Labor market outlook: McKinsey predicts that only 5% of the core competencies required today will probably be the identical in three years

For McKinsey partner Anu Madgavkar, each are the case. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that companies will not find perfect unicorns,” she said last week on the consultancy’s press day. “The perfect person you’re looking for for the job you have in mind – that person doesn’t exist.”

Most hiring managers realize that they should find a way to predict what qualities a candidate has and is more likely to have in the long run. “Maybe it’s nothing to do with education or credentials – maybe it’s things like the experience they’ve had and you need to use science to predict that rather than expecting the perfect candidate.”

With changes coming to the world of labor, the long run may look bleak, even for workers. McKinsey report from last yr According to a McKinsey study, many firms consider they’ve only 5% of the abilities they’ll need over the subsequent three years, Brooke Weddle, senior partner at McKinsey, said at a discussion last week. “That’s a very low number and only underscores the need for change.”

This discrepancy brings to mind a revolutionary approach to recruiting: leading with skills, or the potential of skills, as advocated by leaders at IBM, Microsoft and Google, to call just a few. Skills-based recruiting – and even potential-based recruiting – shouldn’t be altruistic, Madgavkar stressed. “It’s what you have to do if you want to fill your talent pool.”

Leading firms are taking a far more analytical approach to talent selection, Weddle added. “They’re testing for learning agility as a key competency and mindset. People everywhere are expecting more talent in terms of the learning mindset.” That often means reshaping the work culture as well. “So many CEOs talk about the need to establish continuous learning as a mindset across the company, thinking, ‘This is how we win in the marketplace.'”

According to Weddle, this trend is barely more likely to intensify because “the fact is that even if you get that unicorn today, it’s not the unicorn you need next year. Not without agility and the ability to learn.”