Top Communication Skills Every IT Student Needs

The Emergence of IT Communication Skills

Many people gain their first impression of the IT Industry purely from a technical standpoint. It is often associated with coding, computers, laptops, and other technical activities. The truth is now, effective communication skills are almost equally as valuable as any of your technical skills within your career. The IT Industry today is more global and team-oriented. Companies seek IT Professionals who can articulate their thoughts well, write in an effective manner, and also present effectively. Communication Skills are increasingly taking centre stage to distinguish between candidates at job interviews, during team meetings, and when interacting with co-workers. Communication is no longer limited to career opportunities in IT; everyone's career can benefit from having good communication skills. Without good communication skills, it becomes difficult to convey what you have created, how it works, or what your client's needs are. Communication also assists in providing a bridge between the technical terms used within IT and the language spoken by most people outside the IT Profession. Technical Jargon can be simplified through communication skills so that non-technical clients can readily understand the Technical Concepts. 
 Communication skills are the number one superpower in today's highly competitive job market for IT Professionals.

The Most Important Skill is Verbal Communication for IT Students During Interviews, meetings, and Working With Others

Among all of the skills that are needed to succeed in an IT career, strong communication skills are by far the most important. The ability to communicate verbally with your peers, customers, and supervisors will help you to work well with others, express ideas, explain technical procedures, and communicate through meetings and interviews. In their educational experience, many IT students will participate in one or more group project courses where they will often brainstorm project ideas, assign each person's area of responsibility for the completion of the group project, and learn to work through group member challenges in completing their assigned portion of the project. Thus, clear and confident verbal communication with other members of their team will be essential for success.

The interview process for obtaining employment in the technology industry represents one of the places where job seekers can showcase how to communicate verbally most effectively to distinguish themselves from other applicants. In addition to being able to talk with other technical professionals/individuals, you need to communicate effectively with non-technical individuals like managers and customers.

 There are many pieces involved in how/what a person communicates verbally. Soft Skills are essential for an IT student because they help create students who have a greater sense of responsibility and reliability, and thus provide higher earned value to future employers. 

Written Communication – Why Emails, Documentation, and Reports Matter in IT Careers

 For IT students, mastering verbal communication helps build professionalism, confidence, leadership, and trust in others. The attainment of verbal communication skills may be the most important step to achieving career advancement and success in the real world for IT students. IT professionals use written communication throughout the day, every day. IT students must have mastered written communication in the form of emails, ticket descriptions, comments within code, documentation, reports, user manuals, and status updates. All IT employers expect their employees to be able to produce professional and precise written communications. 

IT students must develop superior writing skills to produce clear reports, effectively communicate an idea, and professionally represent their work. To be able to communicate effectively both with international co-workers from diverse cultures, as well as clients (who may only communicate with you via written correspondence), students studying in the area of information technology need to possess good writing skills. The ability to effectively write will help an IT student to create a professional, competent, responsible, and dependable impression of themselves to others.

 Why IT Students Need to Develop Presentation/Public Speaking Skills to Stand Out in Today's Job Market

Because the IT industry is focused on the future, having good presentation and public speaking skills is necessary for IT students. A student’s competence to communicate with ease about the technology they are working with and the solutions they create defines how successful the student will be. When IT students present themselves professionally and effortlessly, they create a better impression of themselves as credible/valuable; therefore, helping them succeed at interviews and throughout their entire career as an IT Professional. Students who have developed presentation capabilities will also do so in a manner that creates better relationships with co-workers and clients.

 Besides giving students the ability to convey their thoughts and ideas, developing a good capability to present also gives students the skill of learning how to organise their presentation effectively, visually support their presentations through the use of various visual aids, maintain eye contact, speak at the correct tempo, and connect with the audience creatively through the use of storytelling. By developing capability in Public Speaking & Presentation Skills while they are in college, IT students will be able to stand apart from other job seekers because companies prefer hiring candidates that are technically skilled, but also able to effectively communicate those technical skills with others.

 Therefore, developing these types of skills in college positions IT graduates for success once they enter the workforce. Active Listening, Collaboration, and Professional Behaviour - Essential Skills of IT Students: IT Students who develop their communication skills to a high degree of competence and can express their ideas clearly and effectively will typically become successful in the field of IT, but not to forget that they must now develop their communication through creating an Active Listener's attitude. Therefore, IT Students need to develop their ability to be an active listener.

For IT students to develop successful careers, they need to develop key skills:

IT students who can effectively communicate and articulate their thoughts are usually very successful in their future work environment. However, IT students must also be able to actively listen to others. By actively listening, IT students will not only gain a clear understanding of the information but will also learn many new things quickly and thus avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Collaboration will be another major skill that IT students will need to develop. To achieve IT as a group effort, there's input from some individuals working together, such as product developers, graphic design professionals, software testing professionals, Product Owners and many others. 

IT students should also be familiar with Professional Etiquette, which includes the basic rules of professionalism, such as having appropriate behaviour toward others with regard to civility, respect for others, punctuality, using proper email etiquette, the appropriate way to communicate within the company, and a code of ethics in the workplace. A student who shows professionalism by resolving conflicts positively, responding constructively to negative comments and displaying a positive attitude towards other employees will likely have greater success in his or her career than others.

Conclusion 

Soft Skills are essential for an IT student because they help create students who have a greater sense of responsibility and reliability, and thus provide higher earned value to future employers. Employers prefer hiring employees possessing a high degree of professionalism as they are likely to perform well when working in a team environment and under stress. IT students with a high level of competency in the areas of active listening, collaboration, and professionalism will be more successful than those who do not possess these skills; therefore, an IT student must develop their soft skills to be successful in the competitive world of technology. Hidden talents augment technical abilities and create exceptional career opportunities.