Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a software developer and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A Software Developer has the primary role of developing computer applications that will allow end-users to perform a certain task seamlessly. They play a very crucial role in designing, installing, testing and maintaining software systems. Once they develop the new systems, they also ensure that they integrate them with other systems to make sure that everything works correctly.

Other tasks include; reviewing current and new systems, writing program codes, performing real-time testing on the systems, debug software and application issues, write and maintain training manuals for the end-users, maintaining all computer systems once they are up and running, organize and conduct software training and reporting the progress of all software development projects.

Core Skills Required to be a Software Developer

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A software developer should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Customer Oriented:

Customer Oriented is a skill that focuses primarily on the client as the King offering quality services that meet the customer's expectations with an aim to inspire people rather than just try to sell their product.

A Software Developer needs to be customer oriented to boost the image of their company, stand out from the rest of the people and devise innovations of tomorrow that focus its sights on a new target ? satisfying the customer expectations.

Verbal Communication:

Verbal Communication is the use of tones and language to relay a message; it aids as a vehicle for expressing ideas, concepts and it, is critical to the daily running of the business.

A Software Developer portrays his/her image and that of the company by the way he/she communicates; strong verbal communication skills are vital for business development and forging lasting relationships with customers, suppliers, and colleagues.

Developing Others:

Developing others is an unremitting process that focuses on the broader, longer-term growth of individuals to nurture them to their potential and promote future development.

A Software Developer needs to support, coach, positively impacts and effectively aid in developing talents of their staff by motivating them to become outstanding in their behavioral change and performance improvement that opens up development opportunities in the organization.

Assertiveness:

Assertiveness is the inclination to stand up for your rights or other people's rights in a calm and concrete way without being aggressive or accepting a wrong.

A Software Developer must be self-assured and confident to master the skills to put his points across without upsetting others or becoming angry and allowing the employees to do the same while complying with the company's policies and procedures.

Evaluating Others:

Evaluating others is the capacity to see the individuality in others and recognize a person's unique point of view.

A Software Developer must master the skills of evaluating others to help his staff members to identify their talents and match those talents to the proper job without trying to judge them by their actions that can create a misinterpretation of who they are.

Personal Commitment:

Personal Commitment is an obligation that you have voluntarily agreed to fulfill without being cajoled or threatened and are willing to be held accountable for the results.

A Software Developer ought to understand that though adopting new policies and procedures will be met with resistance, the approach by which safety standards are implemented and enforced influences employee's attitudes and commitment towards the organization.

Goal and Objective Setting:

Goal and Objective Setting is the strategic plan that is set and laid down identifying how goals should be accomplished, by who and by what time.

A Software Developer must detect and schedule each employee's goals, strategy, and objectives and keep motivating them to ensure all of them are met within the set time bringing growth to both the company and the employee.

Meeting Management:

Meeting Management is the skill to know and understands the reason why an official meeting should be held and who should attend.

A Software Developer must learn how to properly organize and conduct meetings to contribute to organizational effectiveness by determining situations that require a meeting, understanding types of meetings, planning the meeting, running the meeting to the close and managing people after the meeting.

Programming Skills:

Programming Skills is the ability to use technical languages, tools, and operating systems professionally in the workplace.

A Software Developer ought to value digital competencies in the workplace, being the third core subject and treated with the same respect as numeracy and literacy because they are the future of the company and very vital to the growth and productivity of the business.

Technical Skills:

Technical Skills are the abilities and knowledge mostly related to mechanical, IT, scientific and mathematical needed to perform specific tasks in the workplace.

A Software Developer ought to hire employees with particular talents and expertise that helps them perform certain duties and jobs that other skills like soft skills cannot perform to grow both the business and the employee and bring in productivity.

Hard Skills Required to be a Software Developer

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A software developer should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Software Developer: Hard skills list

Algorithms
Analysis
Analytical
Analytics
Analyze Data
Applications
Application Development
Application Development Methodologies
Application Development Techniques
Application Development Tools
Application Programming Interfaces
Architecture
AROS
Ars Based Programming
Aspect Oriented Programming
Best Practices
Browsers
Build data-driven applications
CASE Tools
Code
Coding
Collaboration
Communication
Components
Computer Platforms
Concurrent Programming
Computer Science
Computer Systems Design & Analysis
Constraint-based Programming
Customer Service
Database Management Systems (DBMS)
Database Techniques
Databases
Data
Data Analytics
Data Structures
Debugging
Design
Development
Development Tools
Documentation
Embedded Hardware
Emerging Technologies
Fourth Generation Languages
Hardware
HTML Authoring Tools
HTML Conversion Tools
Industry Systems
iOS
Information Systems
Implementation
Interface with Clients
Interface with Vendors
Internet
Languages
Linux
Logic
MacOS
Math
Mobile
Multimedia
Multi-Tasking
Operating Systems
Optimizing
Organizational
OS Programming
Parallel Processing
Personal
Physics
Planning
Post Object Programming
Problem Solving
Programming Languages
Programming Methodologies
Quality Control
Relational Databases
Relational Programming
Reporting
Revision Control
Self-Motivation
Software
Structured Query Language (SQL)
Symbolic Programming
Systems Analysis
System Architecture
System Development
System Design
System Programming
System Testing
Teamwork
Technical
Technology Design
Testing
Third Generation Languages
Troubleshooting
UNIX
Use Logical Reasoning
Visual Basic
Web
Web Applications
Web Platforms
Web Programming
Web Services
Windowing Systems
Windows
Workstations

Related Articles