Tag: soft skills

Why Developers Need Career Coaching

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Across the board, career coaching has shown to have remarkable benefits for an individual’s career. The Institute of Coaching reports that over 70% of those who receive coaching see improvements in their work performance, communication skills, and relationships.

Executive and senior managers routinely get coaching from consultants hired to help them develop their leadership skills. CEOs including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Eric Schmidt have all worked with career coaches to hone their communication, develop new concepts, and get feedback on their visions.

By working with a coach, developers and programmers can cultivate new skills, receive feedback on their career trajectory, and learn how to future-proof their resume. Coaching can take different forms: from informal coaching, like a coffee chat with experienced peers, to semi-formal mentoring or joining an organization/team that provides mentorship, to formally hiring are all valuable ways to get career feedback. Coaching is critical to freelance developers seeking to stay ahead of the competition. Here’s why every developer needs career coaching along the way.

Develop your soft skills

Tech and coding skills dominate LinkedIn’s 2019 list of skills on employers’ wishlists. Most developers have a relatively easy time finding work: in the job market, 90% of developers have at least part-time work. Very few developers are unemployed and actively seeking a new job. It’s a great position to be in, but it does mean competition for work at top companies will be steep. How can a developer stand out from the crowd?

Soft skills are among the most in-demand qualifications any employee can have, yet many developers and programmers ignore this area of professional development. LinkedIn’s list of most-needed skills includes creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management. These are things that can make a freelancer stand out to Silicon Valley CTOs and recruiters who view dozens of coding challenges for one open position.

“In general, people from the technology sector tend to focus on hard skills but are not as focused on the soft skills currently in high demand. Once an employer has figured out they have the hard-techy skills, what will make them stand out beyond that?” says one expert.

Coaching can help developers by simulating real-world projects that hone communication skills, teach candidates to use agile methodologies, and prepare to work in collaborative teams. Companies are seeking to hire: and you can command a better position in the job market by becoming a well-rounded candidate with more than one skillset.

Get guidance on your career path

Because there’s always a demand for developers, it’s easy to set your career on autopilot. When one opportunity ends, inevitably a few others pop up. A tech career coach can help freelance developers and tech professionals undergoing a transition navigate which opportunities are worthwhile.

“A tech career coach can help you figure out how you can get from working on small projects to large projects. They can assist you in planning which types of companies to work at in order to work on large-scale projects. If you are a freelancer, career coaching can help you design a plan to turn small opportunities into larger ones,” writes one software developer blog.

Get your questions about freelancing or consulting answered by someone with experience in the tech industry. A career coach can connect you with a larger network of professionals to help you proactively approach your career path.

Future-proof your skillset 

The tech industry is constantly evolving, and as AI, VR, and IoT trends grow, developers must add new skills to their arsenal. However, when you’re in the weeds of work every day, it can be hard to zoom out and predict what skills you will need to develop next.

One example? Take the growing demand for JavaScript. In 2018, reports Hackerrank, 73% of developers said they knew JavaScript. This number is a marked increase from 67% in 2017 – and it makes JavaScript 2018’s most well-known language.

However, students graduating from computer science programs aren’t learning JavaScript. Only 42% of student developers are learning JavaScript – it’s simply not taught at most universities. That means most developers are having to teach themselves JavaScript to stay competitive in the current job market.

Coaching can help flag discrepancies like this for developers seeking to future-proof their knowledge and skillsets. “Coaches can use assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses, both in terms of personality and skillsets. They can also help job seekers understand how a skill can be applied in a different way to a new job,” writes TechRepublic.
Coaches keep tabs on macro-trends in the tech world to tell you where you’re falling behind. Some tech coaches will also take it a step further and place a developer in a job. These coaches know IT recruiters and can help you study for the technical portion of an interview. Developers can take advantage of coaching to stay competitive in the job market, grow their soft skills, and ensure the longevity of their professional status.

What Drones And Robots Cannot Replace

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With self-driving cars and Amazon Go stores ready to scale the fear of job replacement is real.

The irony is the same technology humans created may soon make us irrelevant for most work.

