• POLITICS
  • SCIENCE
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Biology
    • Geology
    • Environment
    • Medicine and Health
    • Sociology
    • Psychology
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Virtual Reality
    • Bionics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Engineering
    • Robotics
    • Space Exploration
    • Transport
    • Industry and Service
  • GADGETS
    • Mobile Devices
    • Wearables
    • Consoles
    • Hi-Tech
  • GEEK CULTURE
    • Gaming
    • Comics
    • Thingamajigs
  • MUSIC
  • SOFTWARE
    • APPS
      • Android
      • iOS
      • Windows
  • HARDWARE
  • CARS
  • REVIEWS
  • Advertise
  • Geek Reply Jobs
  • Contact Us
Geek Reply
  • HOME
  • Editorials
  • Geek Squad
  • GeekReply Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Google+

  • LinkedIn

  • RSS

Geek Culture

7 Soft Skills Every Developer Needs

7 Soft Skills Every Developer Needs
blank
Frankie Wallace
September 7, 2022

When building a resume or boasting about your skills in an interview, it’s important to focus not only on your hard skills that are directly related to your field of study and chosen career but on your soft skills as well. Everyone needs soft skills to help them communicate and interact with others, no matter what kind of work they are doing. 

But those in technical fields, such as developers, would do well to particularly focus on honing their soft skills. There used to be a time when developers could get away with simply having excellent technical skills and nothing more. So long as you could get the software development and coding done well, many employers didn’t see the need to expect much more. 

Today, however, companies are moving away from seeing their employees as just a means to an end. Instead, companies want well-rounded employees who can contribute to the company in more ways than just offering up their hard skills. 

This means it’s time to start working on those soft skills in addition to the hard, technical experience if you want to become a better developer and land a good job. In addition to your developer skills, you need to have good communication and people skills that enable you to work well collaboratively across teams and better understand the needs of clients and customers. 

So let’s take a look at the top seven soft skills that are ideal for software developers to have if they want to grow in their careers and achieve success:

1. Communication

Communication is one of the soft skills everyone should have. Whether you work for a company or freelance, you need to be able to effectively communicate with others to have greater success with your projects. This means you need to know how to clearly communicate your thoughts and ideas in a professional manner, but you also need to be a good listener to understand the wants and needs of others. 

As a developer, you might have a bad habit of relying on your quality technical skills to get the job done, but if you want to grow in your career, you need to learn how to better communicate. Clear communication, focused listening, and understanding are key skills to have when interacting with colleagues and clients. 

2. Empathy

Another soft skill developers tend to lack, but is crucial to have, is empathy. Understandably, when you spend most of your day working with computers and machines, you can forget how to talk to people with empathy and understanding, but these are important qualities to have. 

The software you are developing is likely meant to be used by humans, so you need to understand humans to create a program that works for them. It’s also important to have empathy when you are working with colleagues and clients because the more you understand them and where they are coming from, the better you can work together and get the job done. 

Good communication and empathy go a long way with clients and customers. So the more empathetic and understanding you are, the more likely you are to build a loyal client or customer base, which is essential to growing your career and having success. 

3. Patience

As you are likely well aware, software development is not an easy job. From the moment you start working on a new project through to testing and deployment, there are a million things that could go wrong. Add in constant changes and updates, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed or fall behind. So patience is an essential soft skill to have in this industry. 

If you get frustrated over every little setback or hiccup, it’s going to make your job ten times worse. However, if you can go into every project with patience and a level head, knowing that things will go wrong, you are more likely to come out on the other side less stressed and more successful. 

4. Open-Mindedness

In addition to having patience, being able to take whatever setbacks come your way also requires having an open mind. Not all projects are going to go your way. In fact, it’s important to be able to put your own wants aside as a developer and be able to have an open mind in regards to what others think and want. 

You are the expert in the field, sure, but that doesn’t mean you are always right. When developing programs and software for others, it is crucial that you can use your hard skills while also keeping the wants and needs of others in mind. Having an open mind is also key to opening yourself to trying something new and experimenting. 

Furthermore, being open-minded allows you to more easily accept feedback and improve your skills and your work. There is always room for growth; remember that. No matter how good you are now, you can always improve, and keeping an open mind will allow you to expand and grow. 

5. Adaptability

Adaptability goes somewhat hand-in-hand with having an open mind. Having an open mind allows you to be open to new ideas or challenges, and being adaptable enables you to take those new ideas or potential setbacks and run with them. As a developer, you never know what might go wrong or what changes you might be asked to make, so having an adaptable mindset allows you to more easily roll with the punches and get the job done no matter what happens. 

Being open-minded and adaptable are also crucial skills to have when it comes to delivering a quality product for the customer. Developers who have these skills are more likely to build engaging apps and programs that ensure a better customer journey and experience. Because the more you can understand and adapt to what the customer needs, the better product you will deliver. 

