If you are planning to work or switch careers to tech, you will need a lot of things depending on your tech career of choice you need these 3 Soft Skills That Will Help You Land Your First Tech Gig and they range from learning to getting hardware for working and the likes. These requirements are mainly divided into two which are;
- Hard Skills (Technical Skills)
- Soft Skills (Core Skills)
You might have built up your hard skills; you know how to code, and you can use a design tool, but you won’t be able to compete with candidates with great and exemplary soft skills during a job application process.
Most times soft skills are very important and crucial than hard skills but learning and implementing soft skills will help you stand out from other employees or candidates and also improve your resume and connections across various brands you’ve worked for over time.
What are Soft Skills?
These skills are also known as “core skills”. They are what defines the type of person you are. Soft skills are non-technical skills that are essential and important in making you a better candidate, a better employee, and also a better person. These skills are very essential in building your dream career in tech and help you land your first tech gig or job.
Soft skills are as important as Hard skills, they both work in hand to help you get your dream job. Just having only one of these skills is not enough in building your career. If you are thinking of applying for a job and confused about the necessary soft skills to have, here are 5 soft skills that will help you land your first tech gig;
1. Communication
Communication is one of the most important skills and tools for the progress of every brand or project. You must be able to speak fluently, understand and communicate with other members of the team flawlessly and efficiently. The skill also involves respectfully communicating and using carefully your choice of words and tone.
It does not just deal with your oral and physical talking or communication but it also involves how you send email messages, reply to a text from a teammate or an employer on Slack or Lark, and how you respond to conflicts, arguments, conflicts and technical issues with team members during team meetings.
Communication skills also include your body language and how you react to changes or show feelings with your body. You can improve your communication skills by;
- reading online about workplace communication
- studying how other teammates communicate with one another
- understanding your body and how you show reactions
- not talking too fast
- writing
2. Listening
As an individual trying to improve your communication skill, you should also keep a check on your listening skills; how easily are you always carried away when you try to listen to someone talking? Communication and listening skills are interwoven and carry the same similarities.
Being a bad listener can lead to misinformation, delay of tasks, and some other disruptions in your workplace. Listening properly is very important as it guides you and keeps your mind on the necessary information and details during team meetings. You can improve your listening skills by;
- putting away every form of distraction like your phone or listening to a gist from a friend at the same time
- focusing entirely on the person who is speaking by looking or probably staring at his or her face
3. Teamwork
Connecting, brainstorming, and building up with every member of the team also includes both communication and listening skills but most importantly, you will need the teamwork skill. This allows you to be able to network, navigate, communicate and work with anyone across every department of the team.
It helps you develop links with co-workers and help you learn new and more things required for the development of the brand. Probably, you are getting used to working alone or you haven’t worked alongside anyone before, but that doesn’t mean you should not learn and get used to working with someone or a group of people. This is one of the 3 Soft Skills That Will Help You Land Your First Tech Gig.
You should be able to work and collaborate with other members of the team flawlessly. You can improve your teamwork skills by;
- Communicate more with other team members
- Spend time listening to other members of the team
- do giveaways
Land your first gig in tech by learning and implementing all the tech skills above. Communication, listening, and teamwork are the core foundations of a successful brand or project and it involves every member of the team.
FAQs
What can be considered a soft skill when working as a tech?
Soft skills include communication, time management, listening, teamwork, emotional intelligence and more
How do you land your first job in tech?
The best way to land your first job in tech is by selling yourself and making yourself visible. Show people your certifications, get more certificates, apply for more jobs on Indeed, Glassdoor, AngelList and more. Check for job sites you use here
What are the top 3 soft skills?
- Listening skills
- Communication skills
- Teamwork skills
What do I need to land a job in tech?
- Get a certification
- Finish an internship
- Build your CV and Portfolio
- Build network
- Research the company you are applying to
- Have a CV for each position