One of the most common assumptions job seeking IT professionals make is that employers only care about their technical acumen and programming skills. While employers certainly want to hire capable people, they prefer to hire capable people who possess certain personality traits, sometimes referred to as “soft skills,” such as the ability to work effectively and cooperatively with others and the ability to communicate well. Employers are also interested in hiring computer programmers who are able to work independently and under pressure, problem solve, and take initiative, and enjoy intellectual and creative challenges.
In the past, some employers may have been willing to overlook a computer programmer’s lack of interpersonal skills, especially if he or she was considered exemplary at their job. This is no longer the case. Today’s business world does not look kindly upon those who are unable to communicate effectively with their peers, regardless of their profession or technical skill set. As a computer programmer, you will be evaluated on your ability to work in a team environment and keep your supervisors duly informed of your progress in addition to your ability to learn new programming skills and solve difficult problems creatively and efficiently. Additional teamwork skills a computer programmer might need include the ability to develop mission and vision statements, coordinate team meetings, engage teams in decision making and problem solving processes, manage conflicts, and resolve differences among other team members.
Good verbal and written communication skills are a must for computer programmers who want to advance in their careers. Computer programmers are expected to sustain all lines of communication between the company they work for and the company’s user community. They are also expected to make sure the communication is kept at a level that everyone can understand. Furthermore, computer programmers are responsible for providing system and user documentation for projects and system upgrades. If a computer programmer works for a company that employs both onsite and offshore workers, he or she may need skills in intercultural and international communications.
A study published in 2001 by the Association for Computing Machinery underscores the need for computer programmers to possess a broad and eclectic mix of both technical and soft skills. While the study’s respondents identified technical skills such as the ability to read, understand, and modify programs written by others, code programs, and debug software as extremely important, they rated soft skills such as the ability to listen, solve problems, and work in teams as extremely important as well. They also rated these soft skills more highly than technical skills such as knowing structured programming fundamentals, knowing multiple programming languages, and being able to implement programs. Other soft skills the respondents rated as extremely important include time management and verbal communication skills, the ability to give and receive constructive criticism, and the ability to multitask.
Fortunately, soft skills can be learned. Practice writing skills by reading books on how to write well and become involved with the company newsletter. Have colleagues critique your work. Join groups such as Toastmasters to learn public speaking, and practice giving talks and presentations in front of your peers. Find ways to take on more responsibilities at work that would expose you to a range of non-technical applications and business practices, and volunteer for projects that are cross-departmental in nature.
