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3 Critical Skills Employers are Looking For in Tech Professionals

    

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Editor's Note: This post was originally published April 2017 and has recently been updated and revised for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Demand for tech professionals continues to climb. New technologies, emerging cyber threats and other trends are providing more opportunities than ever for applicants to demonstrate their expertise and prove why they would be the best fit for a particular position. However, staying stagnant too long in the tech industry can negatively impact your appeal to employers. Let's take a look at three critical skills that employers are looking for in modern tech professionals:

1. Effective Communication

Being able to speak in an eloquent, understandable way is an absolute necessity for tech applicants. These individuals are being asked to work effectively with others, including their own team members, other departments, stakeholders and even customers. CIO contributor Sandra Smith noted that tech professionals should have emotional intelligence to guide teams through conflicts and elicit actionable feedback that will help meet shared goals. Tech applicants should have effective communication skills that can be tailored to different audiences. This will help transcend silos and empower them as leaders within the business. 

2. Data Management

Big data created a number of opportunities for tech professionals, including protecting the information as well as turning it into actionable insights to further business goals. Data analysis in particular is becoming a major necessity for modern organizations, as they handle information from a variety of different sources. According to Business Insider, demand for data analysis skills has grown 82 percent, and many employers are willing to pay well for the right candidate. Similarly, demand for SQL knowledge has gone up to support database technology and better manage company information. As more data is generated, businesses will increasingly look for qualified professionals to manage and analyze it.

3. Coding

Coding can be an essential skill to have no matter what specialty you pursue in your tech career. Basic programming and coding skills can make your resume stand out from other candidates and help you contribute to varying projects. Business News Daily suggested that coding can help professionals get into other areas like mobile development, agile software development and even user experience design. Whether you're new to the field or a veteran of the industry, coding knowledge can be essential to opening up business opportunities. There are a number of different options to learn coding from online courses to certification exams that can help expand and verify your knowledge.

Employers look at a number of skills from tech professionals when considering them for an open position. Communication, in particular, is becoming a major necessity as teams become more collaborative. For skills like data management and coding, tech professionals can expand on these areas with certifications and online courses. Certifications will show employers that you are capable of applying your knowledge for business needs and can help meet company goals. As the tech industry becomes more competitive, it will be essential to understand what employers are seeking and where you can learn and broaden these capabilities.

New Horizons Career Development Solutions can help boost these skills with our Business Skills and Data Management courses, such as Microsoft SQL Server. Looking for other courses? View our training and certification catalog.

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