Five Important Interpersonal Skills IT Professionals Should Have

According to a research, poor interpersonal skills are the major reason why professionals don’t get promoted or fail to get along in a workplace. To mention the worse, some even lose their jobs due to bad interpersonal skills.

For an IT professional interpersonal skills are as important as technical skills. These professionals interact with vendors, customer and manage various departments and convey ideas amongst different sections of an organization through different channels.

For a successful and smooth interaction within a workplace, interpersonal skills are an essential quality. It allows you to talk and work with employees at all levels including managers, customers, and coworkers.

Interpersonal skills create a significant impact on the success of an IT personnel’s career, yet they are largely neglected in certification or technical degree programs.

Here are the top interpersonal skills that will help you further your IT career and to establish strong relationships with your coworkers.

1. Flexibility

It is normal for IT professionals to face unexpected changes and setbacks. This may range from any technical issue with the project to an eleventh-hour problem with the vendor. Hence, IT professionals must learn to be flexible. They should accept the change immediately and start looking for alternative solutions.

2. Communication

With the huge volume of emails, design documents, proposals, IT professionals need to possess good written communication skills. Also, they should be a good communicator as their jobs involve back and forth coordination.

Oftentimes, IT professionals are required to explain technical problems in simple terms for employers or customers to comprehend. Also, they must communicate in a manner that would help them convince others to finance and support their projects.

3. Determination

An IT project may stall due to many issues. This could be a financial issue, lack of teamwork, disagreement with vendors or others. It is imperative for an IT professional to remain focused on their objective and strive to achieve positive results.

Determination helps IT professionals to start a project with a clear objective and adhere to a realistic timeline. It also makes them stand out in front of employees as they get impressed with their ability to plan and follow the project successfully.

4. Listening

After communication, listening is another major interpersonal skill for IT professionals. In addition to communicating their ideas, IT professionals also need to listen attentively.

It is imperative to fully understand the requirement of the client/customer and to be consistent with them. One aspect of focused listening also includes asking relevant questions and clearly understanding what’s been asked, to fully comply with the necessities.

5 . Teamwork

IT projects are often handled by a team of experts rather than an individual. That is exactly what makes teamwork an essential interpersonal skill for an IT professional to possess.

Being a professional, you need to communicate your ideas effectively with your teammates and you must remain open to their suggestion and feedback. Therefore, work together to collectively obtain your goal.

In a nutshell

Your technical skills help you get the right job but your interpersonal skills give you the competitive edge required to successfully achieve your career goals.