“Everything has its own peculiar perfection, and shines in the beauty of unconscious simplicity.”

In this blog, we will walk through mastering tech in 7 simple steps. This will help you learn, upskill, and excel in information technology related skills.

We’ve highlighted the effectiveness of each skill and how/why it should be properly harnessed.

This will give you everything you need to know what other criteria employers are probably matching you up against but are unaware of.

Some of the skills below you’ve most likely heard of or are familiar with, but the majority (we hope) are those things that we feel are critical in securing a spot in the tech industry.

It’s a lot more than just stuff you see on job ads etc., but that’s why we’ve picked out the 7 skills below, to hopefully provide you with some guidance and practical tips that you can apply when looking for or starting your next role.

So without further ado let’s get into it…

If you didn’t know already, your main job, when working in the tech industry, is to solve problems.

That’s the lifeblood of everything you do.

Your job is to solve problems.

Coming up with solutions, ideas, and workarounds is at the heart of working in tech.

I say problem-solving is underrated because although people know about it, not everyone knows how to solve problems.

It’s an acquired skill, to utilise this skill properly, you need to be proactive. It’s more than just coming up with an answer – it’s not as simple as that.

You need to be comfortable being in inconvenient situations – this is probably the art of problem-solving, knowing how to navigate/finesse different situations.

If you’re someone who can think quickly on their feet, then this should come naturally to you.

If you’re someone who can make difficult decisions, this is another indication that problem-solving comes naturally to you.

If you’re the go-to person that people turn to and you’re able to turn things around in a short space of time, this is also an example to show you how to solve problems.

It’s funny how this has become popular in assessments, screenings, and interview tests.

Our ability to reason and think critically is a skill that can help us thrive in the tech industry.

Eight times out of ten we are faced with situations where we need to think critically.

This is just life in general – it’s rare to find yourself in a situation where you do not need to use your brain.

Our brains are like a muscle, they need to be exercised.

Critical thinking is the perfect exercise for this, as you build thought-provoking ideas and process information.

In tech, this is everything and a skill that you’d need to utilise as part of your work daily.

You will find yourself with work or tasks that need to be well thought about before you can execute.

You wouldn’t just rush a task, or impulsively complete a piece of work, you will take time to think things through.

The point at which you’re thinking things through is the window when critical reasoning arrives.

Your brain should trigger reasons, motives, assumptions, likelihood, details, specifics, etc. whatever it may be that’s relevant to the task in question.

Critical reasoning is the ability to think critically.

By doing so, how you assess a task, problem, or some sort of case in a way that will help a wider audience understand, not having understood in the first instance.

This skill is not spoken of as much when you compare it to other typical skills employers look for when recruiting candidates in tech.

To be emotionally intelligent means you know how to not only express yourself but understand people better than most.

A simple example is, knowing how to read the room…

What I mean by that is this, you can be in a room full of troublesome individuals, but what separates you from others is your ability to navigate that situation.

You understand where you are, you know how to carry yourself, and you maintain a sense of composure knowing full well what environment you’re in.

Again, being emotionally intelligent is sort of like a superpower – your people skills and how you carry yourself through different situations are influential.

In tech, this is key. Things are always changing, fast-moving, complex, reactive, and unprecedented.

You need to be able to consistently understand your environment, the people in that environment, and how you conduct yourself – aka, play the game.

Remember, tech is a people’s business – despite all the new gadgets and inventions, it’s how people use them.

It’s made for people. For people to use and for people to consume.

This is why relationships and interpersonal skills are so valuable in tech.

So this is an interesting one. Not everyone is creative, and that’s ok.

But we don’t want to force it – it should come naturally through inspiration.

A question for you my friend, and be honest… do your ideas solve a problem? Or are they just good ideas?

You see… good ideas are great and all, but if they cannot be a solution to a problem, then, consider it useless.

There’s nothing practical about it that can be consumed.

Creativity is at the heart of tech companies, but as noted above, it can only be considered a skill when an idea bears fruit.

This is why we mention it here as an underrated skill because being an originator isn’t common.

Producing original ideas and seeing them through can be challenging.

These days it’s pretty standard for one idea to be an expansion of another.

To be quite frank, I like to sometimes refer to this as copy and paste.

Being original is something people are willing to pay for.

It’s something that will inspire something else, perhaps, later down the line.

So if we look at creativity and the role it plays in the tech industry, we find that for every solution to a problem.

Every upgrade; every business transformation, you find at the heart of it the presence of creativity.

There are stages to creativity, especially when it comes to how it’s used in tech.

You have the visioning stage, strategic stage, and implementation stage.

First and foremost, you need to have a vision – either a vision for yourself or a vision as a whole.

This is the start of any creative process and one that’s required constantly in tech.

Next, you have to think ‘What’s the strategy?’ – again this is part of a creative process because a strategy always needs to be in place.

