If you are looking to forge a career as a software developer, you will need to bring some pretty essential skills to the table. Business leaders are finding it difficult in the current climate to hire recruits with all the skills and experience they require to hit the ground running, thus seeing them widen their talent search.
Companies are being forced to upskill and reskill existing employees and bring in recruits that need a little work. You can achieve a role as a software developer if you equip yourself with in-demand base skills before applying or find a position offering upskilling as part of the recruitment package.
Hiring individuals with base skills is the ideal opportunity for those seeking to get into the industry. Companies are offering upskilling and on the job training opportunities to ensure they are not left behind.
So why can’t it be you?
If becoming a software developer is your ultimate goal, yet you lack the advanced skills required to jump straight in on modern cloud architectures or a digital transformation, what can you do to learn and upskill so you stand a chance? It goes without saying that you should be diligent, patient, open-minded and adaptable. Still, you can do more practical things also to help you stand out to a potential employer.
Here, we’ve asked recruitment experts, Agile Recruit, to tell us the top 5 base skills for software development jobs in demand for developers and software engineers.
Understand basic algorithms and data structures
It is bound to come up at any programming interview, so knowing where you stand with skills such as writing real-world applications, you should show some understanding of linked list, array and map structures.
Programming languages
The critical in-demand technical skills include understanding or basic knowledge of the most commonly used programming languages, such as C++, C#, Linux, Embedded Linux, Embedded C, Python, Ruby., Scala and NET.
Database and SQL
As a programmer, you are expected to have an understanding of at least one database. Knowing how to insert, update and delete data and write SQL queries to retrieve information is essential. The most common Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL are the most used, and if you can pick up advanced knowledge on how to join an aggregate function, it could certainly give you an advantage.
Working methodologies
You are likely to come across project management processes such as Agile, Kanban or Scrum. You may have learning opportunities in your current role to get you started or read up as much as you can to understand how they work, why one may be better than another for a project, and some of the key features.
The art of collaboration
The role of a software developer has moved on from simply developing apps and software. Businesses are looking for candidates that can work more closely with them. It is an essential requirement that you learn and understand the various business aspects and how they operate. A willingness to collaborate with people outside of the IT function requires communication skills that are clear and concise. You must also be able to understand and explain how you will deliver the business needs. So work on collaboration skills.
Collaborative business and personal skills are moving coding positions on to require a business understanding to deliver projects that speak the language of the company far beyond the technology involved. Take advantage of free online courses to improve and refresh your knowledge. Fill in gaps and work with a recruitment business that can help you identify suitable opportunities and guide you on future vacancies and career choices.
The role of the software developer is changing, and so must your focus if you want to get ahead.
