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Discussion on: What software development skills only come with experience?

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Dan Conn • Edited

1) Knowing how to read people.

It's something that only comes with experience. I remember being a newbie and, because they said it rather rhetorically, genuinely thought the client wanted a tutorial of their website's functionality when they asked "What can I do with this?!?" 🤦🤦

2) Saying no to people

Saying no is really tough. But it is perfectly reasonable. If you are stacked then don't take on more work because the reason you've been asked might be that others have learnt to say no!

3) Learning to make a no sound like a yes

Sometimes when you're saying no to someone all the time they might think, rightly or wrongly, that you're just blocking them.
Learning to explain why you're saying no, perhaps letting them know the options you have, why taking their work can't be one and doing it in a way that is calm and not coming across as resistant sometimes takes a while before you can do properly.

4) Being able to nurture

There may be a point in you career where you start to teach others. I would say it's really tough to get the right balance. Sometimes you can come across as condescending, others you might not explain enough. It takes practice.