>If someone complains that "they shouldn't have to spend three hours writing code to get an interview," that itself is a pretty good counter-indicator. (Yes, we

>If someone complains that "they shouldn't have to spend three hours writing code to get an interview," that itself is a pretty good counter-indicator. (Yes, we are all busy. When I applied at ITA they didn't even acknowledge the program I had written to go along with the application. Not even a quick 'it ran' or 'had the right output but we hired somebody else'. I'm glad I didn't get the job because not having enough time to evaluate or even run a programming test you gave is also a pretty good counter-indicator of a good company to work for. And when I wrote back to express this the guy sheepishly admitted they had so many exceptional applicants so they just went with an Ivy-league graduate. Wow. If you are going to require a programming test, be prepared to evaluate it.