In a stack of resumes, which candidate stands out? The one with the skills to do the job. End of story, right? Not quite.
While you are wise to eliminate candidates who cannot perform essential tasks, evaluating applicants on these criteria alone may not lead to the best hiring choice for your company. Your new technology expert may be able to write code in five different languages and move your data storage to the cloud without batting an eye. But if they can’t explain what they are doing to their coworkers or help business leaders understand why the change is necessary, they could cause undue frustration and confusion.
The truth is that the best candidates for IT positions have many traits seemingly unrelated to their IT knowledge that help them succeed in their roles. As technology advances, the demand for individuals who excel in these areas is growing. Employers in many industries are searching for individuals who not only perform technical tasks well, but also demonstrate other valuable qualities that make them an asset to the team.
Skilled IT recruiters can help you identify individuals with these sought-after qualities. Since hiring decisions ultimately fall to company leaders, it is vital that decision-makers like you understand what makes top candidates stand out to experienced recruiters.
An Inquiring Mind
What are you passionate about? Golf? Vintage cars? International cuisine? We all have something we love—something we enjoy discussing and sharing with others.
Top IT professionals are passionate about technology. They live on the cutting edge, constantly aware of what is coming on the horizon. Whether the new technologies they are exploring directly relate to their work in the office or not, it still benefits you. Why? Because everything they learn adds to their existing knowledge about how technology works and what is possible.
These individuals ask questions and learn to work outside their comfort zone. Problems are not obstacles blocking their progression. They are a challenge with a potentially new and innovative solution. You can count on the fact that technology will change, and the IT professionals who are consistently learning more and pushing the envelope to find solutions to existing problems will keep you adapting and innovating along the way.
Strong Communication Skills
In every business, there is a potential gap between IT-savvy team members and business leaders not familiar with technical jargon. Effective communication bridges that gap. IT professionals who can explain technical problems and proposed solutions in layman’s terms enhance decision-making and collaboration with leaders and decision-makers across the organization.
Communication also facilitates teamwork, helping IT professionals work together on projects, share knowledge, and mentor colleagues. To do so, however, communication skills must extend beyond simply expressing ideas. Actively listening and accurately interpreting the tone and posture of colleagues are emotional intelligence skills that significantly improve interpersonal communication and interactions. When IT teams communicate well, it improves their ability to collaborate to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
Wholistic Problem-Solving
Charles Kettering, head of research at General Motors, once said, “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” Misunderstanding or misdiagnosing problems will inevitably lead to flawed solutions. Likewise, correctly identifying the root of a problem is the first step toward finding a practical solution and a key skill in problem-solving.
Consider the plight of a company whose website went down just after 9 am Monday morning. Clients are trying to log in and start their day. The company’s best resource during such incidents is IT experts, who are both knowledgeable in their field and skilled in deductive reasoning, debugging, and troubleshooting.
Technical problems are not the only challenges IT employees face. Team members often have differing opinions and perspectives. These differences can foster innovation and creativity, but they can also breed contention and disagreements. Team members who can take a step back and seek to understand the problem will be better able to find common ground and an effective solution.
Collective Collaboration
IT professionals rarely complete projects solo. Most projects require the combined efforts of many individuals specializing in different areas, such as cybersecurity, architecture, development, networking, and customer support. Each team member contributes their expertise, and each piece must come together. Ensuring all parts are compatible and function as designed requires collaboration and, oftentimes, compromise.
For example, you want your website to be secure and user-friendly. However, the more cybersecurity measures the team adds, the more the user experience suffers. Achieving both goals requires compromise. Team members need to look beyond their expertise and personal opinion to consider the perspectives of their colleagues and goals of the project. This type of collaboration will lead to the best and most innovative solutions.
Constant Self-Improvement
Have you ever met someone who is the best in their field, and they know it? Collaboration can be a challenge. Whether justified or not, their perspective makes it challenging for them to consider other points of view. It may also make others less willing to share their ideas.
Ideally, employees should feel empowered by their abilities and confident in contributing to the team. At the same time, they need to recognize there is always room for growth, especially in IT fields. As technology, processes, and best practices change, those desiring to improve will continue to grow and adapt. They will seek opportunities that challenge them intellectually and professionally. Their internal drive to improve is unrelated to what their colleagues, clients, or supervisor thinks. It is about becoming the best at what they do.
An individual who consistently strives to improve will always be an asset to the organization where they work.
Recruiting the Best
According to CompTIA,1 only 45% of the tech workforce works for technology companies. The remaining 55% have jobs in other industries. IT professionals work in nearly every sector of the economy. For employers, this means more competition for highly skilled IT individuals. It also means that many employers may be just starting to hire IT professionals and incorporate them into their workforce.
If IT hiring is a new endeavor for your organization, an experienced recruitment firm can be an invaluable resource. Look for one with experience hiring for IT positions like yours who will take the time to get to know your company’s unique culture and specific needs. Be sure they will look beyond just the applicant’s IT skills to determine whether their personality, values, and traits will help your team succeed in 2025. Taking a broader view of each candidate’s qualifications will enable you to find one who will help your organization continue to grow and thrive.
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Employers are seeking individuals who excel in technical tasks and possess valuable interpersonal qualities. Skilled IT recruiters can help identify these candidates. As hiring decisions rest with company leaders, it’s essential for decision-makers to recognize what distinguishes top candidates. Read on for more insights in this infographic.
1https://www.comptia.org/content/research/state-of-the-tech-workforce