Lauren Levine
When you’re hiring for a tech job, your candidate needs to have the right training and experience to fill the role. However, it’s becoming increasingly important for tech hiring managers to keep an eye out for soft skills too. These soft skills ensure that employees are able to make a difference within that organization. Some key soft skills to seek out include:
The ability to communicate effectively
It doesn’t matter whether the individual is working independently or as part of a large team, good communication is absolutely essential to any office environment. If your new hire is unable to express their ideas or their concerns properly, they’ll struggle to contribute properly.
Initiative
The most effective employees are those who do more than just their assigned task. Whether that means learning a new skill that makes them more valuable or helping out co-workers who are overwhelmed, staffers who do more than simply what is asked of them are the kind of people you want on your team.
A competitive edge
While you need someone who plays well with others, you also want to hire an individual who strives for excellence. If you bring on someone who’s satisfied with mediocrity, this impacts their work. Hire someone who is hungry to do better and they’ll inspire others around them to do the same.
A willingness to ask questions
You need someone who is self-sufficient, sure, but you don’t want an employee who just assumes they know their manager’s thought process and never verifies anything. This is how serious miscommunications occur. The right hire isn’t afraid to ask if they’re not totally sure about what’s being asked of them.
What do you look for when you’re hiring? Let us know in the comments!
Image: Wavebreak Media Ltd/BigStock.com
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