How are your communication skills?

In IT, there’s naturally a real focus on technical skills, and we spend a lot of time searching for this skill or that level of experience. And you as the candidate spend just as much time getting your key skills into your CV and showcasing what you can do.

But what you might not focus so much on is your communication skills. Often the first contact with a recruiter – internal or external is a phone call. And as a recruiter, I know in 30 seconds if the person behind this great CV is someone I can work with or not.

Are they:
• Clear and easy to understand
• Polite and professional
• Engaged and interested

If English is not your first language, it might difficult to be clear and easily understood. And as someone who only speaks one language, who am I to criticize? But this is the number one skill to work on – ahead of technical skills. Because customers and colleagues need to understand you clearly and easily. A tech support person who is hard to understand just won’t work.

And equally, being polite and professional is super important. I know as a candidate you sometimes get a lot of calls from recruiters, or are at work and busy. But it’s how you handle that situation – are you polite and professional? In some cases, you’ll need to be short and organise a different time for the call. But it should be dealt with professionally.

And finally

If you are engaged and passionate about your subject – it shines through. This is often the key factor in the candidate that comes first over the 5 candidates in the race who are technically just as good.

We all get nervous and can ramble on a bit or talk to fast on interview. Most employers understand this and will make certain allowances. But if you become aware and work on your communication; think carefully about how you are coming across – from initial calls to interview, and work on perfecting it, it can really make all the difference,

#CommunicationSkills #ITRecruitment #interview skills