6. Initiative. "Being a small [IT] shop, I like to hire people who have demonstrated they can deliver without constant oversight," says David Dart, regional head of IT at HSH Nordbank AG in New York, where he oversees a 10-person staff. Dart says his management style is to create a vision or a goal and allow his staff to "make it happen without too much supervision."

7. An inquisitive mind. IT professionals "need to be able to learn on their own" and acquire needed skills through a variety of venues, including online classes, blogs and networking sites, says Roni Krisavage, vice president of IT at World Wrestling Entertainment.

8. The ability to get a point across. IT professionals should possess not only an ability to speak to business people in terms they understand, but also strong writing skills and a talent for conversing with people who are in a variety of roles, says Didi Raizen, IT applications manager at Flatiron Construction. While these types of skills can be developed, some people are just natural-born communicators, notes Raizen.

She encountered people like that at a previous job she had as manager of globalization software at J.D. Edwards & Co. There, a team of business analysts and nontechnical workers she oversaw "blew me away with the recommendations they came up with to solve problems on a low-scale budget," says Raizen. "Those types of folks are difficult to find."

9. A willingness to take risks. "I believe the modern IT person is more of an IT entrepreneur," since he is constantly looking to improve upon existing ways of doing things or identify other business and operational opportunities, says Roulat. He notes how the increasing use of Web-based applications and open architectures is providing opportunities for IT organizations to present approaches that are affordable, quick to implement and disposable.

The bottom line, says Roulat, is to "keep your eyes open, take a risk, learn from it, and move on."

Read related articles:
Women in IT: A lopsided pay scale
Women in IT: Speeding Up the IT Hiring Process
Salary survey: Do you have the skills to earn more?
Get the job you want