Surprisingly, just being a Developer is not the only skill you need to get ahead in this industry.  “What else could you possibly need?”, we hear you mumbling under your breath.  Being an excellent Developer with detailed techy knowledge of programming, coding, hardware, operating systems, apps and more, is of course your number one priority but here a few other skills you need to hone, in order to become a “head-hunted, can’t-live-without” kind of Developer.

How good are you at a Rubix Cube?

Problem solving is the most important principle of both software and web development.  A developer who can’t problem-solve is like a chef who can’t use a knife.  The two practices go hand in hand and honing your problem-solving skills will inevitably make you a better developer and coder.

Keep up with the Joneses

The IT industry is one of the fastest-moving, ever-changing industries out there.  Very few industries come close to ours in terms of the amount of almost daily updating trends.  You need to be the kind of Dev that keeps him/herself ahead of the pack by reading industry news and keeping up with changing trends.  Keep mastering new trends and adding new skills to your list of expertise to ensure you don’t get left behind.

Think like a user

Now we don’t mean this in the drug-addict sense here, but rather in the “being able to put yourself in the user’s shoes” sense.  Being able to do this will make you a more practical and user-friendly (excuse the pun) Developer.  Consider your users, and how they might access your software or the user-experience they will have on your site.  Think like a user, code like a Developer.

Master the scary world of ‘other people’

We left this one until last cause we knew it might scare the bejesus out of you.  Having good communication skills (both verbal and written) will help you immensely in your day to day job.  Explaining your software or code to your teams and managers, and why you created it the way you did is par for the Dev-course, so being a good communicator is kind of key.  A kick-ass IT team will inevitably consist of more than just you Dev types too.  So, having to communicate and interact with project managers, strategists, graphic designers, and copy writers will be expected of you daily – so you better smarten up those interpersonal skills.

Are you a Dev with these sought-after skills, looking for a new challenge?  Send your CV to e-Merge now, and let’s get those skills working for you.