The Role of Soft Skills in Hiring a Java Developer

It must have happened to you that your potential Java developer performed well in the technical interview, answered all the technical questions, and fulfilled the task pretty well, but later, you realize that the person doesn’t suit your company. It could be due to a plethora of reasons, but the most common one is a lack of soft skills.

Undoubtedly, technical skills are always essential, but you can’t underestimate the importance of soft skills when hiring a Java developer. Development of software or applications is not a silo job but requires teamwork. That’s where a person must know how to communicate with his/her peers, manage time correctly, prioritize tasks, learn, and develop continuously. All these qualities are possible only through soft skills. Soft skills are critical if you plan to hire Java developers. This article will explain the importance of soft skills when hiring Java developers.

Soft and Hard Skills:

There is always a demand for specific skills from any individual to become a good fit for a job. This skill set broadly comprises two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills.

Soft skills are personal qualities of an individual, which encompass communication skills, the ability to learn & develop, creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, aptitude, etc. Hard skills, on the other hand, are entirely professional or simply technical skills such as knowledge of Java language, software knowledge, security tools, etc. Generally, while hiring Java developers, we meticulously check the hard skills but forgo soft skills, which results in particular problems in the future.

It is also a bit challenging to assess soft skills as there is no relevant metric or certificate to assess a person’s communication or learning attitude. However, it is still possible to ask specific questions during interviews to evaluate the soft skills of an individual. But are these soft skills so crucial? Indeed, a lot. Let’s understand how.

Importance of Soft Skills in Hiring a Java Developer:

As per a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 57% of the leaders said that soft skills are more important than technical skills when evaluating job candidates. Here are the major reasons why soft skills are crucial while hiring Java developers:

· Team Environments: Collaboration and Communication

Soft skills are frequently required when working in team environments where collaboration is essential. In most Java projects, there are different team members, such as developers, designers, QA experts, etc., and for a successful project, collaboration is essential. Soft skills help in communicating ideas, approaches, and suggestions to your team members to solve complex problems. Without soft skills, it is challenging to work efficiently with your team members.

· Adaptability: Embracing Change in Technology

Technology is changing at a rapid pace. What is advanced today will become obsolete tomorrow. Thus, software developers should have an open mind to adapt to newer technologies. They must have a growth mindset by which they can constantly learn new languages, frameworks, or tools while being adaptable to change. This necessitates soft talents like adaptability, flexibility, and eagerness to learn.

Furthermore, soft skills play an important part in project management. Time management is critical for achieving deadlines while maintaining quality. A software engineer with strong time management abilities can plan work, fulfill project goals, and complete projects on time. This benefits not just the individual but also the project and company as a whole.

· Building Strong Business Relationships with Clients

Soft skills play an integral role in satisfying the client’s requirements. The clients may not have technical backgrounds; thus, to make them understand the technicalities in a layman’s manner requires good soft skills. A developer with good soft skills would break down the complex technical mechanism into something easy for the client to understand. Empathy and emotional intelligence are two soft talents that assist developers in forming great relationships with clients and better understanding their requirements.

· Foster Collaboration and Productivity:

A strong set of soft skills also contributes to improving the company’s culture. Companies respect team players who can work well together, communicate openly, and adjust to changing circumstances. Soft skills assist software developers in collaborating well in teams, resulting in a favorable work environment that can boost productivity and employee happiness.

Top Soft Skills a Java Developer Must Have:

After knowing the importance of soft skills in hiring a Java developer, let’s go through the top skills that you must get during Java developer hiring:

Communication Skills:

Communication skills are always in high demand among employers as these skills play a crucial role in the developer’s work. In Java development, the work is always interconnected with each other. Whether it is chatting, online video conferencing, calls, written documentation, etc, communication skills are required everywhere. Communication skills bring coordinated teamwork.

How to Check?

Check verbal & non-verbal skills: During the interview, check if the candidate is a good listener or not, how short the answers are, how much he keeps his calm during the stress, etc.
· Give cases to assess communication skills.

Interpersonal Skills:

The interpersonal skills are a better version of the communication skills. A person with good interpersonal skills can easily and quickly get bonded with the other team members and foster collaboration. Everyone has their own emotions, issues, and anxieties. The environment in a team is determined by the level of interpersonal skill development.

A negative atmosphere encourages team stagnation and destruction, whereas a positive one promotes team growth and development.

How to Check?

You can use projective questions and allow the candidate to assess another person instead of assessing himself. The answer will assist in determining whether a candidate views peers as a resource for accomplishing his own goals or as a source of new information.

Organizational Skills:

Organizational skills refer to how a developer prioritizes work, manages tasks, and closes projects. There are many situations when developers are working on multiple tasks, if not projects, simultaneously. Organizational skills help to prioritize work so that everything is done within deadlines. The developer’s work speed is also crucial because it often influences the work of others. A new task cannot be started until the preceding one is completed.

How to Check?

You can directly ask the candidate, “How organized are you?” The expected answer will consist of methodologies that a candidate follows for managing work and explain why the chosen methods are used in particular. A developer should mention several approaches to organizing. It will showcase his versatility. After all, one strategy may be good for one project but not for another.

Analytical thinking and Problem Solving:

This skill refers to the breakdown of the problem into multiple integral parts, estimating the solution, and planning the stages of the solution that would meet the client’s requirements. The Java development company has to face certain complex functionalities to implement. The ability to think analytically and implement those functionalities most efficiently determines the level of a developer to a great extent.

How to Check?

You have to ask the candidate life-related questions. Ask him to give real-life examples of managing a complicated task. The candidate should begin by explaining the scenario, then establish the tasks to be completed, and then specify specific steps that will result in a specific outcome. The answer will indicate the level of the soft skill.

Ability to learn quickly:

This is self-explanatory. People with this skill look after developing their skills and personality, want growth, and use new strategies to solve newer complex problems and learn from their experiences, mistakes, and mistakes of other people.

In a developer’s life, a new project will have certain similarities with the old ones and some new requirements, too. The developers’ ability to quickly get around these new requirements will directly influence the quality and speed of the work.

How to check?

Anxiety for knowledge is a strong indicator of the ability to learn. Before an interview, find out how many courses the candidate has lately taken and passed. Examine the technology he masters, how well he understands them, and how frequently he switches to new ones.

Discussing previous work experiences with the candidate, consider what was difficult and what accomplishments he is proud of.

Team Play:

Whether a person is a lone wolf or a team player is important to determine. This quality shows how a person interacts with other people and how sensitive he is to other problems the person is. As we have mentioned multiple times, Java development is not a single-person job. The ability to listen to peers, support other team members, and help them is an integral part of their work.

How to check?

You can ask the candidate situational questions about team problems. Also, pay attention to whether the person uses words like “we,” “our team,” or “together” when describing any anecdote of past work experience.

Innovation and Creative Thinking:

Innovative and creative thinking shows that the Java developer is aware of the current technological trends and can create and suggest new creative and practical solutions to fulfill work tasks.

The software development industry is constantly evolving. That’s why there is always a need to learn new programming languages and frameworks, and their best practices influence the speed and quality of work.

How to check?

Give your candidate a pen and some paper and ask the question, “ You need to move a chair to another room; however, it doesn’t go through the doorway”. Give him 10-15 minutes to come up with all possible answers to the task, including the most imaginary and creative ones.

When analyzing the answer, consider the following aspects:

· Consider disassembling or breaking a chair to provide more possibilities.
· The majority of solutions should be practical (about 80% to 20%).
· An ideal circumstance is when a candidate not only proposes ideas but also explains how they can be implemented.