IT job candidates are well aware of the need for cutting-edge technical skills when seeking employment, but did you know that employers are just as concerned about IT professionals having so-called “soft skills” such as great interpersonal skills, collaboration, and teamwork? And so soft skills are key for IT resumes.
This makes sense, of course. Technologists must often work in large teams on complex projects. Communication is key to being able to bring in a project on time and with minimal stress. So is being able to explain technical terms to a non-technical audience, such as bosses, business departments and outside stakeholders.
According to Burning Glass Technologies Job Market Analytics Company, the following skills are essential, presented in order of importance:
- Communication Skills
- Teamwork / Collaboration
- Problem-Solving
- Troubleshooting
- Planning
- Writing
- Research
- Creativity
- Detail-Orientation
Next to communication and teamwork, problem-solving, or the ability to navigate challenges successfully, was highly valued. In fact, according to HackerRank’s 2018 Skills Report, problem-solving was rated by 94.9% of employers and recruiters as a highly valued skill, well ahead of Programming Language proficiency (56.6%) debugging (47.1 %), and system design (40.3 %).
Troubleshooting, similar to problem-solving, is another “soft skill” high on the list. For many IT positions, a good sense of how to work through problems is essential, which is why so many job postings ask for it.
Since soft skills are key for IT resumes, make sure these skills appear there. And the next time you go on a job interview, do be prepared to discuss your technical qualifications, along with examples from previous projects. But also be ready for the interviewer to test your grasp of soft skills. Make sure you can recite examples of moments when you used your communication, teamwork, problem solving and other soft skill abilities to take a project to the finish line. It will only help you land the job.
About The Author: Karen Bartell
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