Recruiters are increasingly looking for these stand-out qualities during interviews. Nowadays, since most teams work from home a lot, it has become even more important to look beyond the basic ability to carry out the required tasks.

Our Fed IT experts reveal 5 top qualities you should demonstrate during an interview for a job in IT.

1. Self-discipline: an essential quality to show in an IT interview

Does your team work from home at all? If so, this means you’d often be left unsupervised and in control of your own schedule. Flexibility is therefore key if you want to succeed in the IT profession.

IT problems often occur outside of regular working hours, in the middle of the night and on weekends. This means you’ll often be working independently on projects instead of collaborating with others.

It’s therefore important to show your self-discipline at an IT interview. You need to demonstrate that you are able to prioritize tasks to meet deadlines, provide solutions by the agreed dates, and stick with a task until it is fully completed.

It’s often difficult to get across the fact that you are self-disciplined in your cover letter and CV. By demonstrating this soft skill in an interview, you ensure that the recruiter knows you are a reliable and professional worker.

2. Problem solving: a difficult quality to demonstrate in an IT interview

Not everyone in the organization you want to join has necessarily got the same level of expertise as you. With more and more people working from home, you’ll need to adapt to working on IT projects with colleagues who are sometimes located hundreds of kilometres away. You’ll need to show the recruiter that you’re able to adapt to this dynamic easily.

During the recruitment process for an IT job, it’s quite common for you to be asked to solve practical problems. If this occasion doesn’t arise, why not ask to solve a potential problem during your interview. It’ll show a real interest on your part and will demonstrate good analytical skills. Nevertheless, if you don’t get presented with a problem at all, explain how you would go about diagnosing and solving one.

3. Attention to detail: the quality that sets you apart

Many IT problems that you’ll encounter during your career will be due to small, almost unnoticeable errors that affect the way a program works or the way a web page looks. It’s important that you have a keen eye for detail to ensure you don’t make these kinds of minute errors and miscalculations and so that you know how to detect and resolve them if they do occur.

This is actually an excellent quality to mention when you want to negotiate your salary during a job interview. Some keywords to use when describing this quality during an interview could include patience, composure and observation.

4. Communication: a quality that is just as important in an IT interview as it is in the workplace

Communication is essential to successful problem solving. Both within the company when you must work together with your colleagues on different projects, and also with external clients and partners with whom you may have to meet. In general, communication is one of the main qualities to talk about in IT interviews and it’s an even more valuable quality to possess in your daily working life.

You need to be a good listener to decipher all the issues that come your way, all while being able to provide a response (directly or indirectly) to your client or colleague, regardless of their reaction or attitude.

Communication is also important within a team in order to share everyone’s knowledge and skills.

5. Passion for technology: the best quality to mention during an IT interview

There is a reason why passion in general is the best quality to express in an interview. Having a passion for technology will be very beneficial in getting the job you want. In IT more than in any other field, staying on top of the latest trends is essential to stay competitive and up to date.

Monitoring the latest trends is almost instinctive when you are passionate about the industry in question. To be the best in your field, monitoring trends without a doubt plays a big part. Another good way to highlight this passion is to take the most sought-after IT certifications, which also develops your IT expertise.

Fed IT helps you land your dream IT job

To succeed in your job interview, make sure you demonstrate these five qualities: self-discipline, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, excellent communication skills and a passion for technology. Now that you’re all clued up, feel free to browse through our many IT job openings.

Fed IT is a recruitment agency in Montreal. We know just how important it is for you to land your dream job. Find out now from our website which IT jobs are recruiting the most. We’ll help you stand out everyday to increase your chances of success.