With technologies ever-changing, tech companies are looking for more than just proficiency in languages. Industry leaders search for candidates that can react to those changes and run with it. While companies are still looking for technical skills, focus has shifted to intangible skills that aren't directly correlated with obtaining a degree.
Here are some of the top desired skills trending in Tech industry:
Communication Skills – From help desk staff and business users to management, it is important to be able to communicate effectively with people at all levels within an organization. Listening skills are critical and the ability to translate what you’ve heard and communicate your response at a level that your audience can understand is invaluable. In client-facing roles, IT professionals must be able to communicate clearly with clients to understand and define requirements as efficiently as possible.
Technical Skills – Companies are looking for students who have completed fundamental development classes and have a solid foundation of technical skills and languages with some hands on experience using those technologies either through coursework or some kind of work experience. Maverick has noticed that JAVA, PHP and C++ are the skills that many of our clients are looking for.
Collaboration/Team Skills - During interviews we ask our applicants, “Do you prefer to be a team member or a team leader and why?” There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Instead we look to see if the applicant knows his or her role in a setting and can work effectively as an individual or in a group. We know we have a strong candidate when they respond with, “It really depends on the group that I’m in...” and elaborates with examples. This lets us know the candidate is comfortable being a leader and also a member based on the level of expertise they have on the subject.
Passion - An employee may burn out quickly if they are just working for their paycheck. Passion is essential because it says that they enjoy what they’re doing and they are happy to be at work. Applicants who tell us they have done development for fun is something we look for and love to hear.
Problem Solving & Evolving – The ability to solve problems is an extremely important skill set to have for computer science and IT students. Within the tech industry, you need to have the ability to define problems, identify root causes and provide options for solutions all in a timely manner. Students must become comfortable with taking risks and be open to failure and then take that knowledge and experience and turn it into a positive that they learn from. This should be a continual evolution of growth and development.
Related/Reference Articles:
What it Really Takes to Snag an Awesome Tech Job
Essentials for Hiring: Soft Skills
