This works better for freelancers: check the engineer's online presence, his blog, GitHub etc, then have an informal interview to see if you two are able to hel

This works better for freelancers: check the engineer's online presence, his blog, GitHub etc, then have an informal interview to see if you two are able to help each other, and then start working together on a small actual task for a reduced price. Both benefit. The engineer does not need to work on silly online tests, gets paid and gains an impression about how the company works; the company gets to see how the engineer solves a real problem, gets (most likely) a usable result in return and has provided the engineer with a headstart into the company's work culture should they decide to continue the cooperation. Everyone wins, resumes become mostly useless and no artificial interviews