Qualifications, experience and technical skills are all important for landing that dream job in tech. But certain ‘soft’ skills can be just as critical.
Employers know that technical skills and specialised knowledge can be taught, whereas soft skills are more difficult to develop.
When hiring, they’re increasingly looking for people with the right personality traits. These are the skills that will help you work well in a team, become a leader, communicate your ideas and solve problems. Ultimately, they’ll help you succeed in the tech industry.
So, what are these highly valued soft skills? Let’s run through 6 of the soft skills that tech employers are looking for:
- Communication
Nearly every employer, regardless of sector, is looking for candidates who can demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills. It’s particularly important in tech, where new products and solutions are developed as part of a team.
If you’re a good communicator, you can explain how even complex solutions work and why they matter to a range of stakeholders – whether its other team members or customers. If you can explain your ideas well, you’ll have the power to persuade others. This ‘buy-in’ can be essential for making things happen.
- Networking
As we’ve mentioned, tech is a team effort. Having a strong professional network is key to overcoming challenges, finding solutions and building your knowledge. Knowing who to approach and finding ways to collaborate is what drives the whole industry.
- Empathy
This one may surprise you, but it really is vital. When you’re building technology, you’re essentially creating something that solves a problem for the user. To do this effectively, you need to understand the user.
- Time management
To be a valuable and productive member of a tech team, you need to be reliable. You need to do things when you say you will and bring projects in on time. You’re just one of several moving parts within a bigger project. So if you miss a deadline, it can throw everyone and everything else out.
- Proactive critical thinking
The tech sector is in a constant state of flux, with new tools, practices and ideas becoming mainstream virtually overnight. Tech professionals need to be able to flex and adapt, but more than that – they need to be able to stay ahead of industry trends.
If you have proactive critical thinking skills, you’ll be able to contribute ideas to integrate new solutions and suggest workflow changes.
- Problem solving
Tech is all about problem solving. This could be in the development of a new product, or it could be overcoming obstacles in the delivery of a project. Or very often, it’s both of these at once. You need to move beyond a fixed mindset, so you can develop creative, ‘outside of the box’ solutions.
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