5 Non-Technical Skills To Look For in a Software Developer

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(Newswire.net — September 12, 2022) — Even though everything revolves around software development in today’s world, it is fascinating how difficult it is to find employees. The main reason is a lack of developers on the market since being one is not easy. It’s a challenging profession that requires a lot of dedication and hard work.     

Finding software development talent to scale fast as a growing company is best done through a global talent network. Why? Because you will have the chance to choose from top-rated developers on the market.  

Nevertheless, besides having excellent technical skills, you also have to look for non-technical skills. Therefore, we will see the five non-technical qualities you should look for in a software developer. Let’s begin.   

A Desire for New Challenges

Whether they like it or not, developers have to say “yes” almost always to new things. That is the nature of their job since software development is constantly evolving. One can not stay relevant if one doesn’t want to learn new things, tools, approaches, and so on.   

Therefore, a desire for new challenges is more than necessary to be a successful software developer or engineer. So, this is one of the crucial non-technical qualities you should look for when hiring a software developer.   

Taking on new challenges, responsibilities and roles is a must. Also, a desire to take risks, experiment with new methods, and learn new techniques are vital because they can lead to improvement. And without progress, no one can stay a relevant software developer on the market.  

Curiosity to Find Out “Why”

Yet another critical non-technical skill your software developer should have is the ability to question everything. The curiosity to discover why something is happening or not happening can frequently be crucial. They have to attack challenges from various angles and ask questions to solve any issues. Working with the same attitude every day just doesn’t do the trick in the software world.   

That’s why you should hire a developer that likes to ask questions such as “Why does this work” “Why is this happening” or “How can this function be much better” etc. This curiosity is valuable since it allows a developer to look at a challenge from different perspectives and find the best possible solution. Furthermore, it will drive your company’s projects forward, making them much more effective. You wouldn’t want to hire a developer that isn’t curious and gives up without resolving the issue the best way.   

High Level of Discipline

Coding isn’t just a walk in the park; it’s a highly demanding job and everything else that comes with being a software developer in 2022. And considering how fast this world is evolving, it seems like it will be even more challenging in the near future.  

That’s why having a high level of discipline is more than vital to be effective. You can hire an incredibly talented software developer as far as technical abilities are concerned, but if they are not disciplined enough, you will have trouble in the long run. In addition, because they have to learn new things and improve constantly, it is impossible to become better without a level of discipline as an everyday routine.  

Communication

It may sound simple, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not essential. Communication is one of the crucial skills for every software developer. Therefore, please pay attention to their communication skills as much as you can. 

The main reason why is because it’s beneficial both for teamwork and with clients. Your software developer must know how to communicate with every team member to solve various challenges. Furthermore, they also have to communicate perfectly with all your clients since they can’t deliver the desired results without good communication. 

Also, communication doesn’t mean just knowing how to talk to colleagues and clients. A significant part of it is also knowing how to listen actively. Whether collecting feedback from different clients or participating in a problem-solving discussion with team members, it’s critical to understand how to communicate. In addition, communication between the software developer and yourself is also very important. 

Creativity 

Finally, it would be best to find a software developer whose creativity level is huge since it is one of the crucial non-technical skills. Thinking outside the box and being creative toward any challenge makes an average project better. You can have a good software developer that doesn’t have a lot of creativity, but they won’t take your client’s projects and your company to the next level.    

So, looking for software developers to hire through a global talent network is a brilliant idea since it will provide you with the best possible developers with both technical and non-technical skills. There is no point in hiring someone with one but not the other since they are connected in every aspect of this profession. Even more so today, when the global market is highly competitive. 

Detail-oriented 

If there is a software developer who doesn’t pay attention to the smallest details, then we can surely say that this is a huge failure of a developer. Writing a code is something that requires you to pay attention to almost everything, because if you do something bad then the whole creation will be bad, and there won’t be quality work done.

Detail-oriented skills are quite important, because they will show your colleagues and your boss that you are reliable, and they won’t have to worry that the work won’t be successfully finished.

If you are a company owner, try to do some tests for your new employees and make sure that they like the details. You should never risk your company’s success.

The Bottom Line

As we have seen above, to be a successful software developer you not only need to focus on your technical skills but also on the soft skills which go one in one. 

The non-technical skills we have mentioned in this article are the most essential and if you are an aspiring software developer, try focusing on developing them more.