25 per cent since 2015 and are expected to change 65 per cent globally by 2030. Australians are also finding job hunting tough with 59 per cent saying that looking for a job is frustrating and 39 per cent said they rarely hear back from recruiters.

Professionals are changing their job search approach to stand out

Amidst tough competition, Australians are altering their job search approach to stand out from the crowd. 42 per cent of professionals say they are experimenting with new formats such as video and digital resumes. They are also keen on using AI to help make their job hunt more efficient and productive, with 50 per cent of Australians saying they currently use it to help them land a new role

Aussie professionals are also taking control of their career by investing in building their professional brand and tapping connections that can help them increase their chances of landing a job. 32 per cent of professionals are posting more content on LinkedIn and 42 per cent are becoming more active in growing their professional network.

“In 2024, we are seeing professionals taking back control and moving to the driver’s seat when it comes to their careers. However, with more people looking for jobs this year, competition is going to be tough. Standing out from the crowd is now more important than ever. Investing in building your professional profile, highlighting how your skills are relevant to your desired job and staying on top of industry trends will improve your chances of finding the right opportunity,” said Cayla Dengate, LinkedIn’s career expert.

“To help Aussies land their dream role in 2024, LinkedIn is also launching two new free job features, Job Collections and Preferences, that will give professionals more control and personalisation in their job search”.

Jobs on the Rise – the fastest growing roles and trends defining the future of work

LinkedIn’s latest Jobs on the Rise list provides new insights into the fastest-growing jobs over the past five years, uncovering the trends defining the future of work and where the long-term opportunities are. In Australia, Cyber Security Analyst, Crime Analyst and Workplace Specialist, are the top three jobs in 2024, with growth rates above 57 per cent for Cyber Security Analysts. The ‘Top 15’ fastest-growing jobs in Australia can be found in the Appendix.

To help professionals stay ahead and stand out, LinkedIn is also rolling out two new job features that give professionals more agency in their job search: Job Collections and New Preferences Features. Designed for professionals who want to explore new career paths or expand their horizons, LinkedIn will now show collections of personalised and relevant jobs across a variety of industries, specialties and companies, such as pro sports jobs, remote jobs or jobs at startups, all while highlighting where this is a match to preferences you share from location to employment type.

For Premium subscribers looking to supercharge their career, LinkedIn has recently introduced features such as Top Choice to signal to recruiters that they have strong interest in a role they posted. This can help increase their visibility – they are 43 per cent more likely to receive a message back from a recruiter when using Top Choice. Subscribers can also hone their search and save time by narrowing the People search to see those who are Actively Hiring in or outside their network, and filtering by Jobs to see where they’d be a Top Applicant. LinkedIn has also started to roll out an AI-powered experience that will help make the job search faster, easier, and smarter for professionals.

LinkedIn Career Expert Tips on taking greater control over the job hunt in 2024:

• Create a standout profile: Be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date to stand out to recruiters. Be sure to include a short summary of your background and highlight your key skills. You can also let recruiters and your network know you’re open to new opportunities by enabling the “Open to Work” feature on your profile. And pro-tip, you can use new AI-powered Premium tools to help you get started in crafting the Headline and About sections of your Profile.
• Tend to your network, even when you’re not job seeking: Tapping the right connections is a great way to get your foot in the door, so be sure to build and nurture your network often. Reaching out to your connections and engaging with their posts on LinkedIn from time to time can help you foster stronger relationships that might even lead to potential job opportunities. The same goes for hiring managers.
• Know where to look and go where there’s growth: LinkedIn has the inside scoop on the hottest jobs right now and the skills you need to get them – spoiler alert AI is still the talk of the town. The annual Jobs on the Rise list is packed with actionable info for job seekers, including the skills (and LinkedIn Learning courses to build them), top hiring locations and remote/hybrid availability for each role, making your job search more productive and efficient.
• Find the right job: Tap LinkedIn’s new job Collections and Preferences feature to explore collections of relevant jobs across a variety of industries, specialties and companies to expand your horizons. Super linear career paths are now a thing of the past. Collections can help you embrace creative career pivots and create inspiration for roles you might not have previously thought about.
• Make your search more productive: Looking for a new job can be time-consuming and stressful, but tools like Preferences on LinkedIn now make it easy for you to select and manage your preferences in one place, so that you can tend to these seeds and ensure the best possible chances for growth and an ideal job match. And once these preferences are set, we’ll highlight them in green to help you quickly evaluate the most fruitful opportunities. Want to save even more time? Premium subscribers can also narrow their People search to see those who are Actively Hiring in or outside their network, and filter by Jobs to see where they’d be a Top Applicant.