Now let's say I am responsible for hiring. Obviously, I can't hire a person with no skills, or I would be in trouble. But given a developer with a decent skill set, which is an agreeable person, shows will and passion and he is determined to make things work, and a person with just better technical skills, I would chose the first. Because for me and my colleagues the interactions matter and having a smooth process also matters.
Agreed. If you stick to the 'smart and gets things done' mantra when hiring, lots of things like 'better skills' are trumped by the idea that if they are smart, they'll pick up the skills they need.
