Every company, all else equal, wants the best talent available. There are two separate and not necessarily related issues here : 1. all else is not always equa

Every company, all else equal, wants the best talent available. There are two separate and not necessarily related issues here : 1. all else is not always equal, and the most technically proficient developer is not always the one that adds the most to a given team (and in fact is not even always a net-positive) 2. Great developers don't always self-identify as great developers, and conversely not-so-great developers do occasionally self-identify as great developers. In short, I suspect they're trying to weed out a psychological profile - not aptitude per se.