Can your daily job duties be done more efficiently by a robot?

If you answered yes to the above question it’s time to learn a new skill set.

Yet no matter how much technology advances there is one area that cannot be mimicked digitally:

Soft skills.

Made famous by the movie Wall-E, traits that are unique to humans are: empathy, non-verbal communication, storytelling, public speaking, etc.

These skills have been overlooked recently, but have helped us thrive throughout history.

Practically, networking is about connecting and building rapport. A great storyteller becomes an effective salesperson. Empathizing with others may be the most proactive thing you can do.

Instead of worrying about your job being taken by a drone, spend your time brushing up and improving your soft skills.

Join your local Toastmasters. Attend a local networking event. Watch a Shark Tank episode then pitch your idea to a friend.

Technology is great, but we often rely on it too much. Go back to your roots and identify the personal strengths that make you stand out from the crowd.

During interviews candidates are asked, “Why should we hire you?”

Your answer should include everything a robot cannot.

The Hiring Dilemma: Talent vs. Change

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wall-e -eva

Think you can change someone while dating them? You’re wrong.

But in the corporate world for some reason hiring managers think they can.

Sorry, but minus the resume and experience you are who you are.

For instance, leadership skills can be taught, but that doesn’t make you a leader.

Maybe it’s the ego of the manager who thinks people can be molded, but intangible skills such as empathy, communication and taking initiative come attached (not sold separately).

If people get hired for competency, yet fired for character issues – the focus during interviews needs to change.

Back in 2008 when the recession hit, the first thing to go was training and we’re still suffering for it. But some things just can’t be bought (or taught).

I manage tutors remotely via video conference and even though academic improvement is what parents pay for it’s engaging personalities that breed results.

Take opposite ends of the spectrum examples using characters from Disney’s Wall-E: Eva (heart) makes emotional connections while Wall-E (head) goes for logical transactions. Who would you rather be your tutor?

In this teacher-student context the adage “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” rings true. The receiver needs to feel a genuine interest from the giver. If he/she doesn’t, all information is lost.

In roles that require frequent human interactions the “engineer” type will always lose. On the other hand people with dynamic personalities are both charismatic and build confidence in those around them.

The moral of the story for companies is regardless how much you invest in training, attitude and refined soft skills are nearly impossible to teach. Content acquisition is overrated (plus abundant).

Interviewers need to focus more on “how” a candidate communicates an answer vs. “what” they actually say. Active listening is crucial at this stage.

Talent is inherently innate…and all the money and resources in the world can’t change that.

The Darkside Of Tech: Why You Should Be A Softie

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soft skills

Technology has not only changed the way we live, but also marginalized our skill set.

If you’re older than a Millennial, you’ll remember taking speech in school.

Although a dreaded class, it teaches one of the most crucial skills to succeed in your career: communication.

Ironically in a tech-dominated economy, want to know what employers are looking for more of?

Soft skills.

In fact, this Wall Street Journal article states it’s what’s being searched for on LinkedIn Profiles everywhere.

Schools like General Assembly have wisely capitalized on teaching skills that are actually marketable.

The problem is unless you plan on working in a silo, you need to talk to people. Albeit a stereotype, most engineers can’t communicate better than the average rock. As brilliant as your tech skills may be, there still needs to be conversation taking place within the chain of command (even in a flat organization).

This is great news to people like me, who don’t have the patience or the desire to learn how to code. True, I’ll probably never make as much money as techies, but I can add value in other ways.

Like our economy, shifts in skills that are valued over time fluctuate. When the recession hit in 2008, services like training were stripped because they were deemed as a “luxury.” Guess what? Today, on-boarding, career development and soft skills workshops are rampant.

Why? Because when there is an over-saturation of a particular skill set, it’s what’s different and needed that becomes more valuable.

In an on-demand, instant gratification, push-button world, orators still rule. If you’re lacking in that area start networking, do more public speaking or join toastmasters.

Technology is wonderful. I couldn’t live without it.

But scarcity breeds value. Every tech star out there needs a partner to compliment him/her.

That’s why you should be a softie.