By Connie Tremblay, Sr. IT Talent Partner
Communication is the most frequently requested skill in today’s job market, appearing in nearly 55% of more than 4.6 million job postings analyzed by Jobscan.
That statistic may come as a surprise in information technology, where technical expertise often takes center stage. After all, aren’t employers primarily hiring for programming skills, cloud architecture, cybersecurity expertise, or systems administration?
The answer is yes, but technical expertise is often just the price of admission. Once several qualified candidates make it to the final stage, something else begins to separate them.
So what is it?
After many years of recruiting IT professionals, I’ve learned that technical qualifications are what get candidates into the interview process. But once several qualified candidates are at the table, technical skills alone are rarely what determines who receives the offer.
I’ve seen firsthand that technical qualifications alone don’t determine hiring outcomes. The way a candidate communicates, collaborates, and demonstrates ownership can be equally important.
Whether I’m recruiting for a student intern, a software developer, or an IT leader, I’ve noticed a common thread. The candidates who ultimately receive the offer aren’t always the ones with the most technical knowledge. More often, they’re the ones who inspire confidence that they’ll be successful on the team.
Here are a few of the qualities I see consistently.
They solve problems, not just complete tasks.
Technology changes constantly. New tools emerge, systems evolve, and today’s best practices may be outdated tomorrow. That’s why managers aren’t simply looking for someone who can check off a list of tools and tasks.
They’re looking for people who recognize opportunities to improve a process, anticipate challenges before they become problems, and think critically when the unexpected happens.
The candidates who stand out don’t just describe what they worked on. They explain why they made certain decisions, what obstacles they encountered, and what they learned along the way.
One thing I hear often in hiring discussions is that the strongest candidates don’t rush to give an answer. They take a moment to understand the situation, ask thoughtful questions, and work through the problem before responding.
They never stop learning.
One of my favorite things about recruiting in IT is that people genuinely love learning. It seems like everyone is studying for another certification, experimenting with a new technology, or attending another conference simply because they’re curious.
Curiosity is one of the most valuable qualities a technology professional can have.
No one expects candidates to know everything. In fact, that’s impossible in any field. What hiring managers do appreciate is someone who demonstrates both the ability and the desire to keep growing.
Technology will continue to evolve. The professionals who keep learning are the ones who continue growing in their careers.
They communicate with clarity.
This is where many candidates underestimate their opportunity to stand out.
Strong communicators make their thinking easy to follow. They give enough context to understand the issue, explain how they evaluated the options, and connect their recommendation to the needs of the organization.
In today’s collaborative IT environments, strong communication is equally as important as technical expertise. Most technology work involves navigating competing priorities, working through ambiguity, and partnering with people across different teams and functions. Clear communication makes it easier to collaborate, evaluate options, and move work forward.
Hiring managers appreciate it when a candidate can clearly walk the panel through their thinking. It goes a long way when a candidate provides enough context to understand the problem, explain the options they considered, and connect their recommendation to the needs of the organization.
When a candidate struggles to explain their thought process, the panel may have difficulty understanding how they arrived at the final solution or how they would communicate a complex issue on the job.
They take ownership.
Candidates who stand out often show a strong sense of accountability for their work. They talk about following through on commitments, taking initiative when something needs attention, learning from mistakes, and keeping others informed along the way.
Ownership does not necessarily mean managing people. It means taking responsibility for your work, understanding how it affects the broader team, and being willing to step in when something needs to be addressed.
Hiring managers often respond positively when a candidate can give a specific example of noticing a problem or opportunity, taking appropriate action, and seeing it through. Just as importantly, strong candidates are willing to acknowledge when something did not go as planned and explain what they did to correct it or what they learned from the experience.
They help others succeed.
The best IT organizations don’t succeed because of one exceptional individual. They succeed because talented people work well together.
When candidates talk about mentoring a teammate, documenting a process that made life easier for others, collaborating across departments, or sharing knowledge with colleagues, it tells employers that they’re not just thinking about their own success. They’re contributing to the success of the entire organization.
That mindset is difficult to teach, and hiring managers take note when they hear it.
Hiring managers often say that a candidate listened carefully, gave credit to others, and described how they worked through differences without losing sight of the shared goal.
It’s rarely one thing.
People sometimes ask me what makes a good candidate stand out.
I wish there were a simple answer.
The truth is, it’s never one impressive certification, one technical skill, or one perfectly answered interview question. More often, it’s the combination of technical competence, curiosity, communication, ownership, and collaboration that gives a hiring team confidence.
Those qualities don’t appear only during an interview. They become visible throughout the hiring process, from resumes and initial conversations to interviews, references, and the stories candidates tell about their work.
The encouraging news is that every one of these qualities can be developed.
You don’t have to know every programming language or every emerging technology to distinguish yourself. Focus on becoming someone who solves problems thoughtfully, continues learning, communicates clearly, takes ownership, and helps others succeed.
Technical skills may open the door, but those professional qualities are often what convince an employer that you’re the person they want on their team.
Author
Connie Tremblay
Senior Talent Acquisition Partner / Executive Recruiter
University of CA Office of the President
About the Professional Growth Series
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