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Employer Quotes
The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Engineering
They are talking about this topic: General Skills
The quotes below are about this issue:
Employers emphasize the need for candidates with strong technical skills as well as strong soft skills, particularly effective interpersonal communication skills.
| "If we're looking to fill from a computer standpoint—not that we've had to fill one for a while—but we'd be looking more at the BCIS [business communication information systems] because we need the business side with the computer. It doesn't matter what position you're in with IT, you need the interpersonal skills because you'd be working with a business unit. You're not going to be crunching behind the desk programming. So, our main focus would be business communication information systems. Typically, they're probably more at a senior-level than not. Typically, that's a bachelor's degree plus five to ten years of experience." | Central |
| "They can know just about everything, but if they can't work with other people, it just doesn't work." | Central |
| "When you talk to the old-timers around our company, they'll tell you that the projects used to be primarily technical. You could just go out and do the work. But the environment has really changed a lot. The clients are more demanding, and the regulatory environment is so different than it was years ago. And both of those trends, I think, are likely to continue. So, the focus on project management and buyer relationships is going to be very important. The ability to keep up with regulatory changes and the regulatory environment is going to be very important." | Metro |
| "I'd put an emphasis on the technical skills, but as consultants, we also need the soft skills." | Metro |
| "We want somebody with technical skills and communication skills to be able to deal with the customers. That can be a struggle at times." | Northeast |
| "Obviously, from the sales side, communication skills are critical. They're as important as the technical skills." | Northeast |
| "We've hired two engineers over the last two-and-a-half years. In both cases, it took six to eight months to find a qualified person. We're looking for communication skills, but they also need that technical expertise, whether it's mechanical or chemical." | Northeast |