Honestly I don't find this a realistic option either (although better than the approach in the GP's linked article...). IME at many companies you will be in gr

Honestly I don't find this a realistic option either (although better than the approach in the GP's linked article...). IME at many companies you will be in great shape if you're set up with accounts/licenses/permissions/etc so that you can theoretically do something useful by the start of your second week. Once you have all of that set up, you still typically need a few days or a week+ being brought up to speed on projects, the structure of existing code/systems/etc. Personally I feel like if you can't come up with an interview process that gives you enough confidence to risk a 3-6 month onboarding period on a new hire, you're doing something wrong.