Skills and Attributes Valued by Employers

Introduction

In this blog I will be talking to you about skills and attitudes valued by employers in the IT industry. Within the IT industry there are certain skills and attitudes that every employer likes to see form a person that is applying for a job these are things like good timekeeping and leadership skills but the main things that employers want is specific attributes these are qualifications and experience. 

Specific attributes are Experience and qualifications and they are valued by employers because they show the employer that you have what it takes to fill the role required of you also it shows them that you have had experience in this type of work so you will not need as much training as people who have no experience in this role.

General attributes are skills that you as a person have that would help you in a specific job role. Some examples would be being a good team worker so that if you needed to work within a team you could easily adapt to it. Another thing would be time managing because you will need to have good time keeping to make sure you get work done in the time given.

Attitudes are based on things that you as a person are good at these include honesty because employers like employees to be honest in their work environment also employers like their workers to be confident while working this means that they will produce better finished work.

Skills valued by Employers

Team Worker

Working as part of a team is being able to work in a team to get everything done on time and to the best of your ability, being able to accept what task you have been given by the team leader without creating conflict among other members of the team. E.g. If you’re struggling with something, chances are that someone else in your team knows the answer so it is good to speak up and ask for help, however it shows good team working skills if you are prepared to help someone else on the team who may have the same problem that you can help with.

Organizational Skills

Organisation Skills means that you are organised at your working station this means that you know where everything is and you can find the recourses you need easily. If you have organisational skills you will also know exactly what you should be doing at any given time. Organisational skills are very important in the IT industry because an employee can not be holding a project up because they are not organised e.g. Cant find the document they need, not sure of coding they have completed or what testing process has been completed.

Problem Solving

When you work within the IT industry you will need to be ready to solve any problems that may occur whilst working. Being able to think outside the box to solve a problem and not giving up as soon as you notice any problems will be expected of you. E.g. you will most likely be presented with a unexpected problem that you will need to be able to solve to make sure that the job you are doing gets completed.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal Skills is being pleasant and friendly to people either in your work place or to clients, How you communicate and the manner in which you present yourself will have not only an impact on your job but also on the company as a whole. If you are the employee in the IT industry who has been asked to meet with a potential client and you don't present yourself with professional interpersonal skills the client could get turned off the company and go else where. Being positive to your work each day and understanding that not everything goes according to plan, will be expected in the IT industry because it rarely ever goes according to plan.

Time management

Time Management is creating a timescale so that you know what you’re going to do before you do it, finishing what you set out to do in the time given. E.g. given yourself extra time so you cater for any unexpected problems that may occur while completing a task.

Attitudes Valued by Employers

Independent

When you are independent this means that you are able to make up your own mind without the help of others, it also means that your are able to make decisions about your task or problems that occur without involving the rest of the team. Being independent can mean that you do not need the help of others to get a job done which is vital in the IT industry because independent work is often required of staff e.g. Meet with clients testing and programming.

Dependable

Being dependable means that people will be able to trust you knowing that whatever tasks you are assigned they can depend on you to do your best. In the IT industry it is important that you are dependable, if you are an employee who is late, calls in sick etc this will effect the organisation as a whole.

Leadership

Being a leader means that you have the ability to lead a group in the right direction ensuring success in the task that you have been set. It also means that you don't give up when and if a problem occurs, you find the problem and fix it before the problem becomes sever. E.g. lead your team thought difficult times and problems by being positive supportive and understanding.

Determined to Succeed

When you work within the IT Industry its a good thing if you are determined, being determined means that you want to get something done without any faults which will result in a high quality standard of work. Also being determined helps you in any tasks that is assigned to you, because you will strive to do your best and not give up easily if things don't go according to plan. You will most likely work over and beyond to complete your work in time which will be valuable to any IT company.

Confidence

Confidence is a very good thing to have because when you are confident you can do more things that you thought you couldn’t before you gained some confidence. Being confident also means that you do not give up when things stop going the way you wanted them to. Employers of the IT industry value confidence in a member of staff because if they are confident their work will most likely be good and they will not fear away from unfamiliar tasks that need to be done.

Glossery of Terms and FAQs

Principles of Effective Communication

What is effective Communication?

Effective communication is being able to successfully communicate with other people without any problems or interruptions while using the most appropriate communication skills E.g. written, verbal and non verbal.

When having a conversation with people/person you should chose the best form of communication to get your message across form, for this you should study your audience and come up with the appropriate form of communication so that people will understand what you are saying in more detail.

People use questions to open and close conversations, they do this by asking a question which doesn’t require an answer from the other people in the conversation or just asking a question to start a conversation

 It is possible to communicate without using words, in fact only 10% of the message we are telling people is to do with words the other 90% is divided gesture and expressiveness. Gesture is 50% of the message this is to do with the way you are presenting your self and the way that you look at people e.g.  Eye contact. Expressiveness is 40% of the message this is to do with your tone of voice and the way that you express your message and also what you hear in return.

