What Five Technical Skills are Employers Seeking? What Five Soft Skills Put You on Top?
by alexandrialecs100w
As a computer science student at San Jose State University, eventually I plan to venture the tech world in search of a good career for my future. As I search I know a few things that I need to have in order to find the perfect job for me; I need to be able to have good coding skills as well as people skills. I must be able to confidently complete my work. Most of all, I need to be ready and able to do anything the work place throws at me. But besides that, I need to know the technical and soft skills that will give me that extra edge against my peers (like the ones below)!
What are technical skills exactly? They’re the skills that are related to the job at hand. It is our abilities and capabilities when it comes to the computer and coding itself. It’s the skills that we learn at school today such as coding languages, development methods, hardware, software, and all those technical, on hand goodies. So here’s the top five that employers are seeking for:
- Programming Languages
- Data Structures
- Software and Mobile Designing
- Database Management
- Data gathering and analysis
Great, so we learn these skills at school and maybe even outside on our own time. But is that all? Grant Gordon, a hiring manager at Intronic Solutions Group states, “Rarely do they want people buried behind the computer who aren’t part of a team,” he says. “They want someone with Java who can also be a team lead or a project coordinator” (Brandel). So the answer is no. Technical skills aren’t the only thing employers are looking for! You could have all the technical skills, but that only makes you half the person that employers are looking for (actually, to be exact 15% percent according to the picture before). They want more, 85% more. Luckily for you, I’ll tell you exactly what the other 85% looks like:
So, that 85% accounts for soft skills. The people skills, the not-coding skills, but also known as the “you” skills. Here are the top five soft skills or “you” skills:
- Leadership
- Conflict Management
- Coaching
- Team Player
- Decision Making
Essentially, employers are looking for people who are more than just mean, strong coding machines. They want you to be leaders, friendly, and ready to own the work place. In order to be successful, you have to be well rounded, you have to be 15% technical and 85% “you”. As I am getting closer and closer to graduation, I aim to be a full 100% of what employers are looking for. I strive to be a strong competitor against my peers and to be successful within my own working environment and with these skills, I believe that I can one day achieve true sucess.
References
- Lethbridge, T.c. (1999). What Knowledge Is Important to a Software Professional? Computer: 44-50. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. Retrieved from http://courses.utep.edu/portals/870/lethbridge_WhatISImportant.pdf
- Brandel, M. (2007, July 11). 12 IT skills that employers can’t say no to. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2542247/it-careers/12-it-skills-that-employers-can-t-say-no-to.html
- First Image. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/met/files/2009/11/computer-science.jpg
- Second Image. Retrieved from http://www.monarch.edu.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/soft-skill-saavy.jpg
Alexandria Le's CS100w Blog! 
Really informative post here, great input on what employers are looking (specifically as a developer). The list of soft skills you came up with are powerful and concise. I enjoyed this entry quite a bit! Nice job.
LikeLike