Communicating Soft Skills in a Technical Interview

Technical skills may get you in the interview chair, but soft skills will get you the job.

In a technical interview for roles such as developers, data scientists and others, you are more likely to secure a role if you not only have technical skills but are able to articulate them in a clear manner to technical and non-technical audiences.

In a day and age where AI is taking on more task-oriented items, including coding, higher value human characteristics is what most roles will require of individuals working with technology. This is the difference between good and great for many hiring managers. Even more important when they are closely considering two candidates with similar technical capability. The ability to articulate the impact of your work to the business, working with cross-functional teams and solving not just technical problems, but business ones is what an increasing number of hiring decision-makers look for.

 Here’s how to highlight your soft skills in a way that resonates with hiring managers.

1.     Understand the impact of your work on the business.

When you are communicating with the hiring manager, they are evaluating your understanding of the technology and ability to problem solve when you hit constraints along the project journey. These could be brought about by senior management, clients and others.

2.     Ask insightful questions if possible base your questions on your research prior to the interview or specific areas of the conversation you want to dig deeper

3.     Use storytelling to illuminate your experience in a way that sticks.

A method that you can use when describing previous experiences is with the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure responses.

Sharing stories about resolving problems your client or employer was facing, and the role you directly played in solving them, making sure some of the above characteristics are present in the story will serve you well.

Being able to express and showcase your soft skills isn’t just about checking an item off the list, it is the best way of translating your value to potential employers, managers and team members.

Expressing your technical skills using these methods will better demonstrate and highlight your applicable experience, clearly showing your fit for the role at hand.