Critical Skills Sought by FAANG Companies | Gartner TalentNeuron

A review of the skills aligned to the top 10 roles

A recent TalentNeuron™ study of the top in-demand corporate roles (based on frequency of job postings) shows a stark difference between the critical skills sought by market leaders such as the FAANGs+ (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google and Microsoft) compared with the rest of the market. 

FAANGs take a more futurist view of strategic skill sets and capabilities, while most companies cling to declining skills in their job postings, or skills that FAANGs seem to deprioritize or omit in their job postings. 

On average, our analysis of the top 10 roles shows a 38% difference in the skill sets sought by FAANGs versus other organizations. 

For instance, the skills FAANGs look for in a marketing manager are metrics, engineering, prioritization, business development and problem solving, while the average company is seeking planning, research and operations. 

The same is true across the top 10 roles, with the disparity widening to 50% between the skills sought by FAANGs and others for customer service reps. The delta for financial managers is 45%. Here are the top 10 roles and the percentage of misalignment between FAANGs and the average company by skill sets:
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Here are a few examples of the differences in skills FAANGs seek compared to other organizations: 

  • Software developers. Most organizations are focusing on declining skills such as SQL and integrations, while FAANGs focus on AWS, Python, C/C++ coupled with problem solving.

  • Finance managers. FAANGs want critical skills and capabilities such as building business partnership, economics, engineering, forecasting and influencing skills, while other organizations seek relationship building, banking and risk management skills. 

  • Market research. FAANGs seek far more technical skills, such as engineering, metrics and science, while other companies look for creativity, written communications and planning.

There is no denying that roles and skills are evolving fast. In e-commerce, for example, companies are looking for people with TikTok expertise, and in the cyberlandscape, skills like Tensorflow and data lakes are emerging.

Learn how HR leaders can build resilience and keep track of the evolution of skills through our on-demand webinar: Reengineer Workforce Planning for Cost Savings and Transformation.
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