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I want to introduce our next speaker, Yulia Costea. She will talk about soft skills. Thank you very much, and let's give her a huge shoutout.
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Hello everyone, thank you for being here. To start off, I thought this topic would be quite controversial at a tech conference. That's why I took some extra measures. I'm wearing black in case you're carrying tomatoes. Please don't throw them my way! I swear this is going to be interesting.
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The topic is, 'Why Soft Skills Matter', and indeed, these skills are anything but fluffy. So far, I think they have been considered as 'nice to have' or 'optional', but that's really not the case. These skills are crucial; they are essential in any job, in any effort, and nowadays, more and more so in software development. They are not opposed to hard skills. It's not a matter of if I have hard skills, then I don't need soft skills. It doesn't work like that.
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They are complementary. So, you have hard skills, technical skills, which make you a great developer, and soft skills which can make you an exceptional one.
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Who am I? I am Yulia Costea. I'm a joy lover, a life fan, a Romanian gone global. As I mentioned earlier today, I have been in recruitment for six years now. The last two of those years have been in tech; the first two were in the Philippines. I worked at an HR agency recruiting Filipinos, then switched to senior leadership recruitment in Brussels, working for an American company. Later, I was referred to introduce the tech recruiter role in a Berlin-based startup called Talent IO.
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Before taking the job, I was skeptical. 'Oh my gosh, these are developers I'm going to talk to; I don't know if I can do this. They are dull gods,' I thought. It took me some time to get used to it. Before joining the job, I took three months to immerse myself in tech, reading all these books written by developers, searching through blogs and articles—everything I could find on the web—to try to understand the world of tech and what it is all about. I thought maybe I could offer developers something in return. That turned out to be more about soft skills, emotional intelligence.
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Now, almost two years later, after having spoken with hundreds of developers, I think I've learned a thing or two. I've identified some patterns of what works and what doesn't. I would say that about 45% of candidates who go through recruitment processes do not get the job, not because they are not technically strong, but because they don’t fit in a certain way: personality, team fit, cultural fit—all of those aspects are crucial. So, when a person is strong technically, what is there to do to stand out even more? That's why I am sharing these insights with you today.
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This is the first thing I want you to take a look at. Please raise your hand if you identify with this. 55% of the job opportunities that come your way are 'noise'. All of those annoying recruiters, myself included, who propose PHP roles for a Ruby developer or a C# role for a Java developer—it's all noise. We all know that's annoying, but it still happens. Additionally, there are many job offers that you might not be particularly keen on pursuing because they may not be worth the change. However, my friends, there is that little 5% of jobs—the ones that you really want.
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These are the exciting companies, the amazing job opportunities that everyone wants, but they can still be hard to get. How do we get those? I'm not necessarily talking about the Facebooks, Googles, or Amazons of the world, but rather smaller companies with a purpose, NGOs, or companies that have a positive impact on the world. There are still preferable companies and job opportunities out there, even if you're bombarded with less attractive offers. Before I continue with my presentation, I would love to hear from you. Please take 30 to 60 seconds to think about the top three criteria that would make a job great.
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After all, how do we define a great job? I think we all have different definitions of that. Take a moment to come up with your top three, and then I'd like to hear some of your thoughts. Would anyone like to share?
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A good city and principle... okay, great! Then a team you work with? Anyone else? Good coffee—great! Family friendliness, anything else... confrontation? Technologies used? Compensation? Interesting challenges? Trust? Perfect, thank you! I think I've gathered a great mix here.
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So, obviously, many factors are related to the actual job and our skills, but there are also some more intangible or harder-to-measure aspects, like trust and the team you work with. Therefore, what I'm going to share further is all about emotional intelligence, which is not necessarily the opposite of IQ but a complementary skill we all need to master ideally.
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Have you heard of Daniel Goleman? He is an internationally known psychologist who has written extensively about emotional intelligence. He also has a certification course on the subject and has been reporting on the brain and human behavior for many years for the New York Times. He has come up with a brilliant framework for what emotional intelligence is all about, and there are four main categories: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
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Self-awareness is the very first step toward becoming more emotionally intelligent. It means knowing ourselves, how we behave, and understanding our feelings and emotions. Identifying those will allow us to be self-reflective and analyze our behavior. Once we’ve got that covered, we move on to self-management, which is extremely important as well. It doesn't help if you know yourself but don’t know how to manage your emotions, time, or actions.
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You might know that you're good at something or bad at another, but without management, you won't know how to fix it or improve it. Self-management encompasses emotional self-control, adaptability, maintaining a positive outlook, and achievement orientation. Once we handle that, we can move on to social awareness, which allows us to understand others around us.
