Top Skills to Look for When Recruiting for Software Engineer Jobs
So many software engineer jobs; yet so few candidates.
If you’re a leader in your industry, you’re likely in a constant search for experts with new experiences, perspectives, and skills to help you invent better products. Technology staffing and recruiting is a top priority. This blog will discuss some of the essential skills you should look for when hiring for software engineer jobs.
When you’re looking to fill software engineer jobs, technical skills are, of course, vital.
Understanding cloud computing for Amazon Web Service, Google Cloud Platform, and/or Azure is critical when a business shifts to the cloud for improved scalability and cost savings. It’s also essential for data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence because these disciplines require so much computing power.
Data structure and algorithms are vital for the software development process. Knowledge of these disciplines allows software engineers to organize data so it can be used to solve real-world challenges. In addition, it lets them keep their code clean, create problem-specific software, and optimize products for the best possible user experiences.
Knowledge of Git and GitHub is an important skill to look for when recruiting for software engineer jobs. Git and GitHub provide source control—also referred to as version control—for software development, which is essential to the DevOps process. It allows engineers to roll back any changes to a previous state if those changes resulted in errors or bugs.
Software engineers must know several programming languages in order to effectively build software programs. C++, Python, and JavaScript are used to create software packages; HTML/CSS are used to create websites; Ruby is used to create web-based applications, and TypeScript is used for content management systems. These are just a few programming languages to look out for depending on the one(s) your company uses.
Containers like Docker let software engineers simplify the deployment process—plus, it allows them to test their application in a unified environment. Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool that allows them to manage their containers.
Mac, Windows, and Linux are the most well-known and commonly-used operating systems. Candidates for software engineer jobs need to understand how operating systems work so they can create applications for those specific OSs. When developing apps for mobile, they need to be familiar with iOS and Android.
Knowing how to use a text editing tool like VIM in Linux and NotePad on Windows is essential. There are also other text editors like Sublime and NotePad++ that provide IDE-like functionalities. Other IDEs include Eclipse and Visual Studio Code.
Software engineers must have a good understanding of databases because they’re a vital aspect of application development. For example, they need to know how to create, store, update, modify, and insert records using SQL, MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or PostgreSQL.
Programmers mostly work on the UNIX machine, like Linux servers, so it’s important to have a good knowledge of the Linux command line. It allows them to search files, perform basic and advanced tasks, and check the system’s CPU and memory usage.
Once a programmer has created a software program, they have to test it for bugs and vulnerabilities before it can be used. Candidates for software engineer jobs must therefore be knowledgeable about the various testing frameworks for the different programming languages. They should at the very minimum understand the basics of unit testing, integration testing, and system testing.
The overwhelming majority of software programs aren’t standalone. Instead, they’re for client-server use, which means the request travels through the network to a server. As such, software engineers need to know networking basics to develop and support their applications.
This skill is in high demand, as more and more businesses and consumers want applications they can use seamlessly on Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux devices. Being able to design software programs that can function across multiple OSs is therefore a skill to look for in software engineer candidates.
A software engineer must also have several soft skills to be truly successful. These include problem-solving abilities, analytical thinking, creativity, communication skills, project management skills, and time management skills.
Let’s face it: There are more software engineer jobs than candidates out there—especially when it comes to good candidates. That’s why it’s so important to work with a staffing partner that truly understands the technical field.
At OSI Engineering, our entire team has a background in technology. So we can rely on our knowledge and networks to help you find the best software engineering talent for your company. Contact us today by phone (408) 550-2800 or online. We look forward to connecting with you.