When you think about the skills needed to land a job in IT, you’re likely to think of technical skills like coding and data management. However, there exists an equally important set of soft skills that can give IT professionals a real edge when it comes to career advancement. After all, employers are looking for employees with a well-rounded skill set – the sum of technical and social competencies.
These “soft” skills are integral to many facets of the IT workplace: from collaboration to communication and emotion management to innovation. So today, let’s take a look at 8 of these must-have soft skills and how to go about mastering them.
1. Communication
Did you know that poor communication actually results in lower profits? According to Grammarly and The Harris Poll, businesses in the United States lose $12,506 per employee per year due to miscommunication issues.
Whether it’s explaining a technical concept to a non-technical co-worker or customer, or delivering status reports during pivotal meetings, being able to communicate effectively is a must-have.
Some tips for improving communication skills include:
- Being an active listener
- Consulting with stakeholders regularly
- Staying open-minded
Fortunately, this is a skill that can be honed with time and experience.
2. Project Management
Being able to manage projects of all sizes and scopes is an invaluable soft skill for any IT professional, as you will likely have to juggle projects and responsibilities at some point in your career.
That’s why IT professionals must be able manage projects effectively. They need to know how to communicate with the team, set goals and timelines, delegate tasks, and monitor progress to achieve results.
To acquire these skills, consider joining a professional project management organization, taking courses in project management, or obtaining a project management certification (e.g., the PMP, Prince2, or Agile).
3. Problem-Solving
As an IT professional, you’ll learn that problem-solving is an essential skill for anyone in the industry.
This could mean fixing bugs, finding the root cause of a persistent issue, or identifying novel solutions to challenges that don’t have an obvious answer. But critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential beyond the screen, too.
According to Acas, an average of 485,800 employees resign every year in the U.K. due to workplace conflict. It costs those businesses £2.6 billion ($3.3 billion) just to recruit and replace these employees, let alone train them.
To become a better problem-solver (and save your workplace time and money), it can help to practice various techniques such as problem mapping, brainstorming, root-cause analysis, and so forth.
4. Collaboration
IT workers are often required to collaborate with other departments or organizations for project delivery, innovation, and more.
As such, it’s essential that IT professionals know how to work in teams effectively. They can do so by developing resolution strategies collaboratively, establishing trust with team members, and soliciting ideas or feedback from others frequently.
A good approach is multi-sided involvement where each member is given equal opportunity for input. This way, everyone feels engaged in producing quality outcomes together as a unit instead of competing against themselves (which naturally leads to better results).
5. Negotiation & Confidence
When conflicts arise between parties, having excellent negotiation skills can help resolve them diplomatically and quickly. This involves understanding stakeholder needs and interests – while also advocating for oneself – to reach a desirable outcome for all parties involved.
Additionally, confidence plays an integral role in workplace success – did you know that in 2019, around 79% of women and 62% of men reported a lack of confidence in the workplace? Lacking the confidence to voice differing ideas and opinions can slow workplace productivity and even bring projects to a halt.
To prevent echo chambers of thought and droughts of creativity, it’s critical for resourceful, problem-solving IT professionals to have confidence in their work and abilities.
6. Adaptability & Resilience
IT personnel not only have to keep up with rapidly changing technology but often need to adjust quickly when strategy or plans undergo unexpected changes. Being able to stay calm in stressful environments is critical for any professional IT role.
Resilience plays an important part, too. You must be able to ‘bounce back’ when problems arise and stay focused on delivering goals despite resistance (or at least perceived resistance).
7. Leadership & Empowerment
Leadership doesn’t always manifest itself in direct supervision or management positions. With only 11% of organizations believing they have a “strong leadership bench” (according to DDI), it’s clear that the need for strong leadership is greater than ever before.
That’s why IT professionals should be able to empower their teams to work together collaboratively to reach greater heights of productivity and innovation. This means inspiring the team with an excellent vision and leveraging business resources through thoughtful allocation.
8. Self-Improvement
At the end of the day, it’s important for IT professionals to understand how they can use their time most efficiently while getting up to date on new industry trends. One could achieve this whilst still seeking additional qualifications such as industry certifications or even additional IT degrees to enhance one’s skill set.
Knowing your personal strengths and weaknesses should not be overlooked. Having this self-awareness is key to success in any profession, but especially in IT, where the field continues to evolve rapidly each year. Seeking feedback from peers and mentors with a better understanding of your skillset can be an invaluable way to uncover these areas for improvement.
Conclusion
Soft skills may not come as naturally to IT professionals as technical ones, but that doesn’t mean they are any less important when pursuing a successful career in the industry.
The ability to communicate, manage projects, solve problems diplomatically, collaborate efficiently, negotiate confidently, and empower other colleagues makes one an invaluable asset for any IT team or organization.
So, take the time to brush up on these soft skills, which will likely come into play during your day-to-day life at work. They can make all the difference when it comes to seizing opportunities that give you a competitive edge in your field.
