The Pattern #8 - Soft
Technical skills land interviews; soft skills secure jobs
In this article in the promotion series, I will be going over the soft skills aspect of securing one.
Read the previous articles on opportunity here and perception here.
Soft
Skills break down into two main types, technical and soft. But that covers a broad spectrum. In this article, we will dive into the soft skills aspect.
Grit
If I had to identify one skill as the key to success in any career, especially in tech, it would be grit. As you can see, there are weekly updates on AI, and the tech landscape is constantly evolving. It's vital to have the mental fortitude to keep learning continually. It does at times feel very much like a ‘sink or swim’ type of industry. But that is part & parcel of what we signed up for.
Communication
Communication is arguably more important than technical skills. While it doesn't necessarily solve problems directly, it goes a long way. Here are some my communication tips:
Don't Waffle: If you don't know something, simply say, "I don't know, but I'll research it." I've been on countless calls where someone is clearly waffling and the worst part is everybody knows they are.
Understanding: Ensure you fully grasp the problem or task at hand before proceeding.
Status Updates: Provide status updates without being prompted. You don't want your manager messaging you asking, "Did you do that thing?" or "What's the status on this?" It makes you appear disorganised. Unless you're being micromanaged, most people won't ask for a status update until they really need it. I’ve found that updating the Jira ticket proactively or posting updates in the relevant channel to be the most effective.
Present Solutions: Be the person who presents solutions, not just problems. If you encounter an issue and want to seek help don't say, "I'm facing this issue. Can you help me?" Instead, say, "Here's the problem I've encountered. I've looked into it, and I think the root cause is X. Here are some proposed solutions. What are your thoughts?"
Organisation
We all know the importance of being organised. But this becomes crucial when wanting to perform at a senior level. So what is important here is to develop your own system of being organised. Different systems work for different people. I’ve watched countless productivity videos over the years and have stolen bits and bobs of people systems that work for me.
My organisation method is simple:
Daily To-Do List: Daily to-do list with tick boxes next to each item. It gives me a sense of accomplishment when I tick them off.
Team Update: Summarise work completed for the day in this section
Standup: During standup, I reference my team update. This way, I don't forget what I did yesterday, and I have my updates ready.
Notes: Throughout the day, I add notes to my to-do list if someone asks me to do something on the fly
Tickets: I keep separate page to add more details about the ticket I’m working. This includes things like; one sentence summary, useful links, approaches taken. This is also useful when it comes to write your promotion packet as you will be able to reference all of the details of the work completed for the ticket.
I use Notion to keep track of all this. Each day, I duplicate the previous day's to-do list and remove completed tasks. This creates a rolling to-do list. I do this for each month and year. This allows me to see what I did each month and put together my promotion packet more easily.
Time Management
As an engineer in tech, you'll encounter various requests. I've found it crucial to set boundaries early on and learn to say no when necessary.
If your manager is pushing you, try saying, "I'm currently working on these three tickets. Which one should I deprioritize to accommodate this new task?"
Don't automatically accept tasks just because your manager asked—they might not be aware of your current workload.
This is especially important if someone outside your team makes a request. Redirect them to your manager and give your manager a heads-up.
For example, "This person is asking me to do X. Given my full plate right now, I'm directing them to you." Use your manager as a buffer for incoming requests.
Lastly, avoid excessive multitasking. Constantly switching contexts can be mentally draining. Working on four completely different tickets simultaneously is exhausting. Instead, aim to work on related, interconnected tickets—it's more efficient and less taxing on your brain.
That’s it for our promotion series, thanks for tuning in !
Plugs
A collection of interesting links I’ve found from trawling the internet
Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) - Sheikh Ali Abdur Rahman al Huthaify
Codecrafters - Become a better software engineer through practical labs. More coming on this soon !
Explain shell - Explains shell commands
Swapfile - A digital swapfile for inspiration