Master These 3 Skills to Get Ahead in IT

IT is an industry dominated by hard skills. Many professionals have college degrees attesting to their knowledge of main functional areas. But there is more to being a top performer than understanding the nuances of C++ or SQL. Today’s employers are also looking for skills that are harder to define and challenging to teach. They are referred to as soft skills.

Soft skills are those that more closely associate with your workplace personality and attitude than something you can learn in school. These skills are often honed over time and are not covered by most baccalaureate programs. If you want to make sure you have the soft skills that today’s IT hiring managers crave, focus on these three to help you get ahead.

1. Collaboration Skills

Most IT professionals work in teams. This means that you will spend a good portion of your career coordinating your activities with others. To work effectively in a team environment, you need to know how to collaborate.

Collaboration involves being open to the ideas of others and being able to work together to meet mutual goals. You need to be accepting of constructive criticism and be comfortable providing feedback to teammates to achieve the best outcome. Collaboration is about promoting a dialogue between everyone involved, including yourself.

2. Critical-Thinking Skills

IT is a career path riddled with problem-solving opportunities. Whether you are troubleshooting a system, initiating disaster recovery procedures, or installing new hardware, you will likely face a challenge that requires a quick solution. While some efforts will be fairly textbook, you can find yourself thinking outside of the box on a regular basis.

Being prepared to think critically through a problem will always be desirable when a team faces adversity. By combining a logical approach with creativity, you can find yourself becoming indispensable at your workplace and may get opportunities to work on more challenging assignments.

3. A Sense of Humor

As an IT professional, you will face days that are more draining than invigorating. That’s where having a sense of humor can be an important trait. While that doesn’t mean you need to be the team’s practical joker, being able to let the hard times roll off of you and finding the brighter side of things can make you seem like a more friendly coworker. People with a sense of humor tend to be able to find the positive in a situation. When demonstrated appropriately, it can help put things in perspective and allow everyone to push through the arduous task.

Enjoying the company of the people you work with can make an environment more productive. Sometimes, being able to see the absurdity in adversity, or being able to look back at a difficult challenge you overcame and found the humor in it, can be a breath of fresh air on a rough day.

Want to Learn More?

The Squires Group understands what it takes to excel in IT today. If you are looking for a new opportunity in the IT field, contact The Squires Group today and let their knowledge work for you!


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