What non-tech backgrounds lay a good foundation for building IT skills?

In my experience, the best resources for any technological role must possess beyond basic problem solving skills, good communication skills, and demonstrates the ability to listen, learn, and be self critical or introspective.

Problem solving skills are essential for working with complex technical problems. The IT sector has become increasing  complex. Working within the IT space (especially on medium to large systems) requires the ability to take a complex problem and break that problem down into systematic smaller steps in order to solve the overall problem domain.

During the interview process, it is a good idea to present the candidate with moderately complex problem (can be  job description or domain specific and/or generic in nature). Ask the candidate how they would go about solving this problem. Watch for how they approach the problem and observe their methodology in providing a systematic approach toward resolution.

If the candidate's process includes a 1,2,3 or A,B,C  type approach; --- breaking down the problem into smaller concise definitions and solutions, that will allow  you to  readily evaluate whether or not they possess this ability. As they communicate the steps in solving the problem domain, you can simultaneously judge their ability to communicate their solution(s) to their respective target audience(s).  Make sure to ask questions about their approach or solution. When possible, inject cogent questions related to their steps or approach and listen to how they respond (reflectively or defensively). Toward the end of the process, ask them if they see any potential problem(s) with their overall approach. This will provide insight into their ability to be reflective and introspective.

In my experience, the best resources I have hired, possess these basic skills or traits. They may possess the requisite IT specific domain skills (programming language knowledge, system and/or networking disciplines, support and/or deployment skills),  but if they lack the basic innate abilities as outlined in this post, nine times out of ten they will be limited in their ability to advance to more senior positions.

I was looking through resumes when I had to hire a couple roles last fall, and I've interviewed probably a thousand people in the last 30 years. This one candidate came in after I had already decided on my senior ops role and when I looked at their resume, I put a hold on submitting that offer because I wanted to talk to this new person first. They were just as qualified technically, but one of their past experiences was being a professional magician for a few years.

When I looked at their skills, I thought, "They can probably scale up a little bit here and we can refine this." I got on the phone with them and you could tell they were hungry. So I went back to HR and said, "Screw the previous offer. I want this person." I could tell from those oddities that they would bring in some different thinking; they were the biggest, uncut diamond that I could have ever found. It was probably the best hire I've had in many years. I knew they might not have picked up a lot of things, but they’ve just absorbed it and figured it out. So far, they’ve been like saving grace.

If I find somebody like who’s a true oddball, I'll find a fit for them. But you have to put other constraints in place when you're looking for that and can't find it, which is where the hiring side of things kills me. I often talk about upscaling, rescaling and right-sizing, which involves moving people across different groups. I was trying to approach the marketing operations person for IT because they’re a professional writer who's written reams of documentation and policies — I really need that right now. I couldn't poach them from the marketing team, but I wish I could have.