Tech execs emphasize soft skills for hiring

When someone goes to a medical professional for advice or a diagnosis, they likely expect empathy and compassion, too. Yes, they want a solution, but it’d be nice if the doctor was nice.

Nir Perry, the CEO of Cyberwrite, which quantifies cyber risks for cyber insurance, said that the same goes for IT pros, especially if a colleague goes to them for help about a personal or professional cybersecurity problem like a successful phishing attempt or other scam.

“IT professionals should have a combination of the technical skills to be able to solve the situation, but should also have some…soft skills in order to communicate how to resolve it in a calm manner and being able to take the next steps,” Perry said.

Effective communication and empathy aren’t just nice perks when interacting with someone who works in tech, some higher-level executives suggest it’s becoming a necessary part of employment.

Perry said, “Like many other tech companies, we have a be-kind-or-leave mentality. So, if you’re not kind, honestly, you’re not going to be working here. We’re focused on having a positive environment in which people are kind—it doesn’t matter whether it’s internally or externally.”

In data shared with IT Brew from job postings over the past two years, employment analytics firm Lightcast found that about half of IT and cybersecurity job postings mention communication skills. Some 42% of cybersecurity postings mention management, while 27% cite soft skills (including empathy, communication, and listening ability) being important to IT positions.

A look at IT’s numbers. Lightcast found the following when it came to specific words in job postings for IT:

• Communication: 49%
• Leadership: 23%
• Interpersonal communications: 10%

Cybersecurity’s numbers. When it came to specific words in job postings for cybersecurity positions, Lightcast noted the following appeared at a healthy rate:

• Communication: 47%
• Leadership: 29%
• Interpersonal communications: 10%

Guy in the chair for…everyone? Many IT pros automatically become the go-to person when anyone who knows them rhas a cybersecurity concern, according to Myke Lyons, the CISO at Cribl, which builds a data processing platform for IT and cybersecurity.

When someone external to his IT team reaches out for help with a cybersecurity issue, Lyons said it reassures him that “my message was received that I’m here to help you.” While that individual (whether it be a board member or another employee from a different team) may not be a personal friend outside of working hours, Lyons encourages the belief that he can offer his cybersecurity expertise to anyone who asks for it.

“We used to have this t-shirt that people would wear that said, ‘No, I will not fix your computer,’” Lyons said. “I think that’s because most of that was just people not plugging the plug into the right part on the laptop. I think we’ve come to a point now where technology is becoming way more advanced, and people are intimidated by it.”

Lawrence Whittle, chief strategy officer at HTEC, said that as technology is currently “intrinsic” to everyone’s lives, IT professionals have more opportunity than ever to help others. “I think is tremendous because it’s so intrinsic with everything we do.”

Figures don’t lie and liars don’t figure. Lyons said, for him, approachability of an IT professional is a metric for someone who is growing and maturing in their career.

Cribl hires interns who largely work on what the company calls “break/fix,” where their responsibility is to fix something that is broken within the IT infrastructure, according to Lyons. While these temporary employees are early in their careers and lack experience in the professional world, Lyons said that they are hired based on their empathy and curiosity.

He shared that his company is currently in the process of promoting certain employees within the organization, and a measure of a successful individual operating in their cyber capacity is “how approachable they are.”

While Lyons said that someone’s technical skills, such as persistence in solving a problem and being able to “break into things,” are skills that are beneficial for the industry, they aren’t everything.

“In order for you to grow and for others to grow with you, which are the support system for you as an individual, it is 1000% that you are perceived as someone that they’re not intimidated by going to and asking a question,” Lyons said. “Because you generally want to build others up and you’ll do better through that.”