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May 12, 2022
Find Your Summer Fling: Seasonal Work & The Most In-Demand Skills
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Upwork’s Labor Market Trends and Insights from April 2022, show that 45% of companies plan to increase their use of remote freelancers in the next 6 months. Among the list of most in-demand skills, those with the highest year-over-year growth on the Upwork platform are Web Programming (43%), Web Design (31%), and Social Media Marketing (25%).  

 

Wondering which skills might see an uptick in demand? Considering expanding your skillset? We’ve got you covered there too with Upwork’s top 10 most in-demand skills in tech, marketing, and customer service.

Upwork’s top 10 most in-demand tech skills:

  1. Web Design
  2. WordPress
  3. Web Programming
  4. JavaScript
  5. CSS 
  6. HTML
  7. PHP
  8. Shopify
  9. API
  10. Graphic Design

Upwork’s top 10 most in-demand marketing skills:

  1. Social Media Marketing
  2. Lead Generation
  3. Facebook
  4. SEO
  5. B2B Marketing
  6. Instagram
  7. Marketing Strategy
  8. Social Media Management 
  9. Email Marketing 
  10. Marketing Research 

Upwork’s top 10 most in-demand customer service skills:

  1. Customer Service
  2. Customer Support 
  3. Email Communication 
  4. Phone Support 
  5. Email Support
  6. Communication Etiquette
  7. Online Chat Support
  8. Answering Product Questions
  9. Data Entry
  10. Administrative Support

 

Wondering when the job boards might start to swell with demand? One way companies are tapping into freelancers is to help cover gaps and eliminate delays when their employees take summer vacations. Some year-round businesses bring on extra workers during certain times of the year that are consistently busier. You don’t need pointy ears or a long white beard to find seasonal work.

 

With that in mind, we asked freelancers in the Community to share their insight on seasonal work. They were quick to point out that seasonal work can still be long-term. Some see additional benefits to seeking seasonal work, while others felt that there is little difference between seasonal work and general freelancing work as non-seasonal projects may be short-term as well.

Freelancer Wassim T. said that seasonal work can be good for making a quick profit, especially since he can charge more for this work. One downside in his opinion is that future work is not guaranteed. 

 

Others shared different experiences with seasonal work. Jennifer M. agreed that you can have long-term seasonal clients. “It's common for marketing people to dump a bunch of money into something and then scale back to see how it does.” Marc C. shared this sentiment: “As the name indicates, a seasonal job is not defined by its length but by its relation to a particular season that repeats every year more or less at the same time.”

 

Christine A. doesn’t feel there is a distinct difference between seasonal work and freelancing in general. She said, “I don't think that anyone becomes a freelancer assuming that they're going to steadily get 40 hours of work per week.” However she said she does experience “...seasonal lulls specifically around Christmas and for the whole month of August. As you say, companies might delay starting projects because some of their employees are on holiday, but I find that the people who normally initiate the projects are also on holiday themselves, so even though they know that I could pick up the slack, the work just isn't there.” Clients might want to take note of Christine’s experience and get a headstart on covering seasonal absences. Once they’re in the thick of it, key players may not be available to help get freelance talent up to speed.

Jamie F. and Samuel O. both said they prefer long-term contracts, but will accept seasonal work if they don’t have full schedules. To Jamie, “It's all money in the bank.” 

 

Share your thoughts on seasonal work and the top in-demand skills in the comments below!

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