I'm not sure I get what all the cynicism is about. Github can be really helpful for figuring out where someone's strengths lie. If they are really proud of wha

I'm not sure I get what all the cynicism is about. Github can be really helpful for figuring out where someone's strengths lie. If they are really proud of what they've done, I would want to look at a few sample projects. If they can explain clearly what their code does, I might even forego a code test. After all, if you aren't paying for the test, you're just wasting their time. There are lots of candidates who won't do an unpaid code test because the subject matter is usually really boring, and they would rather work on something meaningful. I suppose anything can be faked, so I would be asking myself if their story matches what's on the Github profile. If it doesn't, then what you're seeing is probably fake. If it does, you can use it as a springboard to ask more questions.