Lately I’ve really fallen in love with the feed of things that are being shared on LinkedIn by my connections. It’s not hard to find. Just login to your LinkedIn account and your feed will appear. You can see all sorts of interesting things from your connections like career moves, anniversaries, birthdays, shared articles, pictures, etc. Depending on my mood, I like that feed more than my Facebook feed.
Here’s a simple example of something one of my connections shared on LinkedIn:
What a great quote and something I agree with wholeheartedly. We like to think that our technical skill will advance our career, but most hiring decisions are made by people. People are human and so all the other stuff really matters. Yes, you need a baseline of the technical skills for many jobs, but the real advancement is going to come from all the other intangibles.
Plus, every organization is trying to find the right fit. They are trying to find someone who will fit into the culture of their company and add to the collective company so that 1 + 1 = 5 as opposed to 2 (or even 1.5 if you’re toxic). So, all the other stuff really matters. Are you good at communication? Are you willing to negotiate and find the best solution for the company? Are you a leader that people want to follow?
Think about your career. Is it going where you’d like it to go? Can you develop some of these other skills? If you do, you’re likely to have more financial success.
Personality is definitely important – although I disagree with the percentage breakouts in the above article. At the same time I have witnessed more than a few ‘technical stars” get away with things that would get many lesser “experienced” people fired. Or even escorted out of the workplace. Some companies really put themselves into a bind with having only one person who knows a particularly technical system.