The key thing I found in interviews (from the interviewer side) is that getting someone to sit down and write the test is not very useful. Its far better to ge

The key thing I found in interviews (from the interviewer side) is that getting someone to sit down and write the test is not very useful. Its far better to get them to talk you through it. It allows you to asses their knowledge (which can be taught) but more importantly it allows you to see how they work and if they can explain their shortcomings. I want someone to say "I know that x does y, but what happens when z comes along I'm not sure" I can then provide a nugget of more information and see if they are able to grab onto it. It shows you their ability to communicate, and will bring out more of their latent personality. You're going to spend more time with your co-worker than your significant other, so you need to have some idea that you won't hate them. Its far more important to have someone who knows when they are out of their depth and handles it gracefully than someone who seems to have more knowledge but hacks about wildly when they fall off the deep end.