I’ve been working as an HR of an IT company for nearly 5 years, and to this day, the most memorable thing I’ve heard from a candidate coming for an interview was “I think that soft skills for developers are irrelevant, basically, if I was the next Zuckerberg you’d offer me a job immediately.”

So let’s start by mentioning soft skills.

1. Soft skills ARE important for your career
I tend to think of software development as a team sport. You can throw a ball in a hoop, but if you don’t have a team, you’re not playing the game.
You need to be cooperative in order to have some work done, responsible to instill the trust of a client, you’ll need to manage your time adequately, and so on.
Soft skills are something that can be seen by anyone you cooperate with, unlike technical skills that can only be seen by your tech peers.
If you strive to become more than just a regular software developer (a team or tech lead, some kind of manager), you’ll need to put your soft skills to work.

2. Negative feedback is your friend
Nobody likes being criticized.
But feedback is not a critique. It’s actually a friendly gesture. If you had spinach between your teeth, you’d like to know, right? You probably wouldn’t like to go around with the piece stuck, and see others cringe and fixate on it without telling you. It’s the same with the work you’re doing. People usually aren’t trying to hurt your feelings, they’re trying to help you grow to your full potential.

3. Ownership over tasks
Ownership is showing initiative. It’s a state where you don’t consider someone else is responsible for the task but yourself. If you make a mess, you’d see yourself as responsible for cleaning it, so you’d think about your decisions thoroughly. People will appreciate this approach.

4. Set an active approach to your career
In most companies, if you’re dissatisfied, and tell someone who can do something about it, they probably will.
Set goals for your career advancement if your company doesn’t already have this approach developed. You probably know what you want to achieve in your career. You know what you like and whatnot, you can picture the place where you’d be happy. Well, set a plan and go for it, ask for help from managers.

5. There are no flat hierarchy companies
Most of the companies claiming they are flat mostly flab around with the word because it’s “in”. They’re not flat, didn’t even consider being. In fact, most of the “flat companies” are the most hierarchical ones. You know why? Because all power lies in the hands of one man or woman. That person is usually overworked and overstressed, and nothing ever gets done, or it does, but really, really slowly.
Working in such a company can be frustrating. It’s not that strict and rigid hierarchy is better, but it’s natural to have some people in an organization with more responsibilities than others, so this kind of organization with acknowledged structure, but flexible and democratical one, is the best option.

The post was started with an idea to inspire you as a reader, a workplace is where we spend most of our time. It’s important to be satisfied, not to be anxious if you make a mistake, and bored all the time. Take an active stand to make the place work better for you.