Want to be an IT pro? Here are 4 ways to look like a great job candidate

Talented IT professionals are in high demand and are well-rewarded for their expertise. With businesses keen to exploit emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the demand for talented tech staff will continue to increase.

But if you want to snare one of the best jobs, how can you stand out from other people? We asked four business leaders to provide their best-practice tips for professionals who want to look like the ideal candidate.

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1. Be open to learning new skills

Sasha Jory, CIO at insurance firm Hastings Direct, said she always hires for energy and the best young professionals are hungry to learn new things.

"They have passion," she said. "Graduates who are joining your business have already proven they're smart. But you can teach somebody anything if they've got passion, excitement, and the willingness to learn. So, I hire for personality and hunger."

Jory told ZDNET that the capability to gain new skills is important as many young professionals enter the workplace with the wrong capabilities.

"They're coming into the industry and they might have done three or four years in college, they've worked their socks off, and they arrive in the business and don't understand some of the new technologies," she said.

"They don't know how things work. They've never worked in a scrum team or used Agile practices, and the IT workplace is a massive shock."

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The good news is that people with the right attitude will quickly settle in.

"Within six months, they will have learned the technology, learned how to work, and they will have learned how to work in an Agile environment," said Jory. "I don't think college is necessarily equipping young people to cope with working life and the fast pace of technology change."

2. Show you can communicate effectively

Ambrose Earle, CIO at foodservice distributor Southwest Traders, said technical skills are far from the most important characteristic for potential employees.

Rather than developing IT solutions in-house, the company sources off-the-shelf solutions to well-identified business challenges. "We're taking stuff off the shelf or working with partners that maintain the solution," he said.

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Earle told ZDNET the disparate work of the modern IT profession means an ability to interact with non-technical staff is a must-have skill.

"The main thing is, 'Can you understand the business and work with them? And then can you implement and help them adopt the technology?' And that work involves a lot of change management and communication rather than technology."

Earle said successful IT professionals acclimatize quickly to their new work environment.

"A lot of it comes down to culture," he said. "If you don't fit in with the culture, you're an energy-drainer. The tenure of our associates is high and they have a lot of experience. You've got to fit in with the culture to understand their problems. They have to trust you enough to share their problem, and then you need the technical skills to go and solve it."

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Earle said the best IT professionals communicate potential solutions in an easy-to-understand manner. 

"I think if you lead with technology, there's a chance you're going to alienate business people. You won't be on the same page. You won't be talking the same language and you'll have a less-than-optimal solution."

3. Demonstrate strong technical aptitude

Jon Grainger, CTO of legal firm DWF, said it's important to recognize that the best up-and-coming professionals possess a blend of hard and soft skills.

Most organizations look for core capabilities that suit their strategic objectives, whether moving to the cloud, developing programs, or embracing AI.

Grainger told ZDNET it's common for business leaders to say they recruit for attitude. But he referred to a LinkedIn post he'd seen about the importance of soft skills over hard skills where someone responded, "But what if they can't fly the helicopter?"

"At that early part of your career, aptitude is so important," he said. "Anyone who can get their head around data will probably have a good set of transferable skills. Analytical thinking is important, too."

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Grainger said technical aptitude doesn't have to mean a top qualification in a course from a well-regarded college.

"It's important to have demonstrated some academic progress, but that doesn't always mean graduating with a college degree. There's a lot of people now talking more about apprenticeships."

The crucial thing, said Grainger, is for young professionals to think very carefully about the skills they develop and the people they work with as they take their first steps into the world of work.

"I would take that responsibility extremely seriously because I know from my experience that you have no idea how much direction those first few jobs are setting for your later career."

4. Display a flexible attitude

Miguel Morgado, senior product owner for the Performance Hub at satellite operator Eutelsat Group, said he's more interested in passion and commitment than technical aptitude.

"I want to know why they want the job," he said. "You sometimes see people who come to the workplace from college and don't know what they want. I want people who have a passion and want to learn the skills for the job quickly."

As well as a commitment to the role, Morgado said it's important for professionals to be engaged with the rest of the team.

"You could have someone passionate and committed to the role, but who will not integrate with the wider team, and then they will feel isolated," he said. "If you just focus on one skill, you can get locked into areas where you're unhappy."

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That unhappiness isn't just a problem for the individual. Unhappy staff are much more likely to move on -- and that gap can create problems for the business.

Morgado told ZDNET he avoids some of these challenges by ensuring new joiners are not given a set role during their first six months.

"They could be more comfortable as a data scientist or data engineer or better on the sales side of the business. They might want to go into project management, be a scrum master, or a team leader. But they can decide where they want to go."

Most crucially, Morgado said he enjoys taking on interns and apprentices. There are lots of opportunities for the right candidates. "I like to work with young people," he said. "They have bright minds and they're open and fresh."