Licence to skill: How to land a job at the UK's top firms

The experience of working at one of the UK's top companies can add prestige value to your CV and may help you advance in your career. The catch: the biggest firms often get hundreds of applications for each role. In this competitive space, how do you gain an edge over other candidates?

Attracting and retaining the right talent is one of the biggest challenges companies face. From tech to banking, employers are increasingly relying on skills-based hiring for top roles. Tailoring your CV to highlight soft skills along with the core skills required for the role can help your application stand out.

Applying for jobs can also be a full-time job in itself. Identifying the right openings at the companies you want to work for calls for strategy, which can save time as well as help you be more laser-focused in your search. Your CV doesn't have to tick all the boxes in the job description; the key is to offer adaptable skills that are in short supply. When it comes to competitive fields, spend time on research in order to zero in on roles where the demand for specialist knowledge outstrips the supply of available talent.

The most in-demand skills

LinkedIn Top Companies 2023 shows that tech, sales, data and analytics and project management are some of the most in-demand skills at these top firms. The annual list is a data-driven ranking of the 25 best companies at which to grow your career. Here are some of the roles and skills top firms are investing in.

?? T-shaped skills

Tech skills remain some of the most in-demand in the UK. Barclays, which ranks number one on this year’s Top Companies list, identifies multiple in-demand skills its teams are looking for, such as DevOps, engineering design, cyber, cloud, data, automation knowledge and supplier and financial management across the broader disciplines.

"We are also encouraging more T-shaped skills," says Tracey Byrne (She/Her) , development operations manager at Barclays UK . T-shaped skills, a term often used by recruiters, refer to the qualities that make an employee valuable: these candidates possess deep knowledge of specific areas and also excel at working with teams in a collaborative way.

If you have the tech skills, what is the best way to demonstrate your knowledge in a job interview? Ben Craig , head of recruitment and employer brand at visual collaboration platform Miro , shares valuable interview tips including: explain how you solve problems, illustrate the impact you’ve had, delve into failure, talk about the end customer and show "big picture" thinking.

??? Problem solving

Problem-solving skills are in-demand, yet we are rarely taught how to do so effectively, says Arnaud Chevallier , professor of strategy at IMD Business School, whose book Solvable focuses on becoming better problem solvers.?

Fintech firm Revolut , which moved this year from the UK's Top Startups list to rank for the first time in Top Companies, echoes this sentiment. Michael B. , head of corporate communications, anticipates operations managers will be in most demand when hiring this year.?

"Our operations managers are generalist problem solvers who are thrown into various business critical projects and functions to ensure success," Bodansky says. "We look for structured and logical thinkers, those who are able to dig deep into a problem and solve them, regardless of whether they’ve come across it before or not, at breakneck speeds."

?? A history of personal impact

As hiring processes evolve, employers are increasingly looking past traditional requirements like degrees or years of experience in a specific field. A career in consulting could be lucrative if your mindset leans towards creativity and innovation, for instance. The personal impact you've made in the past can be an effective route to establishing yourself as a consultant.

Beatriz Pérez Olite , media relations specialist at 麦肯锡 , says: "While we continue to look for strong problem-solving skills, leadership capabilities, a history of personal impact and entrepreneurial drive, we are also really focused on the potential of our applicants and the different perspectives and ideas they bring."

?? Self-management skills

It's not enough to be good at your job, soft skills can take you far in your career. Self-management skills are our ability to manage our behaviours, thoughts and emotions, and to take responsibility for our actions.

Anshoo Kapoor , head of recruitment, UK&I at 2023 Top Company 塔塔咨询服务公司 (TCS), says: "In the future, the most high-value work will be cognitive. Critical thinking and problem-solving are at the top of the list of skills that we believe will grow in prominence over the coming years. Adding to this are newly emerging skills in areas such as self-management, including active learning, resilience and flexibility."

As workforces become global and diverse thanks to technology, adaptability and agility become increasingly important to employers.

?? Cultural fit

Many employers see cultural fit as high on the list of desirable traits in a candidate. Are the applicant's values and behaviours in alignment with those of the employer? Answering this question thoughtfully can give you an edge over other, perhaps even more qualified, candidates.?

Sanne Offringa , head of communications at TCS, says: "We strongly believe in a healthy balance between technical, 'hard' skills and softer aspects such as a candidate’s cultural fit with the organisation. We are looking for candidates who display a positive attitude, are open-minded and motivated to learn and deliver in a challenging environment."

Ben Lane, Vice President, Colleague Experience Group at 2023 Top Company American Express UK, suggests being yourself in an interview and finding a way to showcase "a unique set of talents and strengths. We see the diversity of people and experiences as fuel for the creativity and innovation we need to deliver".

With a demand for talent that shows no sign of abating, mastering these skills and projecting an authentic, confident version of yourself can open doors at some of the biggest and boldest brands in the UK. Go forth and conquer.

What skills have helped you advance in your career? Share your thoughts.

Develop your 'power skills'

Interpersonal and communication skills have been redefined as power skills, which are necessary to lead, manage and develop people, says business psychologist Martina Doherty . Investing in these skills can lead to a happy, high-performing workforce.

Do your homework

Gearing up for a technical job interview? To impress a potential employer, it's important to do your research, says John Swarbrick . Find out what the company does, what their values are and what their goals are for the future, the VP platform engineering of Napier AI suggests. "Try to identify some of the key components of their tech stack, integrations and APIs. Bonus points if you can estimate what their architecture might look like. This will show the interviewer that you're proactive, enthusiastic and serious about the opportunity."

Showcase your impact

Business leaders care about impact, so regardless of your role, being a commercially minded candidate will put you in the the top 1%, says Amy Weidner . The senior program manager at Twitter says, "If you can talk to how you either increased revenue or saved money for the business in previous roles, it will transform the way you interview. Always think about the bottom line."

By: Namrata Bhawnani , news editor at LinkedIn News UK