Non-Technical Skills for IT Professionals in the landscape of Social Media

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive literature review on the non-technical skills needed by IT professionals to work successfully in social media.  Previous research has examined nontechnical and found that soft skills such as communication, knowledge management, leadership, personal accountability, time management and an understanding of business functions are important for IT professionals to possess.  No study has examined the specific soft skills that are needed in the landscape of social media such as for bogging, content sharing, customer relationship management, pod-casting and project management.   This paper will provide a comprehensive list of soft skills and will ascertain which skills are required for specific social media applications.  Finally a review of the literature has indicated that an understanding of one’s personal brand will impact career success.   The issues relevant to personal branding for IT students and professionals will be discussed.  Implications for curriculum development in academia and for practitioners will be examined.