You undoubtedly know the technical skills every Java developer must have to become your new employee.
Still, are you paying enough attention to soft skills during the recruitment process?
If not, you better begin to do so since a developer’s fantastic tech skills won’t mean anything without possessing the soft skills we’ll list in this article. The reason is that they are the core skills in any profession, especially in development, since there’s no success without teamwork, critical thinking, communication, etc.
That’s why when you hire Java programmers; you need to check their soft skills to see if they can help your team chemistry and business grow faster.
Therefore, let’s see the essential Java developer soft skills you should look for when hiring.
Good Communication
Being able to communicate well with everyone is one of the crucial soft skills regarding Java developers.
What’s the point of your developer knowing what does static mean in Java if they can’t explain it to clients who don’t know anything about programming or colleagues from other departments who also don’t have technical knowledge?
Your future Java developers need to have the ability to speak clearly, and with confidence in order to make clients and colleagues listen to every detail they have to address. Also, good communication skills aren’t a synonym for just knowing how to talk, but a lot more about being able to listen to other people.
It’s essential to hire a Java programmer who spends more or less the same amount of time talking and listening. In addition, make sure they don’t interrupt people and know how to explain complex programming things to clients and colleagues.
A Sense for Time Management
Your Java programmers will often find themselves in situations where they will need to work on various things simultaneously, so having a sense of time management is more than necessary for success. If they know how to manage their time, then they will know how to focus on the essential tasks first and finish projects much faster.
We are not saying that multitasking is a bad thing by default, but without time management skills, it’s impossible to be creative and efficient simultaneously, especially not in the programming and development world.
Furthermore, multitasking can reduce productivity in a significant way, so the ultimate goal is to hire a Java developer who can concentrate entirely on the task at hand, reducing the chance of making mistakes.
The development world has deadlines everywhere you turn, so even the most technically ready developers won’t be beneficial to your business if they don’t know how to manage their working time.
Problem-Solving Skills
Another vital soft skill that all your future Java developers must have is problem-solving. They may know what is a method in Java, but they will face different problems on a regular basis, and knowing how to handle them will have a massive impact on your projects’ results.
Your developers will be able to see things objectively only if they have problem-solving skills, and this is essential since progress doesn’t come from the status quo. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if the cause of the problem is the developer or not; they need to know they don’t have to solve the problem by themselves because development is a team effort – hence why teamwork is yet another essential soft skill.
Java developers must know that working with team members, other colleagues, and clients can help solve any problem much faster.
Empathy
Without having a sense of empathy, all other soft skills don’t mean anything at all.
Why?
Because having the ability to empathize with colleagues and clients is crucial since it will make your Java developer understand the challenges others face and help them improve the project. Furthermore, if you create a team of people who have a sense of empathy, then you have a team in which suggestions and ideas will flow, and a positive vibe will be present.
The presence of empathy provides the advantage of team members knowing how they will react in various situations, meaning they will communicate freely both between themselves and clients. If you hire Java developers who lack empathy, they will argue with colleagues and react negatively to any feedback from clients.
Arguing between themselves may happen from time to time since they are human beings, and this is normal. However, arguing with clients is unthinkable since they are the ones for whom the projects are done and the ones who will use the final result.
They Have to Be Patient
Last but not least, your future Java developers have to know that patience is a virtue since they will be a member of a team that doesn’t consist only of developers. This means they will need to explain the reasoning behind their various decisions to many people without technical knowledge in different non-technical ways.
Without patience, doing this continuously isn’t possible. They must know that some people may understand things immediately while others need much more time. Therefore, being patient is crucial for your company and projects to function correctly at all times.
To be even more realistic, the fact that your Java programmer knows how complex and challenging programming is does not mean that other people know this, and most of them don’t even care – it simply isn’t their job and they have no interest in this aspect.
That’s why you need to make sure you are hiring the right Java developers who have patience as a soft skill since otherwise, all the work and effort will blow up quickly at the first disagreement.
Considering the five critical soft skills on this list, the conclusion is simple. You have to look for these skills when hiring Java programmers, and the best way to do that is via a global talent network since you’ll have the chance to find developers with excellent technical skills but also possess these crucial soft skills.
So, let the hiring process begin, and good luck!