The Growing Importance of Soft Skills in Tech Roles
- cvguys.in
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
The Tech World’s Best-Kept Secret (Spoiler: It’s Not More Code)
Imagine this: you know all the frameworks, passed every coding test, and your GitHub account sparkles like a new MacBook. But when you're trying to get or keep a top job at a tech company in 2025, you're in for a surprise - it's not only about what you can code but how you can connect. The image of the lone coder in a hoodie is changing - we are moving to a world where soft skills matter most.
I know what you’re thinking, but don't believe me - 92% of tech hiring experts agree that soft skills are as important as technical skills, and they expect this to keep growing. In fact, 74% of UK tech companies have reported that they're prioritising soft skills instead of hard skills in their recruitment efforts this year, which is a huge change in what matters most to employers.
If you thought, "team player" or "works well in teams" were just box-tickers for a boring resume, think again - 89% of employers prefer to hire someone who can work well with others. And adaptability? About 80% of employers say it is important to be adaptable to be successful working for them in the fast paced, ever-changing tech universe.
Why is the change necessary? Because, development of modern software is a team sport that often spans continents and time zones. AI is automating some routine coding. This is why the human elements of software development - creativity, natural empathy, adaptability, and soft skills - are uniquely yours.
One industry report cited communication skills in 2 million recent job postings in tech, way above coding ability. So if you've ever scratched your head at why your technically brilliant colleague keeps getting passed over for promotions, here's a clue - companies need someone who can code and someone connected.
Having said this, in the world of Slack, Zoom, and international teams, your ability to communicate, collaborate, and adapt is no longer a "nice-to-have", it is a competitive advantage.
What Are Soft Skills in Tech? (And Why Your IDE Can’t Install Them)
If you’ve ever thought about running npm install empathy or pip install team work, you are not alone. But unlike hard skills—those technical skills that can be learnt in a bootcamp, or from a YouTube tutorial—soft skills are the nuanced human characteristics that drive how you communicate, solve problems, and lead.
You may view them as the "operating system" of your work life: invisible but completely required for everything else in your work life to run smoothly.
Soft skills include communication, collaboration, adaptability, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and creativity. The difference between a developer that can write perfect code on their own, and a developer that can communicate their ideas, resolve conflict, and motivate a team, are those soft skills.
In fact 84% of employees and managers currently believe demonstrating soft skills is essential in hiring (22% believe those soft skills can absolutely make or break your decision).
Why the sudden interest in soft skills? The growing prevalence of AI and automation means that technical expertise is no longer enough — machines can do all the routine work, only humans bring the empathy, creativity, and nuance.
Take emotional intelligence — 90% of top performers have high emotional intelligence, and it's now one of the most in-demand skills in the workplace. Now that remote/hybrid work is here to stay, the ability to communicate clearly and collaborate online is more valuable than ever.
There is an important distinction between hard and soft skills: hard skills can be taught in a classroom, and can be measured by a certification, paid course, and/or a degree.
Soft skills are developed over time, typically by practicing them in the real-world, testing the skills, reflecting on your performance and rigorously improving them. No, soft skills are not skills you download; yes, you do have to develop them - if you want to thrive in the tech world of 2025 and beyond.
The Human Element Behind Every Tech Stack
Behind every polished app and functional backend is often something less obvious yet much more important — people working together. While we may inside think about the technology, the facts indicate that collaboration is the quiet champion of successful technical projects.
A Deloitte study found that 73% of employees engaged in collaborative work indicated their performance had improved, and 60% indicated they felt inspired. Business leaders also agree that workplace failures are due to poor teamwork, 86% of them indicating it was not a technical problem.
With a significant shift to remote and hybrid work models, there has also been an explosion of digital collaboration tools. From 2019 to 2021, the percentage of workers in the world using digital collaboration tools jumped from 55% to 79%, and the global market for collaboration tools is forecasted to increase threefold by 2033.
Seemingly, seamless team collaboration has become increasingly important in our distributed physical world; however, while technology can connect us, the human element (communication, trust, and shared purpose) build high-performing teams from a group of people.
But here's the kicker: not every collaboration is equal or affords the same opportunities and/or benefits for productivity or value for money. Research suggests the range at the individual levels of contribution to high value represents only 3% to 5% of a workforce, and they account for 20% to 35% of all high value collaborations.
