Frontend Developer Rasmus: How I acquired soft skills to my stack
My name is Rasmus and this is the story of how I acquired soft skills to my stack during my +10 years in software development – and why.
Like many others, I started my career working parallel to my studies during my last year in university. In the beginning I worked with a .NET stack and then later moved on to work with various JavaScript frameworks. After six years of working solely as a developer, I joined Crowd Collective where I today work as a Senior Lead Consultant in our Frontend Crowd.
The leap from Developer to Team Lead
I want to lead with saying that I love code and I don’t see myself working in a role that would not include hands on coding. But being proficient in different tech stacks and being able to solve tech heavy problems is not enough anymore. The value of soft skills in undeniable.
Back in the days the tech department was in the corner doing computer stuff, separated from other functions and separated from the core of business. Now that everything is digital, tech is the heart of organisations, and it is crucial to be able to combine technology with business.
Soft skills such as communication skills, being a team player, understanding different people and their roles, coaching and kindness come in handy when you have a diverse team of talent working together to create business value using tech.
So, expanding my stack from pure tech to soft skills felt motivating and very necessary. Now that I have worked in roles such as Team Lead and Tech Lead that require more soft skills, I have a clearer view of who I am as a developer and much more confidence in myself.
How I developed my soft skills?
For me, the biggest impact in developing my soft skills was having great people around me. When I started at Crowd Collective in 2017, I got my own mentor. She pushed me in the right direction and challenged me to explore sides of myself I didn’t know existed. It made me step out of my comfort zone. I think that having a great mentor really unleashed a ton of potential in me.
Also getting the opportunity to work in Team Lead and Tech Lead positions in various client projects helped a lot, since I was able to develop my soft skills in practise.
So great mentoring and the ability to learn by doing, plus having an environment that promotes personal development and knowledge sharing peer-to-peer has been a huge support in acquiring new skills.
Soft skills and future career opportunities
Right now, I just want to continue doing what I do. It is very rewarding to have the opportunity to gather knowledge and experience between projects. There are many learnings that can be brought to future projects and soft skills are a big part of that. I know I still have a lot to learn.
By developing my own soft skills, I have understood how much it drives me to see other people succeed. In the future I would love to work even more with mentoring and supporting others in their growth journeys – still always keeping one foot in the code 😉