Job Posts That Feature Skills Attract More Applicants, According to LinkedIn Data

Here’s a dead-simple tip to make your next job posting more effective: Add plenty of relevant skills to the requirements section. Including skills in this way could boost your conversion rate by 11%, according to recent data from LinkedIn revealed here for the first time.

This tactic is just one aspect of “skills-first hiring,” a practice that 75% of talent professionals say they’ll be prioritizing over the next year. But if the concept still feels fuzzy or you’re not sure where to begin, don’t fret. Breaking it down into clear concrete actions can help demystify things and get you through any analysis paralysis. 

That’s why today we’re focusing on the effectiveness of one simple skills-first behavior: explicitly listing skills in the requirements in your job posting. 

Companies that do this see significantly higher view-to-apply rates. On top of that, skills-focused job posts are also correlated with higher internal mobility — a point we’ll return to shortly.

Job posts focusing on skills see better apply rates

One metric you might use to measure the performance of your job posts is the view-to-apply rate, which tells you what percentage of candidates who see your posting actually go on to click apply. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of applications a job post gets, divided by the number of views it gets. Some might also refer to this as the “conversion rate” or even “click-through rate” — terms more commonly used in advertising. You can think of this metric as a reflection of how appealing and relevant your job post is to the candidates who read it. 

LinkedIn’s data is clear: Job posts with skills in the requirements section are correlated with an 11% increase in the view-to-apply rate, compared with job posts that don’t list skills among the requirements. 

What explains this improved conversion rate? One key reason could be that it makes it easier for candidates to picture themselves in your open role, even if they haven’t held that precise position before. 

It’s the difference between seeing “3 years experience as a customer service rep required” and “phenomenal customer service skills required” — the former excludes people who might have the right skills but don’t have the experience, while the latter invites anyone with the relevant skills to apply. 

Including skills in your job description can make it easier for candidates, most of whom have listed skills on their LinkedIn profiles, to find opportunities that line up with their abilities. 

Bonus benefit: skills-focused job listings are also linked to better internal mobility

Here’s a finding you might not expect — we sure didn’t. Companies with a high proportion of skills-first job posts also have 11% higher internal mobility rates, compared with companies whose job posts don’t include skill requirements. This suggests that being skills-oriented helps you make hires both externally and internally. 

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that skills-first employers also encourage more internal hires: Breaking down a role into its required skills can help hiring managers and recruiters recognize existing employees who also have the right skills. Likewise, it could also help employees imagine themselves excelling in a new role by using the skills they already possess. 

Final thoughts

It’s becoming clear that skills-first hiring isn’t just a passing fad — it makes a real difference. For instance, LinkedIn data also recently revealed that recruiters who search for skills more often tend to get higher InMail acceptance rates. 

As economic uncertainty and technological advances continue to shape the labor market, skills-first hiring represents a paradigm shift that will be increasingly vital for recruiting teams and talent pros.

Methodology

This analysis is based on global data from March 2021 to March 2023 and only considers paid LinkedIn job postings from companies that have posted 100 or more jobs. The “requirements” section in each job description is analyzed to determine the number of mentions of skills based on our internal taxonomy. Employers are then ranked based on their relative inclusion of skill mentions in job postings. Internal mobility rates are determined by the share of all job transitions that begin and stay within the same company.