What Employers Want: 10 Business Skills for IT Pros

More and more, technology and management are merging on both sides of the business. Business leaders need and demand IT pros who can execute a strategic partnership between IT activities and business objectives at an organizational level.

Whether you’re looking to climb the hierarchical ladder in your current organization or to switch jobs, you’ll need a mix of solid technical skills and crucial business, or soft, skills. CompTIA AITP identified the 10 essential skills mentioned in IT job postings in December 2017. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into those skills and what they mean for IT pros.

1. Project Management

   Listed in 25,828 job postings*
   Managing an IT project means being responsible for the project, from planning to execution to analysis. This requires key skills such as leadership, communication, organization, decision making, problem solving, adaptability and team management to keep projects on track and achieve project goals. The success or failure of a project depends on how proficient an IT manager is at these skills.

2. Business Process and Analysis

   Listed in 24,797 job postings*
   The IT department works needs to understand and be able to break down business processes, mapping a process framework and making suggestions on IT process improvements while keeping in line with the business objectives. Having solid business process and analysis skills means that you can bridge the communication gap between the technical and business sides.

3. Basic Customer Service

   Listed in 18,247 job postings*
   With customer at the core of every business, providing excellent customer service is key for long-term organizational success. Whether your clients are internal or external to your organization, you need to marry technical support and guidance with maintaining good relationships. This requires soft skills such as communication, listening, organization, conflict resolution and more.

4. Budget Management

   Listed in 10,672 job postings*
   As you toggle different IT programs and projects, budget management is a crucial skill that will allow you to efficiently allocate resources across departments and help define your strategic goals in measurable metrics. IT budget planning and preparation happens at all stages of the IT hierarchy, from managers to CIOs, so it is a highly valued skill for IT professionals at all career levels.

5. People Management

   Listed in 10,163 job postings*
   At one end, IT managers are responsible for creating a nurturing and supportive work environment for their team, and on the other, they act as a liaison between the IT team and the rest of the organization. People management skills such as leadership, communication, motivation and organization are necessary for smooth navigation of your team through projects and programs.

6. Quality Assurance and Control

   Listed in 10,102 job postings*
   Any IT pro responsible for ensuring the functional and design needs of information systems can benefit from quality assurance and control skills. While developing IT products and services for your organization, you need to place quality systems in place both at the process level and the product level to ensure that product development aligns with organizational guidelines and standards.


7. Business Management

   Listed in 9,813 job postings*
   IT leaders frequently need to step out and function in a business executive role, which involves planning and executing the business strategy to allocate technology, people, processes and financial spending in line with the business technology agenda.

8. Scheduling

   Listed in 9,678 job postings*
   Organizations use scheduling software and work automation platforms at varying levels of complexity and function. Strong scheduling skills embrace the ability to plan projects, communicate needs and direction, assess resource strength and allocate resources effectively while adapting and prioritizing organizational needs.

9. Business Strategy

   Listed in 8,683 job postings*
   Developing an IT business strategy requires mapping how technology supports and aligns with business processes to achieve department and organizational goals. This includes collaborating with internal departments as well as key stakeholders, like consumers and business partners. Knowing how to develop and execute upon a business strategy will take you far in IT.

10. Product Management

    Listed in 8,271 job postings*
    Whether you are working on software development or in an analytical development capacity, you are responsible for the life-cycle management of the product, from inception to customer delivery and support. So, besides technical expertise, you need the managerial skills to maximize business value, form lasting business relationships, enhance team performance and much more.

This list of the most in-demand IT business skills reiterates one simple but very important fact that to climb the ladder from IT pro to executive, you need to broaden your skillset. There is a wide array of resources and trainings available that can help you gain and hone your managerial skills. One option for training is CompTIA AITP, the association for IT professionals. Members have access to more than 1,400 online training courses through Lynda.com that cover all of these skills and more.

Want to learn more about how CompTIA AITP members can use Lynda.com? Watch the on-demand webinar.

*Jobs data gathered from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights in jobs posted from December 1 to 31, 2017.