One skill that will influence your career growth is the ability to tell your success.
Hiring processes are broken. You surely have heard it many times already. The truth is hiring in tech is complicated, so even with appropriate processes, it can be messy. One reason is complexity, as it takes someone with knowledge and experience to accurately understand the requirements of a position and the experience of a candidate. But this is not the only problem; if it was experienced developers would make a fortune switching to recruitment.
It is difficult to assess the value of a candidate even if you have the expertise. If someone says they were part of a team who developed an app, it does not mean much. Were they part of a three-people team, or part of a three-thousand-people team? Were they in a specific and specialised role, or hopping from team to team? Answering all these questions accurately could make a more accurate picture, but it would be time-consuming.
The ability to tell a story that communicates the value you bring to the table is crucial. Instead of telling people what is your stack, what methodologies you use, or what positions you filled, tell them what you achieved, what challenges you had and how you overcame them, and how were your team’s results better because you were there.
You may think this sounds like bragging, but explaining your experience and worth from the perspective of your employer instead of your own shows that you listen and are humble enough to understand it is not only about you while showing your communication and strategic thinking skills.
And if you are looking for a starting position and have little to no work experience, tell them what side projects have you done and what you learnt, or what other experiences you have and how can you apply them to the position you want to fill. Even if you do not get the job, you will make a much better impression and they will appreciate you more.
Be honest and tell people your worth.