Great post. I agree that companies should do all of this....But, it's very one-sided. Granted, the best hires are ones who, like you said in 3, are already part of your community and want to work for you. Most of the time, though, an amazing programmer will be amazing for many companies. You also have to tell them what your company has to offer. Especially in this market, the interview process shouldn't be about vetting the programmer, but figuring out if there's a fit, for both sides. I feel you'll miss out on a lot of really good programmers if you approach interviews as a way to see if you want them to work for you. Interviews should be about figuring out if you can work together, and that goes both ways. In a sense, both sides should be interviewing each other.