1. Don't look for a programmer. Get a developer or an engineer. If they don't know the difference between the two, that's strike one. 2. Use your network. Peop

1. Don't look for a programmer. Get a developer or an engineer. If they don't know the difference between the two, that's strike one. 2. Use your network. People you know, even friends of a friend, are far more likely to be honest about their skills. 3. If it looks too good to be true, test it. Ask for previous works, ask how they would solve a problem, ask until you're convinced they can do the job. 4. Be clear about what you want done. Draw up mockups, outlines, concept of operations. The less the developer has to ad-lib, the less skilled they have to be to get the job done. I'd venture to say that most of the mixups developers make are due to requirement holes. If you know what you want, you can verify its done the way you want it done too.