There's a simple way to hire a good programmer: get a good programmer to interview the candidate. Real programmers recognize each other within seconds: it's lik

There's a simple way to hire a good programmer: get a good programmer to interview the candidate. Real programmers recognize each other within seconds: it's like vampires. Something about a look in the eye and total arrogance. Hard to explain. But all the really good programmers I've hired over the years have had three-second interviews: it was just obvious. In my experience, if the interview needs to last any longer than that, you'll end up having a problem with the candidate.