Five key soft skills for a programmer

The work of a developer has long gone beyond programming. To remain a sought-after specialist, a developer also needs to develop soft skills. Here’s what to look out for first

Emotional intelligence

The ability to understand other people is often underestimated, but it is empathy and emotional intelligence that play a crucial role in teamwork. Any programmer should be able to put themselves in the shoes of colleagues – this way it will be easier to exchange ideas and not oppress each other when something goes wrong.

A high level of empathy helps to better understand users. For example, it may seem that the code works fine, but in the end, you should think about the convenience of each person who uses the product.

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Stress resistance

Stress resistance is a skill that will help keep your nerves. There is a lot of stress in the work of a programmer: the code does not work for no apparent reason, colleagues do not understand what you want from them, and customers demand the impossible. In such situations, it is important to remain calm.

A good programmer knows how to give feedback and not get personal – even if you have to repeat the same comments several times a day.

Skill to work in team

Teamwork is a key soft skill for a developer. Behind any modern IT product is a whole team of specialists, and the speed of development directly depends on the ability of all participants to work smoothly.

The programmer must know who is responsible for what, and understand which of his colleagues he can turn to for advice. At the same time, it is important to follow the rules and not get carried away with self-expression: an initiative is useful only if it works for common goals.

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Project, people and self management

The programmer works with projects. Various people gather around the project, for example, the client, assistants, contractors, external forces in the form of the state. The person who manages the projects stands in the middle of the system. It has leverage and connection to all its components. It depends on him how the project will turn out.

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Negotiation

In modern companies, programmers have to communicate a lot with colleagues, managers and customers. For example, a developer may be invited as an expert to a meeting with a customer. Negotiations will also help in everyday work: when choosing a technology, agreeing on a pool of tasks and evaluating results. The developer must be able to defend his point of view.