This makes these workers high value contributors and collaborators, but they also have the potential to experience burnout if not given the proper encouragement, praise, and recuperation time.
Also, while hybrid working has improved collaboration across immediate teammates by 16%, it has negatively impacted collaboration across broader colleagues by 21%, discouraging both collaboration and innovation when you stick to the same people.
So, the next time you're trying to work out why you're struggling with that pesky problem, ask yourself - is it really a technical problem or could it be a failure of collaboration?
Working in technology, we all know the most difficult or complex problems usually aren't 'technical problems', they're actually relatively simple people problems. The best solution is collaboration!
Communication — The Real Programming Language
In the world of technology, communication is the special ingredient that transforms a group of talented individuals into a high functioning team. After all, you can write award-winning code but if you can’t share your thoughts or understand the thoughts and ideas of others, your project may end up as a confusing, buggy mess like a failed software update.
In fact, 14% of IT professionals surveyed are developing effective communication skills above all other soft skills ranking only second to problem solving.
84% of employees and managers believe that effectively communicating and demonstrating soft skills is critically and equally important during the hiring process, while 22% believe communication skills can be the deciding factor between hiring or not hiring a candidate.
It's probably not too surprising considering that IT and telecommunications are leading industries with 99% of teams advertising and actively building soft skills into their teams.
Why is communication so important? In hybrid and remote work environments, the ability to communicate your ideas and thoughts effectively, whether it's through Zoom, Slack, or in email, can be the difference between launching a project on time without any issues or simply lost in translation.
Poor communication is not just awkward - it can be costly. According to the Harvard Business Review, misunderstanding and miscommunication is the cause of costly errors, missed deadlines, and frustrated teammates.
And let's face it, wouldn't it be awesome if you had an email linter to catch those "reply-alls" or passive-aggressive undertones? But for now, clear and empathetic communication is your best way to build trust and avoid unnecessary drama.
So, the next time you want to send a vague message or skip a meeting with the whole team, remember that your communication ability is on par with your coding ability. In tech, words can be just as effective as algorithms.
Teamwork & Emotional Intelligence — Debugging Human Interactions
In today's technology marketplace, being a lone rock star won’t get you far if you don’t have the ability to collaborate with others. Teamwork and emotional intelligence (EQ) are now necessary ingredients for success in career progression that not only the IT and telecom marketplace is focused on, but also what collegial organizations, non-profits and other sectors are concentrated on.
Almost all IT and telecom organizations (99%) and 84% of employees and managers, perceive soft-skills (like collaboration and empathizing) as invaluable in implementing hiring practices (binaries based on values!) or effective team collaboration.
Why? ! High EQ contributes to managing stress, conflict resolution and motivating a team of people in a fast-paced environment, which is necessary.
A TalentSmart study evaluated the level of emotional intelligence of high performers in the workplace. The study found that 90% of those identified as the top performers possessed high levels of emotional intelligence.
The good news being 90% of people with high levels of collaboration and emotional intelligence take less time to solve a problem and those same individuals create a positive, innovative workplace environment culture to thrive in.
The next time you find yourself in a code review, brainstorming session or other short-lived team meeting observe the way you act in the group - are you listening to other individuals sharing their ideas, empathizing with the ideas of others, building trust among team members? Because that - could be the '[rest of the] success or failure ' of your development project team.
Adaptability & Problem-Solving — Surviving the Constant Version Updates of Tech (and Life)
In tech, change isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a daily reality of our life. Whether it's a new framework or a last-minute pivots or a bug that appears 15 minutes before launch, being able to help adapt and solving problems around that space are the real superpowers.
In fact, 44% of businesses are anticipating a change, to the point of enabling flexibility and adaptability to the extent that nearly half employees’ skills will be disrupted within the next 5 years. Flexibility is easier than being resilient, but it's still a clicker challenge of manage.
Resiliency and problem-solving are now the top soft skill gap for IT professionals, with only 21% anticipated to develop this in 2024. The ability to compose, think critically, and come up with solutions creatively is every bit what separates those who thrive from those who can merely survive.
“The value of our soft skills determines employee employability and wage growth,” as one expert stated, “not to mention, it's not something you can quickly patch.”
