Every time I've had to do this, I set up a sample Rails app or use one of my past ones. Depending on the assignment, I just assign them to add a new feature ju

Every time I've had to do this, I set up a sample Rails app or use one of my past ones. Depending on the assignment, I just assign them to add a new feature just to see how capable they are and what it looks like. Once I get their code, I do a quick pull request to see the changes and scan for the basics: comments, capabilities, and security concerns. I'll often google some of the sections to see where they got it from and check it against security advisories and otherwise. The cost of hiring someone who can't spend 5 minutes googling for the correct answer is far higher than the cost of me taking a good long look at their solution to the problem.