The "softer"side of employment that often gets blanketed by technical skills...

This week’s content byte focuses on the importance of soft skills particularly in the tech field. Hard skills are important but soft skills are just as important. Alexander Lyon mentions hard skills are technical skills that pertain to your specific job title while soft skills are more general and can be used in just about any job (Lyon, 2021). Some soft skills as Alison Doyle of Liveabout.com are Communication, Creativity, Determination, Flexibility, Leadership, Negotiation, and Presentation (Doyle, A.,2021).

All these skills are important when in the working world in general, I never really looked at the tech field as a social field which initially drew me to the occupation. Not to say I am not a social individual as I am naturally friendly, I can do small talk and be relative. One quality that I feel people struggle with is communication, I find myself struggling at times because I know what I want to express but putting it in words tends to be the hard part. Many people believe that to be a good communicator is to be able to speak but I think that being able to listen is the essential part before communicating. If you’re not listening with the intent that you end up replying without any substance.

One skill that I’ve had to utilize specifically this school quarter is flexibility. In a work setting as mentioned by Doyle, “IT professionals often face setbacks or unexpected changes, ranging from a technical problem... You need to learn to be flexible, accepting these changes…Similarly, you must be open to suggestions and feedback, whether from an employer or a client (Doyle, A., 2021).” I see myself as a team player, but I tend to have a contradicting mindset as well sometimes. I can work well with people, but I enjoy completing things and not looking back. This week I had to go back to our PowerPoint and make changes. In my other class, my group wasn’t as responsive as I would like, and I had to keep in mind in general everyone has their own lives going on.

Citation

Communications Coach Alexander Lyon.(2021). What Are Soft Skills? Top 8. Retrieved December 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSARM4VaVs&t=4s.

Doyle, A. (2021, February 24). Top it soft skills that employers look for. LiveAbout. Retrieved December 8, 2022, from https://www.liveabout.com/top-information-technology-it-soft-skills-2063781

Comments

  1. JonalynDecember 11, 2022 at 2:09 AM

    Communication is essential; it's easier to finish and relate what needs to be accomplished. Mainly working in a group, everybody needs to share ideas; no idea is wrong, meaning that you are paying attention to your group project.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aeysha AkkadDecember 12, 2022 at 3:55 PM

    Hi Chan, It's a great post I like it. As you said IT skills are important when in the working world in general.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Salina SaucedoDecember 13, 2022 at 1:10 PM

    Hey Chan, nice work. I agree with you, communication is tough for me too. I definitely catch myself having ideas, but end up not saying anything because I'm nervous it's not going to come out the right way. I believe with more practice and consistency, you will accomplish your goals :) Great work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SharmaineDecember 13, 2022 at 1:18 PM

    I also did not think of IT as a social field at first. But reading these articles, it is still important to have soft skills in order to succeed in projects that require teamwork. 

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Human-centered design requires a centered mindset on the consumer!

This week’s content byte focused on human-centered design. “Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem-solving one that starts with people and ends with innovative solutions tailored to meet their needs (IDEO.org, 2015)” I feel very connected particularly this week because for our final project we were tasked to think of ideas and my group and myself came up with a Costco parking device/app. We as consumers thought of some issues that many people have encountered and came up with a way to hopefully be beneficial to consumers and the environment. We were able to acknowledge an issue and then create a prototype which now can be sent to the community for testing phases to refine the prototype (Devex, 2016). The outcome of cutting waste mentioned in the Devex video would be exemplified in our project as it would use solar-powered panels to conserve energy and auto shut off to further benefit the users and environment (Devex, 2016). The steps expressed in both videos reminde...
Read more