10 soft skills that impress employers looking for technology talent

Employers want talent with the right combination of hard and soft skills to add value to their business.

While hard skills detail what you can do, soft skills highlight how you do it.

In many cases, soft skills are the great differentiators between top talent.

In this blog, we share 10 soft skills that impress employers looking for technology talent.

1. Communication

Effective verbal and written communication enables information flow across a business and its diverse stakeholders. Solution architects translate complex ideas. Data scientists communicate key data insights. Software developers explain how their products and services work. Across all jobs in technology, communication is a vital soft skill you need to master.

2. Problem solving

IT Jobs exist to solve one or multiple problems faced by a business. Testers fix software. Cyber security specialists fix system vulnerabilities. Project managers address critical business problems. As such, no matter your technology specialisation, your ability to identify, approach and solve problems are key soft skills that employers are looking for.

3. Creativity

Creative thinkers produce the ideas and solutions that drive business innovation. They think outside the box, approach problems differently, and yield ingenious solutions. This approach enables a business to keep pace with technological change, which is key to survival in the modern working world. It’s why major technology companies spend millions to foster a creative work environment for their teams.

4. Time Management

Time management is an important soft skill to have in technology. IT Jobs are typically complex and require high cognitive ability to manage multiple moving parts. Consequently, such roles can quickly become overwhelming and damaging to both the individual and the business when not managed effectively. Employers want talent who they can trust with their digital assets. This means people who are methodical, organised and effective with their time.

5. Willingness to learn

Technology talent must continually upskill themselves to remain relevant in such a fast paced sector. This means learning new skills that the business needs most. Your willingness to learn will signal what type of professional you are. A DevOps consultant with data analytics skills is impressive. As is a web designer with digital marketing expertise. Or a program manager with a finance background. Talent who is passionate and willing to improve themselves, is far more attractive to a prospective employer than someone who is simply in it for the pay cheque.

6. Leadership

All businesses crave leadership skills in their teams. Good leaders motivate others through their actions boosting engagement, productivity, retention, and performance of all employees. These benefits make talent with leadership capabilities a valuable commodity for any business. If you can highlight times your leadership led to business success, this will make you look highly impressive in the eyes of employers.

7. Teamwork

Teamwork is the ability to work cohesively with others towards a common goal. Employers must determine if your addition will enhance or disrupt their team dynamics. It will be a key question that determines your employability. In response, it is important to demonstrate how you operate in a team during a hiring process. Employers are impressed by people who are capable, dependable, trustworthy, honest, committed and loyal to their team. These soft skills will inform employers that your integration into their business is more likely to be seamless.

8. Adaptability

The future world of work will face considerable disruption and change. The impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, internet of things and robotics on jobs will be profound. Consequently, adaptability is an important skill. It makes talent more resilient to change and increases the likelihood that they’ll remain valuable to your business now and into the future.

9. Attention to detail

Talent with attention to detail are less likely to make small mistakes. In technology small mistakes can be costly. A coding error can break key systems, incorrect data analysis can affect key business decisions, inefficient cyber-attack incident response can be crippling. In a world of increased reliance on technology and rising cyber threats, attention to detail is a soft skill that employers desperately want from the technology talent they hire.

10. Work Ethic

Work ethic refers to the dedication, dependability, productivity, and discipline of talent in a job. Someone who is willing to go over and above in their position to get more done. Talent with a strong work ethic tend to be highly efficient and effective in their job, which adds to their overall value proposition. Employers want dedicated and committed talent who will deliver the best job possible.

Soft skills are important in the modern workplace. They are the traits that differentiate top talent. In technology, these soft skills will give you advantage while navigating the competitive IT jobs market. At Ignite, we specialise in IT & Digital recruitment, and are always on the lookout for technology talent with strong combinations of hard and soft skills that will impress our diverse range of private and public clients.

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