Communication skills are of the utmost importance when it comes to engineer employment. Even if you make it to the top, you're going to need to figure out how to communicate with your employees. In this type of job, it could very well mean life or death, depending on the field of engineering you happen to be in.
For instance, what if you have a mind blowing idea and you don't tell anyone? Engineering jobs are all about coming up with new ideas, and withholding information could be detrimental to your job. If you have any issues with talking to others, or even have social anxiety disorder; you're going to need to get over these things quickly if you plan to get anywhere in the industry.
As part of your engineer employment, you're going to need to be able to negotiate. You or your team are likely going to come up with some rather amazing ideas, and as a result of that you're going to need to be able to convey those ideas in such a manner that others will be convinced of their validity. This isn't going to be easy at all, and you're going to need to make sure that people believe you're an expert. Of course you should be an expert if you are in one of the many engineering jobs, but making people believe that is another story.
If you wish to work your way into engineer employment, then you are going to need a decent resume. Such a resume will need to detail every one of the skills you have that are relevant to the job. It would be better to leave off the skills that are not job critical. It's a different story when you're talking about jobs and experience. You will need to list all of the jobs you've had for the past five years at least, and you will need to be able to explain any inconsistencies with them. For instance if you were 'fired' from a job, you need to be able to explain what happened. This may be the most important part of the whole interview process, so make sure that you have a good explanation ready.
If you aren't sure how to perfect your resume, then look up a professional resume writer. These are people who will be able to make your resume look great, in spite of any questionable material that you might have. There are a dozen things that you need to figure out, and it would be best for you to figure them out before you actually go in for your interview.
These are a few of the skills that an engineer needs to know, as engineer careers are particularly tough, they will not be easy to get into. It's important to know your skills and know how you can improve them so that you will be able to get into the career you've always wanted.