6. Critical Thinking

Of course, critical thinking is one of the most important soft skills you can have when you work as a developer. Your job is highly technical, which means you need highly technical thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Software development is complex, and it requires a lot of attention to detail, so if you are lacking in your problem solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills, you will likely find yourself struggling to complete projects. 

You need to be able to look at a project from all angles, go through a step-by-step decision-making or analysis process, and then you can start deciding what needs to be done. 

7. Creativity

Last but not least, having a creative mindset is also good when you work as a developer. Though your job does rely more heavily on technical thinking, it is always good to be able to think outside the box and see things from a more creative angle. 

Only thinking technically can sometimes be limiting and can keep you from trying new things. You might even find yourself getting stuck or feeling stagnant with your work if you don’t look at things with a more creative mindset. 

So every good, well-rounded developer should have some creative skills to help them when projects potentially require a more unorthodox approach, or to help you overall tackle things with a more open, and creative mind. 

Final thoughts:
If you want to experience more growth and success as a software developer and open yourself up to new opportunities, it’s a good idea to work on honing these soft skills. Today, employers look for developers that have a more well-rounded set of skills, rather than just the technical hard skills. So if you want to get hired and have a successful career, you need to have an array of soft skills to complement your technical abilities.


Post Views: 253
W3Schools
Related Items
Geek Culture
September 7, 2022
blank
Frankie Wallace

Related Items

More in Geek Culture

blank

According to a Digital Foundry Analysis, Dead Space PS5 is the “best-in-class” game

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Steel Seed, a stealth action game, has a moody PS5 announcement trailer

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

On the first anniversary, Dying Light 2 Support is Detailed and the Dying Light Series Ships 30 Million

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

In the new PS Store Critics’ Choice Sale, 350 PS5, PS4 games are discounted

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Patch 1.03 for Dead Space on PS5 eliminates visual issues

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony Allegedly Skipping E3

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

In the Final Fantasy 7-Themed PowerWash Simulator DLC, Scrub Guard Scorpion Clean

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

Activision CEO of Blizzard says Last of Us HBO Shows Why Buying Microsoft Is A Good Idea

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

Sony reportedly cuts its projected sales for the launch of PSVR2 by half

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • Comments

  • blank
    Orlando Bloom and David Harbour Share the Gran Turismo movie’s first trailer
    GamingJanuary 5, 2023
  • blank
    The highlight of the PSVR2 demo at CES was Horizon Call of the Mountain
    GamingJanuary 5, 2023
  • blank
    For Years, Sony Has Been Developing an Accessibility Controller for the PS5
    GamingJanuary 5, 2023
  • blank
    Remake of Silent Hill 2 Dev is “Very Safe” with Any Changes
    GadgetsJanuary 5, 2023
  • blank
    iPhone 14 – 10 LEAKED Features!
    GadgetsJanuary 20, 2022
  • Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac
    Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac- It can surely save the day
    ReviewsSeptember 26, 2019
  • blank
    EC Council 312-50v12 Exam Dumps – Certified Ethical Hacker Exam (CEHv12) Certstopics
    Opinion PiecesFebruary 3, 2023
  • blank
    PS5 in its Actual Size Seen Being Installed in Dubai
    ConsolesFebruary 1, 2023
  • blank
    According to a Digital Foundry Analysis, Dead Space PS5 is the “best-in-class” game
    ConsolesFebruary 1, 2023
  • blank
    Steel Seed, a stealth action game, has a moody PS5 announcement trailer
    GamingFebruary 1, 2023
  • blank
    Ule || TSR says:

    That is far from the intention in this article. Especially…

  • blank
    Romuska Palo Ur Laputa says:

    Most of the characters became unlikable and regressed backwards, the…

  • blank
    reversalmushroom says:

    Lauren Faust has not been part of My Little Pony…

  • blank
    reversalmushroom says:

    Like what?

Geek Reply

Greetings techies! We are Geek Reply, a website whose main goal is to bring you all the latest news and updates from within the industry and beyond. What can you expect to find here?

Professional journalism coupled with expository writing for the most part, but we also give our honest opinion or throw in a pinch of humor for good measure when we deem it necessary. Our team is comprised of enthusiasts from across a wide variety of fields ranging from smartphone junkies to camera nerds, and everything in between. But perhaps you were looking for your daily dose of science news or hoping to read about the latest apps. If that’s the case, don’t worry, you came to the right place.

GeekReply Secured with GeekReply Scured
Nintendo Switch GeekReply

Copyright © 2022 GeekReply - Webdesign & Marketing - iPublicitate

Playing It Safe: How Online Gamers Can Dodge Cybersecurity Risks
How Video Games Can Unlock Relief for People With Chronic Pain