I sent this list a few years ago to a company where I would love to work. I didn't get a job, but they did like the list.
| Skill | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Musician | Creative, knows that group participation brings out the best new ideas. | May tell stories like the time he, with long tinted '80s hair and mad-scientist clothes, played in a country bar. |
| Fast typist, thanks to childhood piano lessons. | Played a contrabass made of aluminum. | |
| Interested in sound as a useful element of UI and data abstraction and visualization. | ||
| Has many cool synths with lots and lots of knobs. | ||
| Consultant | At ease with techies and business people. | Once wore suits to a client for two months straight. |
| Can clearly communicate complex technical ideas. | ||
| Writing skills above those of 99% of techies. | ||
| Able to meet deadlines, reasonable and un-. | ||
| Programmer | Rapid, accurate software prototyping skills. | Loves to re-invent the wheel. |
| Deep knowledge of many OS's, languages, and technologies. | "Look! There's a shiny new language!" | |
| With 20 years' experience, knows how to debug his own code. | Bugs? What bugs? | |
| Gadget buyer | Looks for usability and and usefulness, not just coolness. | Do you know where I can buy Apple Newton rechargeable battery packs? Wanna buy a 110 or 100, or a Palm Pilot? |
| Science Fiction reader | Forward-thinking, can absorb new concepts. | Wants to book a vacation in Low Earth Orbit. |
| Manager | Can spout phrases like "return on investment" and "proactive mission statement" without laughing out loud. | Knows those phrases. |
| Responsible for technical infrastructure of $20M company. | Can feel the pointy hair growing. | |
| Once helped herd forty-five developers to completion of an overdue project, redesigned from the ground up. | ||
| Parent | Can answer the question "Why?" fifteen times in a row. | None. His kids are perfect, and he'll tell you so. |
| Watches children as they absorb new concepts. | May be caught singing the "Larry Boy" theme song or humming Jessica Rabbit's torch song. | |
| Has helped kids struggling with bad user interfaces. | ||
| Consensus builder. | ||
| Can guide others gently toward a desired result. | ||
| Can draw the Powerpuff Girls and MoJo JoJo. | ||
| Juggler (beginner) | Keeps small children amused for minutes at a time. | Kids mainly amused because he frequently drops the balls. |
| Great when coordinating vendors, specifications, and changing requirements. | ||
| Human Interface maven | Read some "standard" books: Nielsen, Tognazzini. | Thinks he knows more than he does. |
| Can quickly whip up a decent, simple UI. | ||
| Dot-com survivor | Jack-of-all trades is my specialty. | Been there, done that, got the worthless options. |