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It's important not only to control our own emotions but also to comprehend what is going on with people around us. This includes empathy and organizational awareness. Finally, the highest step in emotional intelligence is relationship management.
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This involves understanding others, guiding them, coaching them, mentoring them, and influencing them positively. It covers conflict management, inspirational leadership, teamwork, and more. I recognize this is a lot to digest, but I want to focus on four main areas that I’ve noticed have extremely high importance in recruitment processes.
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The four areas are adaptability, empathy, teamwork, and inspirational leadership. I will talk about each in more detail, starting with adaptability. We all know people who are extremely stubborn about doing things their way, and while that passion is great, it’s important to understand that it doesn't always work our way.
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We must be able to stop in the middle of an implementation if things are wrong and start from scratch without getting frustrated or annoyed. Social development isn't only a science but also an art, and we need to be adaptable and flexible. Our methods are not always the correct ones; hence, we must remain agile.
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It's brilliant to be stubborn about your goals and not give up, but we need to be flexible about the ways to reach them. Adaptability doesn't mean compromising on your values or accepting unfavorable conditions.
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Moving on to empathy, it’s essential in our customer-centric world. Empathy can make or break a deal. Many perceive that only UX researchers and designers create empathy, but developers who embrace empathy can stand out. As engineers, you don't just sit at your desk coding; you also need to understand the business, your team, and your users.
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Place yourself in the shoes of your users; that's invaluable for your work. It's equally important to be empathetic toward your team—understanding where other team members come from significantly impacts collaboration.
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Now, let’s discuss teamwork. While it’s an often-used term, it’s challenging to ensure that teamwork is efficient in this increasingly diverse world. Working remotely means you miss many visual cues essential for understanding colleagues. Creating the right environment for teamwork is crucial. Around 90% of projects fail not due to lack of technical know-how but because there’s a lack of communication and alignment.
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Instead of focusing solely on what works, we should also consider what doesn’t work. A major red flag is inattention to results—many only focus on their outcomes instead of the team's goals and results. Furthermore, the lack of accountability leads to failure; everyone must produce quality work. If someone does not feel connected to the product, company, or vision, commitment falters.
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Lastly, absences of trust and fear of conflict hinder teamwork. Some think conflict should be avoided, but that is not always the case; conflict can foster new ideas. Emotional intelligence allows for healthy discussions if approached with respect.
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Now, let’s look at inspirational leadership. In my current company, Challenge EyeWear, no developers have left in four years—an incredible feat! I spoke with my CTO to find out how he achieves this, and he attributes it to hiring for mindset, not just experience.
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For instance, the first developer he hired was a Python developer for a Ruby-based company. He focused on mindset, which proved invaluable as that developer now leads a team of 15. I learned the three key traits of inspirational leadership: vision, active listening skills, and profound knowledge in both tech and non-tech topics.
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His vision is contagious; it is impossible to work with him and not be inspired. He listens patiently to team members, takes their suggestions seriously, and implements them, giving everyone a sense of empowerment and engagement. Finally, this leader possesses substantial knowledge in tech and non-tech areas, enabling in-depth discussions.
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These four areas of adaptability, empathy, teamwork, and inspirational leadership are applicable in various settings. Whether you’re looking for your first job, seeking a promotion, or aiming to hire people, these topics are worth exploring.
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Now, how do you identify these traits in yourself? You might be great at empathy or teamwork, but demonstrating this can sometimes be challenging. Here’s a technique to help you—it's called the STAR technique.
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STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. It means your past behavior predicts future behavior. While individuals can evolve, past actions often indicate future behaviors. This technique is beneficial during interviews—both when you're hiring or being interviewed.
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It's essential to communicate your experiences in a way that tells a story. For example, when asked about your accomplishments, start by providing context and setting the scene.
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Describe the task you were responsible for, outlining your goals, then delve into the actions you took. Finally, articulate the results—what happened because of your actions. Don’t shy away from discussing negative outcomes; share what you learned from those experiences.
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People appreciate stories of personal growth and learning, especially those that come from mistakes. Acknowledging lessons learned demonstrates self-awareness.
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Lastly, remember that it’s all about how you make people feel. Don't hesitate to compliment others, to express gratitude, or even to just smile. Those small gestures build a positive environment.
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Offer feedback delicately and meaningfully. Receiving feedback can be as challenging as giving it, so approach it with grace. Embrace constructive criticism as an opportunity to grow, as it is more impactful than solely positive reinforcement. It's critical that you also reflect on yourself—ask if you are the kind of person people would choose to work with. In close-knit communities, reputation and character are pivotal.
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Before I conclude, I want to leave you with a final thought: IQ is owning a Ferrari, and EQ is knowing how to drive it. Thank you.