Lastly, how do you execute – what does that look like? When you do the implementation, what is it supposed to look like.?

You can see from the above how creativity plays a massive role in tech based on these points.

But of course, there are levels to this… so if you believe you’re creative, ask yourself these questions – are you a visionary?

Do you have a strategic way of thinking?

When you’re about to implement something, do you have an idea of what that’s supposed to look like?

On a scale of one to ten (ten being the highest), how strong would you say you are when it comes to decision-making?

Are you able to make decisions promptly and efficiently?…

This is something that needs to be harnessed, if not done so already so that you’re able to apply this in tech.

Decision-making is a must-have skill that is critical at work, let alone tech.

Knowing how to make prompt decisions in various situations demonstrates an individual’s leadership ability.

If you’re able to make decisions fast, then this shows you’re able to draw conclusions and provide quick responses.

For those taking a longer time to be decisive, this can come across as a sign of weakness.

You may, as a result, get questioned on your ability to give fluid responses – i.e. why is it taking you so long to come to a decision?

Let’s be honest, not every decision is an easy one to make.

You may need to bear in mind that if you can make a decision, in a short space of time, however difficult, you’re setting yourself apart automatically.

It takes person X two days to make an informed decision, but it took you not long after the initial question was asked.

Being able to make decisions quickly shows definiteness, promptness, efficiency, and responsiveness.

In tech, there will be instances where you need to make tough decisions – individually, and with a team.

How you make those decisions depends on your ability to cope with the pressure.

Not everyone is comfortable making such decisions, hence, rely on others to make decisions for them.

To stay competitive, this is an underrated skill you need to utilise in tech.

How you manage your time is critical to your success in the tech industry.

Being able to properly utilise this skill will help you when it comes to prioritising work tasks, organising yourself, and having an orderly structure.

In tech, you can’t progress without knowing how to manage your time.

Our ability to organise ourselves is an indication that we’re able to organise others also.

It’s also a good measure of one’s management capability – for example, how strong you are when managing people, work, or stress.

Working in tech, it’s almost certain that you’ll find yourself stretched – or in other words, with no capacity to take on more work.

But what happens if someone needs you to input some content you have experience in? – This is where time management comes in.

Prioritisation is at the heart of time management. How do you prioritise?

You simply decide on what’s important over what’s not important.

Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Keep things simple, understand what needs to be done immediately, and go from there.

OK – but how will I know what needs to be done immediately?

Well, this depends on several things…

1. Whose asking?

Always look at the person asking something from you. Are they a manager?

Are they someone you report to? Or are they just random?

Whoever the person may be it’s worth knowing who’s requesting things from you.

You get a lot of that in tech, people wanting things from you.

2. Does it need to be done now?

Have you asked if it’s urgent? That’s the most important question to ask.

3. What’s the magnitude?
4. Is it business critical?

It’s always worth asking yourself the above questions this should give you a better indication of how you’ll know what needs to be prioritised.

There’s a saying at work that there are two types of currencies: relationships and performance.

Well… we’d like to introduce you to a third one, “utilisation”. How effective are you at utilising your time?

You see, it becomes a question of ‘Are you doing everything you can to ensure you’re getting all that’s beneficial to you?’

Look, utilisation needs to be paid close attention to because whatever you’re doing there’s a utility attached to it.

One of the perks of time management is that it gives you order – it provides organisation and structure.

What matters in a majority of cases is efficiency. In tech, and work in general, it’s about getting things done.

Being organised, knowing how to prioritise, etc. is all well and good, but what it really comes down to is whether or not you’re getting things done.

Are you putting in the work?

Given the time you have, how efficient are you in getting work done?

There’s an execution element to time management you need to be aware of.

The problem isn’t driving the car, the problem is whether or not you reach your destination in time.

A typical cliché that may sound easy, but you’ll be surprised by the number of people who do a poor job delivering a message.

And you see, that’s where the fault lies – within the delivery.

The art of great communication is in how you deliver a message.

Can the receiver understand it?

Can you understand it?

If you share that message with someone else, can they understand it?

In tech, it’s easy to get lost in all the noise, reports, incidents, and what he or she said.

Essentially, this is why communication is one of the most fundamental skills needed in tech.

Can you communicate something complex to your mum? Or how easily can you explain the internet to a three-year-old?

You don’t have to go that deep, but it’s just some food for thought.

A tip here is to keep whatever you’re sharing, simple and easy to understand. There’s a saying, keep it stupid simple.

People make the biggest mistake when they disregard simplicity. You shoot yourself in the foot when this happens.

When presenting a great idea, you want the whole world to understand it.

Often, the idea may be great but the communication and delivery are poor. – as a result, nobody wants to hear another word of it.

In summary, it’s well worth upskilling and brushing up on your communication skills – you’ll ascend to new heights by doing so.