To do well in a job in the IT industry you need to have good personal attributes that are valued by employers as well as good communication skills. To understand the personal attributes valued by employers you should have a good knowledge off specific and general attributes as well as the professional attributes needed to work in a professional manner.

Some of the specific attributes needed are job-related such as having a good technical knowledge of the IT skills needed and a good awareness of working procedures such as health and safety and security. Job related attributes vary greatly across the IT Industry but one of the key attributes is to have a good technical knowledge of the hardware and software that is used within your organization. For example working as a programmer you need to have a good knowledge of the software development lifecycle and a range of programming languages that are used within the organization. A Technician needs to have a good technical understanding of networks and the range of operating systems and software applications that other staff is using so that they can support them. Having the correct technical knowledge and qualifications is very important for many roles in IT. You as a worker need to constantly upgrade your skills to know and understand the latest technologies. Another key attribute is having a good awareness of good working procedures such as health and safety and security. All IT staff must be trained to ensure they are aware of health and safety requirements of sitting at a computer. They should know that they need to adjust their monitor settings and ensure that their keyboard and mouse it set correctly. Being aware of the surrounding and loose cables and spillages is essential and having the confidence to report issues as you see them is a good attribute to have. Security is another concern in the IT industry. Staff that understand how to use smart passwords when logging on to a company network and having the knowledge not to give their password to anyone else inside or outside the company are a valuable asset and companies seek staff with a security conscious attitude like this. Being professional and having an awareness of using the internet and email correctly within the company to limit and viruses entering into the company network is a good attribute to have in terms of security.

We have mentioned some specific attributes that are job related and relevant to understanding good working procedures but companies also look to hire staff with good general attributes such as: planning skills, organisational skills, time management, team working, verbal skills, written communication skills, numeracy and creativity. Being able to plan as an individual and work within a team is essential. Have the organizational skills and time management skills to effectively plan your work and meet deadlines is a skill that is highly valued by employers. For example when working as a technician being organized and informing all staff of software updates that are needed can speed things up. If you are well organized and send a patch to all staff in the company and schedule a time to check that the update has work this can save lots of time rather than doing the update yourself. This shows that you are also a good team worker. To successfully communicate within a team you need good written and verbal communication skills. If you send an email to other staff with instructions on how to use a new piece of software that your company has purchased the written instructions need to be clear. Written communication needs to be precise and to the point and should be understandable by everyone that receives this. If you were sending instructions to technical and non technical staff then you need to consider this before communicating the information. Being a successful verbal communicator is also an important attribute. If you were managing a team of people as an IT Project Manager then you need to be able to talk to people of all levels. You might have a technical group of people working on one part of the project and the marketing team working on the other. You need to be able to adapt your language to talk to both groups and communicate successfully. Another key attribute is having good numeric skills. Lots of technical roles require you to make calculations. A programmer needs to have a good mathematical brain as they will need to use logical reasoning when writing code. A web designer would also need to make calculations on how to divide up a web page and how many pixels are needed for each section. A games programmer would need to calculate scores during gameplay and reward the player with bonuses based on their current score. Many IT jobs also require you to be creative and creativity is a key skill that employers seek out. Having fresh and new ideas that you use to try and improve products and services is something that many employers will look for.

In addition to having many attributes in the work place, employers also want people with the right attitude! People who are determined to succeed and will do whatever it takes such as learning a new programming language to get the job done. The ability to be independent and work on your own is shows that you have a good attitude. For example a Junior Graphics Designer that does not need to constantly go to senior colleagues and ask for help will be more valued than someone who cannot work on their own initiative. Having integrity and being dependable is a key skill. Staff who show integrity and honesty are valued for example someone that never misses a day at work unless they are really ill or someone that does not abuse the company internet policy by spending hours on Facebook. This shows that they are dependable and can be trusted to do a good job. If someone is dependable they will do what it takes to meet deadlines when needed. Having good problem solving skills and being able to resolve conflict and work things out with other members of staff is important. Being a leader and being able to take on responsibility is also a valuable skill. For example a tester who says that they will take responsibility in organizing all test plans for the user interface of a new product will take some of the responsibility off a project manager. Having skills like this gives you a good chance of gaining promotion over time. Being confident and not having to have everything you do checked is an excellent attitude to have this shows that you are self-motivated and wish to do well at your job!