Sergey Matsotsky: “Soft Skills Help To Feel Confident In IT And Develop A Career”
by Arnab Dey Job & Career 02 September 2022
Sergey Matsotsky is an investor and tech entrepreneur, the owner of several IT companies in Europe and the U.S.
- Sergey Matsotsky (biography) is also an ideologist of a number of tech startups. Some of them have become successful and entered the global market.
- IT companies under his leadership implement complex infrastructural projects and develop custom software, including in the area of information security, big data warehousing, and many others.
- Sergey Matsotsky (Wikipedia) not only invests in technology and deals with the development of new business projects, but is also directly involved in solution development.
In Matsotsky’s opinion, today an IT professional, in addition to basic education, is required to have soft skills for career development. A person can receive an excellent technical education and have superior hard skills, but if he is not able to manage his time or work in a team, he is unlikely to succeed in the profession.
Furthermore, technologies in the world of development change so rapidly that all the knowledge acquired in the university becomes irrelevant quickly, and therefore a valuable employee for the employer would be not the one who knows a lot, but the one who can be flexible and adaptable to any circumstances, who is able to learn and offer unconventional approaches to problem-solving.
Matsotsky believes that hard skills no longer matter as much and go into the background. It is important for a programmer to be broad-minded and have a desire to constantly widen his horizons, to be able to work with information, boost creative thinking, and be a team player. Only in this case, he will be able to achieve professional growth.
Of the key soft skills, Sergey Matsotsky identifies:
- ability to be socialized;
- ability to negotiate;
- pursuit of self-development;
- proactive behavior;
- passion for the job.
Success Is Impossible Without Socialization
Programmers are commonly thought to be unsocial introverts. Indeed, there are such people in this profession, just like in any other. Unsociability does not prevent them from writing a code best, but it might well close the door on career expectations.
In Sergey Matsotsky’s opinion, the development world has changed significantly, and it will be difficult for uncommunicative people to get promoted at work without developing social skills.
“Developed soft skills influence the life of each of us. It is important for any individual, especially the one striving for a successful career, to be able to communicate with people, listen to and hear the persons you are talking to, and not ignore generally accepted rules and requirements. This helps not only to change yourself but also to influence changes in society,” noted Sergey Matsotsky.
Negotiation skills
Large IT projects are always teamwork. And the persons involved in the process may have different views of the world, values, and problem-solving approaches.
Today, the IT professional should be able not only to code, but also to negotiate with colleagues, to prevent conflict situations where possible, manage emotions, and prove his stance on the points at issue.
“If you want to reach the position of a senior and undertake large-scale projects, you need to be able to communicate with the team, to cooperate, to find common points with each team member, no matter his or her views of work and life. This is the key skill today,” believes Matsotsky.
Self-development
An IT professional who is willing to learn continuously to stay up to date with his industry trends and motivated to adopt a new experience is always a valuable employee for any employer.
Today, the educational market offers a variety of online IT-oriented training courses, and IT people can easily receive further education in addition to classical academic courses.
“It is essential to continuously self-study both outside and within the company through learning from more experienced colleagues and broadening professional horizons. It is also possible to communicate with the members of IT communities, seek advice on the use of new practices, and discuss solutions to challenging tasks,” said Sergey Matsotsky.
Passion For The Job And Proactive Behavior
Multitasking and proactive behavior are also on Sergey Matsotsky’s list of essential soft skills. As a senior official, he appreciates when an individual shows initiative without waiting for any direction from the top, does more than he is expected to do, promotes his ideas, and is willing to accept more duties and responsibilities.
But what is most important is to have a passion for the job and a big desire to develop professionally.
“If the employees are completely absorbed in the projects and committed to growing and strengthening their skills, I’m ready to turn the blind eye to many weak spots.
After all, if people wish to become good specialists and achieve career success, they will be able to turn weaknesses into strengths over time and to learn everything that they are lacking at the moment,” believes Matsotsky.
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