I used to think soft skills like communication and teamwork were just buzzwords HR threw around, until I led a project where two engineers with brilliant technical skills refused to share code and it collapsed a month late. Hard skills get you hired, but I've seen mediocre programmers get promoted because they could explain tradeoffs clearly to stakeholders. Is it fair that emotional intelligence matters more than coding ability in tech, or are we undervaluing raw technical talent in favor of people who just happen to be extroverted? I've interviewed candidates with PhDs who couldn't handle constructive feedback, and that's a real problem, but so is expecting everyone to be a charismatic presenter.