Soft Skills

What are soft skills? 

Soft skills are those personal qualities with which a person can successfully interact with team members during the working process. A person who has/obtains  well-developed soft skills effectively solves assigned tasks, builds healthy relationships with team members / other colleagues, and grows as a specialist.  

In the middle of the 20th century, soft skills were a must mainly for managers and directors, but by the end of that century most recruiters marked their importance for employees of all levels and positions. Today, soft skills are as important as professional competencies since they are highly transferable and can be applied in various situations. This makes them extremely valuable in the fast-changing tech market as well.  

What are the most essential soft skills for software developers today? 

1. Communication  

This is everything that helps an engineer to establish relationships with other colleagues. Communication skills include listening, empathy, negotiation, conflict resolution, understanding nonverbal signals, public speaking, and presentation, etc. Depending on the role, this or that communication skill is highlighted in the developer’s career. 

Pro tip: how to train? 

The best way to train communication skills is to become an active listener. Every person wants to be heard and understood, so good listeners can encourage and reassure the speaker. To avoid misunderstandings, people with good communication skills freely ask for clarifications or/and confirm that they understand what the interlocutor means. It’s also a good idea to pay special attention to nonverbal clues like gestures, posture, and eye contact, etc.  

2. Critical thinking 

Another skill that is important in the IT workplace is critical thinking. People who obtain this skill can analyze information / situations and make a decision based on their analysis. Before making any conclusion or taking any actions, one looks at the issue from all angles. This skill greatly helps with fixing problems, building strategies, and predicting trends.  

Pro tip: how to train? 

Critical thinking is one of the hardest skills to develop. One of the ways to train it is to dig deeper, do your own research, and gather more information on a specific topic. During input, ask questions to check assumptions, considering different points of view. Curiosity and thinking outside of the box are also great features that contribute to critical thinking.   

3. Teamwork  

Teamwork is one of the most highly valued soft skills in tech companies. The combined experience of all team members and their ability to work in cooperation, lead businesses to brilliant results. IT specialists who have excellent teamwork skills can solve problems quicker, learn from one another, and increase overall efficiency.  

Pro tip: how to train? 

First and foremost, it’s important to understand your role in the team, outlining your strengths & weaknesses. Thus, as a team member you’ll know what to offer to your team. It’s also great to develop the flexibility to be a better team player. Working in a team does not always go in accordance with the plan, so learning how to cope with changes and new dynamics is essential. Strong team players are ready to both help others and ask colleagues to help them. Such open relationships will contribute not only to you as a team player but to team spirit as well.  

4. Problem-solving 

One more skill that’s very useful in the workplace is problem-solving. Daily software developer’s tasks include coding, fixing bugs, sometimes designing and testing, or troubleshooting, etc. Performing these tasks and finding the right solutions for them require great problem-solving skills that help overcome arising challenges quicker and more efficiently. Apart from it, this skill greatly contributes to performance improvement and professional growth in IT.  

Pro tip: how to train? 

To obtain excellent problem-solving skills, it’s better to follow a coherent routine for dealing with the problem. One should start by identifying and understanding it. Conducting in-depth research is your best friend to clarify the nature of the problem and its possible causes. After this, brainstorming and creativity come into play as your main tools to find the solution. Finally, critical thinking helps in making a final decision on the best solution. Such a methodological approach to dealing with the problem will grow into a habit and, consequently, into a good problem-solving skill. 

What are other soft skills?