> Instead, I have my own theory about how we should interview programmers: have the candidate give a 15 minute presentation on their area of expertise. ... The

> Instead, I have my own theory about how we should interview programmers: have the candidate give a 15 minute presentation on their area of expertise. ... The one thing every programmer should know, per Steve Yegge, is how to market yourself, your code, and your project. I wholeheartedly agree. Now pitch me! Yikes! This really looks like an anti-test. I'd rather work with people who don't know how to market themselves -- that marketing skill would distort every technical discussion I had with them. Even if that is a skill you want, a programmer who's really bad will almost certainly know how to bluff for 15 minutes -- they've been practicing their entire career! -- whereas a good programmer hit with that will probably wobble a bit looking for a topic. Even if you have a extraordinary bullshit detector, it's still a poor signal. It won't tell you what the candidate is weak at -- and that's often the most important thing to determine.