I think the thing we lose sight of is that it is exactly like dating. Resume <> Profile Interview <> First Date(s) Hire <> Get Married ?!? We don't get marrie

I think the thing we lose sight of is that it is exactly like dating. Resume <> Profile Interview <> First Date(s) Hire <> Get Married ?!? We don't get married after a first date or even after X hours of dates. In your story above, you performed tasks that most closely resemble the daily work and that gave you insight. I've been on interviews that ask me to implement red/black trees and their only data store is a RDBMS. We only want the best people but there is no investment put into it. Either it stays a crap shoot or we actually have to invest time into it (or outsource it to someone who does). I'd personally rather have a Bar type association that has a fairly standardized certification process and then we can interview for culture fit and personality instead of esoteric algorithm questions that are irrelevant.