Six Traits of Successful IT Professionals

Are you just starting out in IT? Or are you thinking of going into the field, because you know there are almost always good jobs to be found? Are you sure it’s the right field for you? Here are six traits that you’ll need to be successful in an IT career.

Passion – IT is a lucrative field, but if you don’t love it, you won’t last. Technology is always changing, and you have to keep up and be current. You’ll always be learning. This isn’t the field for you if you want to just coast for most of your career.

Patience – If you’re interested in going into IT, understand this: something— a server, proprietary software or anything in between—will break. New problems will always crop up. People who don’t understand what needs to be done might try to control you. You’ll need patience with people, processes and equipment. You’ll need a sense of urgency, yes, but you have to know how to balance it and not allow yourself to get angry and frustrated if obstacles to your solution arise.

Soft skills – Great communication skills, along with other soft skills, are important in IT. You need to be able to communicate with different levels of users at different levels of knowledge and experience. The challenge is to give users help at the level they need or to answer a question or put the problem/solution in context at a level they can understand.

Curiosity and adaptability – Because the IT field changes rapidly, you’ll need to be able to adapt quickly, and have the ongoing curiosity and ambition to learn. Your knowledge is like a muscle—if you don’t exercise it by learning new technologies, your skills will stagnate. You should always want to know ‘how does this work?’” and “how can I do this better?”

Juggling ability – In most IT roles, you’re going to need to know how to prioritize multiple tasks.  You’ll need to become adept at managing your time, switching between tasks and giving each of those tasks your full attention.

Great problem-solving skills – Be ready to solve problems using incomplete data. You won’t always be able to get all of the data you want to make a decision.

At Triumph Services, we know how to spot great IT talent. Whether you’re looking to break into the field or looking for awesome employees, give us a call!