Interesting article. As a general matter, I don't look for programmers - I look for problem solvers. While much of what I read in this post is good in theory, practically, it is not workable. Too much effort on the part of the interviewer. You want to learn about skills? Post a repo on github with problems. Direct the candidate to that. There will be a readme. The code should have problems as to not working and not compiling. Instruct them to fork, fix, and submit a patch. Did they write tests? Did they make one big checkin or several? You can also add hypothetical use cases and problems for them to answer. Writing is a key skill in this industry. Do they just answer in tech terms? Or, do they mix in business analysis. Through this process, which takes no time on the part of the interviewer - except to review the submission - you can learn a lot. The candidate may be a senior developer - but through this process - you will have a gauge of what kind of senior dev he/she is. John codebetter.com/johnpetersen @johnvpetersen