10 Must Have Soft Skills for A Techie
To flourish in today’s fast-paced technology industry, mastery of your core technical skills is not enough. Soft skills are an equally, if not more, deciding factor in getting your dream tech job. Even after getting the dream job, these soft skills ensure you stay head over shoulders from your peers and set you up for a thriving career ahead.
Here, we have listed the 10 must-have soft skills needed for a prosperous career in the tech industry. Read on and do a self-audit of the skill/s you need to work the most on.
1. Time Management Skills
In every organization adhering to timelines is sacred, and trespassing on them is frowned upon. Although you can get away with extending your deadline once or maybe twice( if you are lucky enough), anything above that communicates that you are not a serious candidate. This always bodes poorly.
As a newbie trying to make a mark in your first job, you need better time management skills to avoid getting in the good books of your seniors. And as a team leader, it sets a bad precedent for those under you. So, there’s no getting away from poor time management, and if you have trouble with this, you need to pull up your socks and start working on it.
2. Communication skills
Among all the must-have soft skills, If you had to work on just one skill from the list, this is the one. Communication skills, written or oral, are a superpower. It helps you form more meaningful relationships with your colleagues. Communication in the workplace helps build a collaborative and cooperative team. When done effectively, it leaves little to no room for misunderstanding. This results in better individual as well as team productivity.
Do remember, good communication skill is a two-way road. In order to be perceived as a good communicator, you must be a good listener and, more importantly, know when to talk and when only to listen.
3. Accountability
Accountability is the opposite of passing the buck. Being accountable at work means you are answerable for the task assigned to you. Whether the task is a success or failure, directly or indirectly, you are responsible for it. This is a crucial component and one of the must-have soft skills at the workplace because it ensures one minor delay of an individual doesn’t snowball into delaying the whole team.
Being accountable for your actions, success and failures is also a sign of maturity. As a good leader holds himself/herself accountable first, being accountable demonstrates you are ready to take on the mantle of a leader when it passes on to you.
4. Teamwork
A team achieves much more than any individual. Something magical happens when individuals from diverse backgrounds and diverse talents come together to form a team. This is why great teams are such invaluable assets to any company. Healthy competition between team members results in better productivity and self-regulation and promotes learning and development.
Being a fantastic team worker means knowing your role and playing it to perfection. Good followers become good leaders. You also need to excel in teamwork because someday you might be leading a team, and being a good follower will help you in that endeavor.
5. Creativity
Creativity may not be the first term that comes to your mind when talking about techies, but it is one trait that is admired across industries. You can bring something new and refreshing to the table with creative insight—a fresh look at an old problem or a more efficient way to solve a recurring issue. If you can take a creative approach, you become an indispensable asset to your company.
It is tough to teach creativity to anyone, but you can harness it by practicing it daily. If you try to incorporate this must-have soft skill, into your regular minor tasks, you’ll soon be able to take a creative approach to issues at work.
6. Perseverance
Many times, a problem will not be solved in the first few iterations. Perseverance is the quality of coming back at it with a fresh perspective. It can be frustrating when things don’t go your way. You might be tempted to quit the task altogether, but perseverance helps you see the larger picture. It enables you to understand that the work is more significant than the obstacle in front of you.
Perseverance is also a sign of maturity, and it teaches you that if you can trouble yourself with an issue without giving up, you can always find a solution.
7. Ability to Thrive Under Pressure
Stress is common in any work environment; whether you like it or not, it can never be eliminated entirely. But not all of that pressure is bad for you. Pressure helps organizations in separating the good from the best. If you can keep yourself calm with a deadline hovering over your head and still deliver, you have the potential to prosper in this industry.
You can see this around you. Some of the top posts are held by people who keep a calm head when everyone around them is losing theirs. The next soft skill is the result of this one.
8. Problem-solving and Critical Thinking
The next must-have soft skill on our list is problem-solving and critical thinking. Problems do occur at work or anywhere, for that matter. It is essential to solve them rather than complain about them, as most people do. It requires critical thinking to identify the problem, single it out, validate all possible outcomes and then arrive at a solution that aligns with the whole team. Problem-solving and critical thinking are leadership qualities, and it comes from being calm even under pressure.
Interpersonal Skills
The last skill on our list is interpersonal skills. Many people confuse it with communication, but it is much more than that. Interpersonal skills include empathy, emotional intelligence (EQ), conflict management and resolution. It is an essential skill for thriving in the workplace. This will lead to better relationships with your colleagues and an efficient and productive team environment.
This is why recruiters focus on candidates’ interpersonal skills when hiring them. They know that an individual equipped with this skill is an invaluable addition to the company.
Student for Life
Being a student for life means having an insatiable curiosity for the up-and-coming technological advancement in the field. In the IT industry, staying up to date is a crucial differentiating factor. A language or technology that is the industry’s mainstay can become obsolete in less than a decade.
If you want a long successful career in the tech industry, you’ll have to keep upskilling with the latest in the tech world. This will make you an invaluable asset to your current employer and help you ask for a better CTC if you decide to jump ship.
Conclusion
Technical skill is an excellent addition to your resume, and you need to thoroughly understand your subjects to have a flourishing career as a techie. Still, there are other deciding factors. In order to increase your chances of making a successful career in the tech industry, you need to equip yourself with soft skills. Top recruiters know this and are looking for these skills when hiring. If you are good at these or make a conscious effort to improve these skills, you are setting yourself up nicely for an illustrious career in the industry.
Our programs at Upspir ensure that while you develop our technical skills you also develop your soft skills to prepare for interviews and successful careers.
Nikhil Kumar Ahluwalia
Founder Upspir
Nikhil has over 16 years of experience in the tech industry, before starting UPSPIR he was Vice President – Support and Delivery at Ameyo/Exotel. Nikhil has vast experience in leading technical support and delivery teams. He is passionate about developing people, which motivated him to start Upspir. With Upspir he aims to take his passion next level by sharing his experiences and learning with those who want to build their career in the technical support domain.