If you work in an IT industry or have ever been a part of it, you know that it is one of the most lucrative and stressful industries in the world. Work related stress, talent shortfall and skill gap are major concerns but they are not the only ones. You will have to deal with budget constraints, lack of support from top stakeholders as well as digital transformation.
You might get overwhelmed by reading the long list of challenges but IT professionals face these issues on a day to day basis. If you want to overcome the odds and thrive in an IT industry, you need specific qualities and skills that will help you swim smoothly through the rough sea of IT industry. You might be up against some sharks that will try your best to swallow you but you will have to look for ways to survive and then thrive.
In this article, you will learn about eight qualities that will help you scale new heights in your IT career.
8 Qualities That Will Take Your IT Career To New Heights In 2022
Here are eight qualities that can help you accelerate your career in the IT industry.
Awareness
The pace at which the information technology industry is evolving is mind blowing. New technologies are introduced every month and the same goes for tools and framework. Mastering all this is not easy but important especially if they want to stay relevant in the future. Always stay up to date with the latest trends, technologies and techniques so you can stay ahead of the curve.
Always look for opportunities to improve yourself and stay in the learning mode all the time. Self evaluate yourself and regularly take feedback from peers and mentors. Keep an eye on your weaknesses and try to improve on them. This will help you become more valuable to the organization and tell your colleagues that you are open to feedback and want to improve.
Authenticity
One of the rarest qualities IT professionals have is authenticity. They are afraid to be their true self because they fear what opinions they could have about them. What they don’t realize is that employers have started valuing authenticity more recently and want their employees to be themselves. More and more companies are now preferring candidates that are multi-talented and wear multiple hats at once.
Critical Thinking
Probably the most important quality you need to succeed in today’s IT environment is problem solving and critical thinking. Working in the IT industry means you will come across tons of challenges and how you deal with them will determine your success or failure in the IT department. You might have to resolve customer issues and act as a front desk officer in some cases. You might have to solve complex problems and you don’t have much time to do that either. That is where your critical thinking and problem solving skills can come in handy. Yes, you can easily resolve technical issues such as setting up the best dedicated server because you specialize in Vps server in Singapore it but there are other challenges that require problem solving skills.
Attention To Detail
One of the common criticisms IT departments as a whole faces is that they don’t do much to align IT objectives with business goals. This lack of alignment usually stems from lack of attention to detail. For instance, a single coding error can cause enterprise wide disruption. Same goes for firewalls, cloud misconfiguration and server issues. Sadly, most IT professionals do not think that way and one mistake on their part disrupts the whole business.
That is why it is imperative for IT professionals to pay attention to details. If you look at everything from a bird’s eye perspective, you can never be able to do it the right way. You will have to dig deeper and pay attention to intricate details in order to fix underlying issues.
Communication Skills
Technical jargons might not seem like a big deal for IT professionals but they are enough to make non IT and non technical employees mind boggle. That is where your communication skills can come to your rescue. If you can explain a technical term or concept in an easy to digest and understand manner, you can not only make the business case but can propel your IT career to new heights. Another quality that IT professionals must have is listening and understanding other people’s point of view.
Influence
Unlike other industries where your primary focus is to sell your products, things are different in the IT industry. In the technology and IT industry, you have to convince people to buy, not just promote products or services. If you have the influence and skill to turn prospects into advocates, you can become a valuable asset for your organization. You need to serve as a representative of the company’s brand.
Negotiations
Vendors, co-workers, clients and C-suite executives, you will have to negotiate with all of them as an IT leader or professional. If you lack negotiation skills, how would you be able to do that? You can’t. You need exceptional negotiation skills in order to convince vendors to give you the best deal. Similarly, you will have to convince board members and top level executives to give you more IT budget. Same goes when you are selling an IT solution to users and negotiate with audit clients.
Innovation
Last but certainly not the least is innovation. The high demand for IT solutions has encouraged new players to enter the already saturated IT market. In a highly competitive environment like this, you need to continuously innovate in order to stand out from the crowd and steal the limelight your brand deserves. In fact, businesses have started realizing this and are now preferring candidates who can bring more unique ideas to the table.
Which qualities do you think are most important for your career growth? Let us know in the comments section below.