Body language plays a big part in a non verbal conversation because the conversation will depend on what the other people in the conversation can see e.g. if you are standing with no facial expression the other people in the conversation will not be able to know what you are thinking. It’s good to use body language as a form of communication because it means that you can interact with others much more easier. 

Within the IT industry employee’s and employers use their on personal things to communicate with others example of this is Emails, emails are used to send messages between a group of people or organizations.

In the IT industry employers look for their employees to have good communication skills so that they can fully explain any problems or situations that have occurred while working. They also want their employees to be good at communication because it may be in their job description E.g. working in IT support you are required to have good communication skills to ensure that you can fully communicate with the customers and get to the bottom of any problems that they may have. 

Barriers To Effective Communication

3 Example’s of Barriers to Effective Communication

·         Lighting

·         Sound

·         Dialect

When trying to communicate effectively there are lots of possible barriers which can interrupt and effect what you where doing. The three barriers to effective communication I have chosen are the light, the sound and the dialect all of these pose a threat to any verbal conversation you may be having with some one.

Light can have a major effect on the communication between people. Both verbal and non verbal conversations can be interrupted by the light which may be very bright which would make the people in the conversation find it very difficult to open their eyes which is vital in a non verbal conversation because you need to be able to see to understand what the other people within the conversation are doing. The light from the sun can cause a barrier to communication because if people are having a conversation and the sun is shinning it can very easily become annoying which will take your mind off the conversation that you where having.

Sound can also provide a barrier to communication because a verbal conversation depends on both parties being able to successfully hear what each other are saying this means that if there is a loud noise in the same place/room as you, you would then find it very difficult to hear what other people in the conversation are saying and the same would apply to them. Sound can also make it difficult in a non verbal conversation because a loud noise can distract you from what you where originally doing.

Dialect is very important when having a conversation because its vital that you can fully hear and understand what is being said, if not you may think that the other people in the conversation are saying something completely different than what they are really saying, this can lead to people having arguments and possibly falling out.

Solutions to Barries to Effective Communication

For every problem there is normally a very simple solution and this is no different when it comes to barriers to communication all you need to do is find the problem and solution wont be too far away.

Although light can cause problems when trying to communicate with other it is very easy to find the right solution that will fix any communication problems here are some solutions: if the problem is light from a light socket you could easily just turn the lights off or even leave the room. If the light is from the sun this is a little more difficult to solve but you could find some sort of shelter where the light from the sun will not be a problem.

Sound can also provide problems in a verbal and non verbal conversation but with every problem there is always a solution. If sound from other people is the problem what you could do is either move to a different area where the noise level isn’t as high or you could ask the people who are making the noise to possibly be a bit quieter. If the problem is something other than people like road works etc then your only option is to leave the area because this noise can not stopped by simply asking them to stop.

 And finally dialect can cause major problems in a conversation and needs to be handled with care by people who are in the conversation. The solution to this problem is quite straight forward, if you are having trouble understanding what is being said or you think you have heard something that may not have been said you should ask the people in the conversation to speak slower and if possible clearer

Glossery of Terms

Barrier to Communication

A barrier to communication occurs when people are in conversation and are having problems getting their messages across or are having problems understanding the other people in the conversation

Confidence

Being confident means that you do not give up when things stop going the way you wanted them to

Creativity

Creativity is being creative when completing tasks, this means that your overall standard of work will be much higher and means that you can think outside the box to come up with answers

Dependable

Being dependable means that people will be able to trust you knowing that whatever tasks you are assigned they can depend on you to do your best.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal Skills is being pleasant and friendly to people either in your work place or to your clients.

Independent

Independent is being able to do something without the help of anyone else.

Organisational

Organisational is when you are fully organised and that you know where everything is so that you don’t have to waste any time searching for things.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is being able to over any problems that occur and finding the best possible solution.

Self Motivation

Self motivation is where you get motivation from your self while completing your own personal tasks 

Time Management

Time management is were you manage all your time so that you give yourself enough time to complete specific tasks and having some extra incase any unexpected problems occur.  

Team Worker

Team worker is working within a team to get a specific job done.

Working Procedures

Working procedures is your own personal work pattern which may involve you having too work longer hours to ensure that you meet all your deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.       What are the most common barriers to communication?

The most common barriers to communication are light, sound and dialect.

2.      What would you do if you come across a problem that you can’t find a solution for?

If you come across a problem that you cant find the suitable solution for its important that in a working environment that you tell the manager about it as soon as possible.

3.    What do you do if there is conflict within your team?           

If there is conflict within your team it’s important that you and the other members of the team put them aside for the good of the team and the task.

4.      Is it more beneficial for an employee to have all of the above skills and qualities?

The more skills and qualities you have the better it will be for you as a employee, but this doesn’t mean that you must have all of the above skills and qualities.

5.      What is the best way to overcome any barrier to communication?

The best way to overcome any barrier to communication is to first fully understand what the problem is and then go about finding away to overcome it. This may involve you having to speak slow and clear or moving to a different location.

6.      Why is it necessary to have a good level of technical knowledge?

When you are working with computer it’s a good thing if you have a good level of technical knowledge to ensure that you do not do the wrong things that could damage your computer.