Communications of the ACM
Three Soft Skills Every Technical Professional Needs in 2022
Employers want technical professionals capable of collaborating effectively under pressure.
When there is not enough talent to supply demand, employers tend to emphasize skills over four-year degrees, according to a recent report by Harvard Business Review and Emsi Burning Glass. While organizations still prefer technical workers with college degrees overall, the study found that four-year degrees are becoming less important to many organizations.
Practices vary widely between companies. For example, less than 30% of job listings at Accenture and IBM required degrees for software quality-assurance engineers, compared to over 90% of listings for the same role at Intel and HP. At Oracle, 100% of those listings required a degree.
Why are college degrees still preferred? Employers tend to perceive college graduates as possessing valuable soft skills, also known as core skills, compared to those without degrees. The soft skills they seek in technical hires include: the ability to clearly communicate in collaborative environments; being able to manage your time and keep up with complex projects; and the ability to manage stress.
From IEEE Innovation at Work
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