With 70% of job types expected to change by 2026 and up to 1.4 million workers needing to reskill, engagers can expect more leaders who can able to adapt and jump into new emerging problems quickly. So next time you find your project taking a left turn, remember: flexibility, and a problem-solving mindset are your best debugging tool, both for code, and for your entire career.
Leadership, Growth, and the Soft Skills Advantage
Technical skills may help to get a foot in the door, but it is our soft skills that help us step into a leadership position and provide the foundations for the rest of our career.
In 2025 what employers say they are looking for are more than just certifications and code repositories, they are looking for professionals who can motivate teams and make informed decisions while using empathy and collaboration along the way.
In fact, 84 percent of employees and managers stated that soft skills were very important in the hiring process and 22 percent of employees and managers mentioned that soft skills can make or break a decision to hire.
Information does not lie: 99 percent of information technology and telecommunication companies promote soft skills such as communication and leadership within their teams.
As hybrid and cross-functional roles continue to become more common, what will differentiate you as a future leader will be your ability to lead, motivate and adapt. As Pluralsight suggest, the strength of your soft skills will ultimately impact both employability and wage growth, potentially eclipsing even the best technical capabilities.
So, if you want to get promoted or get into a leadership role, it is important to keep in mind that your ability to build rapport, communicate with different stakeholders and lead others is your competitive advantage. In this evolving tech world, soft skills are not just a nice to have, they are the foundations of a sustainable career.
Building Your Soft Skills Toolbox — The Never-Ending Sprint
If you thought learning a new programming language was hard, try figuring out how to give constructive feedback without starting a Slack war. But in 2025, adding to your soft skills tool kit is not optional. Developing or improving your soft skills are the upgrade your career needs to stay relevant and enduring; accordingly, soft skills are essential in any profession and industry.
The numbers indicate that: 84% of employees and managers believe soft skills are necessary requirements in hiring, and 22% say it can be the difference between candidates. These reasons explain why IT and telecommunications businesses are leading the charge in developing soft skills; 99% of organizations like these have utilized soft skills (consider the skills of communication, adaptation, and leadership) in some activity within their teams.
Why? Your technical skills won’t protect your future - especially since 44% of workers expect their skills to be disrupted in the next five years (documented by future skills honoured on user's profiles), while 70% of job types will have expectations changed by 2026.
So, how do you begin building these hard-to-define skills? The good news is that, unlike your favourite framework, soft skills technically won't become irrelevant overnight. Here is a great way to kick-start your never-ending sprint:
Self-Reflection: Assess yourself regularly with regard to your strengths and gaps. 86% of employees find it difficult to identify and express their skills, so an honest self-assessment is a starting point.
Feedback: Ask your colleagues and others for feedback. Feedback is a constructive way to self-debug.
Practice Active Listening: In meetings to minimize misinterpretation, become a better person by understanding before responding. Think about it; we have built significant trust in our organizations because misunderstandings are one of the most prevalent reasons for project delays.
Embrace Opportunities to Learn: 63% of soft skill learners indicate that training enhanced their performance a lot or substantially. Utilize online courses, workshops, and even personal virtual one-on-one coaching platforms to enhance your knowledge and skills.
Mentoring and Peer Coaching: Engage in peer networks or find a mentor. Learning from others' experiences can propel your growth.
When the situation calls for it, put it all into action: When the moment arises, volunteer to lead a meeting, propose an idea, or facilitate a conversation with your team. There is no substitute for real life.
Keep in mind that very soft skills (like adaptability, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving) are a hot commodity in today's workplace because they enable teams to create and flourish in ever-more uncertain environments. With automation allowing machines to perform many of the routine tasks of work, it will be uniquely human capacities that will influence employment choices.
The next time you renew your resume or create a first LinkedIn profile, don't excel your coding languages and certifications. Focus on examples when you adapted to difficult team dynamics, solved problems or issues no one else could solve, managed to lead your group through change c, or provide similar uses regarding your team experience. After all, the most valuable upgrade to your career isn't a new app or tool, but you.
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Disclaimer – This post is intended for informative purposes only, and the names of companies and brands used, if any, in this blog are only for reference. Please refer our terms and conditions for more info. Images credit: Freepik, AI tools.
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