The problem is that there's a lot of "fake it until you make it" in the industry, and we don't have time to actually interview individually all of the applicant

The problem is that there's a lot of "fake it until you make it" in the industry, and we don't have time to actually interview individually all of the applicants you get for a job opening. I use a set of questions during phone screenings similar to this one (but way shorter, of course). During them, I'm not expecting regurgitation or even a full description, but a general understanding of the underlying mechanisms of a language. I don't care about the difference between `call` or `apply`, but I do care about this person being able to know what they are, and when can they be used. Then, during a face to face interview, you should forget about all these things, and get your hands dirty with the applicant.