I think you're setting up a false dichotomy here. The best job offers I've had in the past have been from people seeking me out and where the interview process

I think you're setting up a false dichotomy here. The best job offers I've had in the past have been from people seeking me out and where the interview process was mostly a formality. I think that's true of a lot of folks out there (I can certainly point to a butt-load of examples I've witnessed). The idea of a random person walking in off the street and being assessed as being the norm for an interview process is, I think, erroneous. As too the idea that merely giving someone an audition project will ensure they are of the highest quality. Hell, I'd say that sometimes it's even possible to code side by side with someone for a year and not truly understand their potential. There's no silver bullet for assessing dev. skill level. The biggest fallacy is believing that whatever method you come up with won't have huge flaws and gaps in one way or another. I think the best to hope for is ending up with a good enough "batting average" to build a talented team.