After a recent hiring event, some candidates contacted me on LinkedIn to understand the status of their candidature. Although it may not seem professional I could understand their curiosity and anxiety.

Of many, one candidate asked me directly on why he was not selected. Bounded by professional ethics I could not share exact details but replied to him with some "specific - generalized" feedback.

Wondering if all the candidates might have the same question? probably yes!

The hiring process today does not have a feedback loop that candidates can use to improve upon their gaps (& I mean real, specific feedback on what went well and what didn't go well ).....📝topic for some other time 🙂

With this post, I want to share a generalized version of some baseline skills expectations any hiring manager may look for (especially for Networking/embedded SW Engineering and project management roles).

Note these are baseline skills and based on the candidate's experience and the maturity of organization's SW development practices additional skills will be required.

1. Operating system: Application require an operating system and a strong grasp of the operating system is a necessity for regular chores at work. Linux being a ubiquitous operating system is a good choice to master.

2. Automation skills: Most organizations have adopted automation or striving hard to automate, be in any domain. Python by far is way ahead from other programming languages w.r.t to things it can automate and industry adoption. Having strong python skills can also help migrate to machine learning and data science roles(if interested).

3. Security: Enabled and integrated by default for any SW or HW product. Having a basic understanding of SSH, a/symmetric encryption, and security certificates will help you operate, develop, and validate software applications that are secure. Remember security is a collective responsibility.

4. Domain skills: This may depend on your current experience. For entry-level positions, this may be flexible however for mid & senior-level positions(any role development, validation, project management, operations)having a good understanding of the domain and the ability to demonstrate your breadth and depth with some concrete examples will establish your candidature for the position.

1. Articulate: Many candidates may have the skills but could not articulate well either because of nervousness or having too many thoughts while speaking. There is another side where candidates speak to impress (not express). The best way to improve this situation is to have mock interviews with your peer or mentor/s. Articulate the question again to confirm what you understood is the same as being asked. For technical roles, no one is looking for great vocab but a to-the-point answer in simple words.

I have touched upon only the baseline skills which will act as a pre-requisite however you will need baseline++ skills like cloud computing, DevOps, and machine learning (🤔) to differentiate yourself from other candidates. This is how contemporary software is developed. It will not be long before these baseline++ skills become a new norm replaced by other emerging tools, practices, and domains.

Believe me, every hiring manager wants to hire you( it will save him and his team many hours interviewing candidates) and it is in your best interest to get these baseline skills and highlight them properly in your resume.