The shortage of IT specialists has been shaping the labor market for years. Due to digitalization and the associated development of the latest technologies, companies are increasingly forced to attract and hire suitable software developers and IT specialists. Even though the number of young academics in computer science is on the rise (around 26,000 computer scientists successfully completed their studies in 2017; source: German Federal Employment Agency), there is still a large gap.
On the one hand, there is a shortage of IT professionals, and on top of that, not all of them are successful. We’ve specialized in recruiting STEM professionals for over a decade and have found that successful software developers excel at these five competencies:
Expertise
In software development, companies need subject matter experts. I.e. the developer should know and use his programming language very well. We also advise that software developers are absolute experts in one programming language – instead of having only basic knowledge of all languages. The more expertise in a field, the better. In addition, it is not enough just to be able to apply them. Successful software developers also design the architecture before they start programming. An analytical mind coupled with programming skills are a plus for successful developers.
Creativity
One competency that is usually not immediately associated with IT professionals is creativity. In IT, however, this is indispensable to give free rein to one’s creativity, because software developers should seek and find unusual solutions to problems. It is also important to identify potential problems in advance and take appropriate action.
Curiosity
Curiosity and openness to new technologies are an absolute must-have: technologies are becoming increasingly complex and rapid technology change is shaping the software development industry. Therefore, software developers are more and more challenged to think their way into new technologies, to try out new ways and to motivate themselves again and again for continuous development. In addition to soft skills such as willingness to learn, adaptability or enthusiasm, this includes a large portion of flexibility, openness and curiosity.
Communication skills
The image of a software developer as a nerd programming in the basement is no longer relevant. Nowadays, high-quality software is developed jointly in interdisciplinary teams. With agile methods, such as Scrum and co., teamwork is lived at the highest level. Developers share ideas on a daily basis within their teams and are often involved in multiple projects with different teams. Successful developers should therefore have very good communication skills.
Continuous learning
In the past, most developers used programming languages such as Algol, Cobol and Fortran. Nowadays, software developers specialized in Java and Python as well as iOS and Android platforms are in demand. Software developers are therefore required to stay on the ball and develop their skills. From our experience, successful software developers deal with their field of expertise even in their spare time and constantly educate themselves.
At MINT Solutions, we have open positions primarily for the following developer types: Backend Developer, Frontend Developer, Fullstack Developer, Mobile Developer. Here you can see our open positions.
