Can code blindfolded: tick!
Absorbs new programming languages at the speed of light: tick!
Has experience leading a team: tick!
Uses the right languages, frameworks and IDEs: tick!
Think you’ve found the perfect e-commerce developer? Unfortunately, you’re only halfway there.
In competitive, fast-moving, innovative sectors, software developers also need a bunch of soft skills in order to thrive in the role and contribute to the growth of the company. Whether it’s a brand new startup or a young business, 5 people or 500, these skills can make or break a developer’s career – no matter how clean their code.
If you want to hire developers who can hit the ground running and contribute to the company over the long term, it’s worth making time to assess their soft skills during the interview process. Keep reading to find out what the 6 must-have soft skills for e-commerce are.
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6 soft skills software developers need in e-commerce – and why
We love data (check out this blog post if you need proof) – even if the data is internal and informal! So we asked the TechSpotters at Nederlia which soft skills they believe software developers in e-commerce literally can’t work without.
The following six came up trumps, and we’ve ranked them in order of importance.
Innovative: do they have new ideas? And, more importantly, are they prepared to try them out?
The only way of staying ahead of the competition is by innovating, continuously. What can you do better, faster, differently from the rest? Developers in e-commerce need to thrive on change and live for testing new technologies and brainstorming different ideas. Your candidates should be brimming over with suggestions to improve your product and itching to get started.
Collaborative: do they work well within a team and across multiple teams within the company?
Large, complex systems are often built by distributed teams. Developers rarely work in a bubble, and that’s especially true in e-commerce. The myth of developers being able to work in individual silos without help from others is just that: a myth. The reality? All successful products have collaborative, productive teams behind them.
Good communicator: are they able to justify their ideas and explain technical concepts to non-techies?
In e-commerce, the ability to communicate is absolutely crucial. Whether it’s communicating delays to the sales team, taking on board feedback from UX researchers or giving company-wide updates on new product updates, developers need to be able to clearly and concisely explain technical concepts to internal employees and external clients.
Flexible: are they able to adapt easily to a changing environment?
In 2017, global e-retail sales grew 24.8%. E-commerce is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and you need to know your candidates can survive the pressure that comes with scaling rapidly. If you build using agile, Scrum or Kanban, the environment can be even more challenging for developers who haven’t worked in iterative environments.
Meticulous: are they thorough? Do they have good attention to detail?
Being thorough and meticulous are traits all developers need in abundance, no matter which sector they’re in. In large, agile tech teams, one error can set a release back days or even weeks. Successful e-commerce companies employ developers work independently and code carefully, without oversight. Your candidates need to show they spend as much time documenting changes and collecting data as they do writing new code.
Humble: are they able to take criticism and learn from their mistakes?
It’s only human to make mistakes – and in software development, errors come thick and fast. One change in the code can lead to hundreds of compile time and runtime errors, so it’s crucial team members work together to fix errors and bugs. And teams can only work together successfully when individual developers own up to their mistakes and are open to criticism.
Images: Honza Hruby @ Shutterstock
