It seems like I've read a lot about the question "How do you know if someone is a good programmer or not?" And I've been surprised by the answers. I've read good programmers saying that they can't really tell if other potential programming candidates are good or not. I've read about the puzzle and algorithm type questions Google or Microsoft might give.
Maybe I am naive, I've never had to hire a programmer, but it sounds kind of easy to me. If you know programming and know good programmers, can't you tell if someone else knows programming and is anything like a good programmer?
If I were looking at hiring someone I would get the candidate talking about programming. I don't think it matters that much what the candidate talks about, just get him talking about it and his experiences. In discussing programming does the candidate talk about specific things and examples that demonstrate understanding of practical programming techniques or ideas? Or does he just use buzz words without relation to actual programming? Does it seem like the other programmers in the company will get along with this person? Are his interests in programming a good match for what you want to hire him for? I would also ask the candidate to send me some code he wrote that he is proud of and look it over.
I was prompted to write this post from what Bendan Eich had to say about hiring and recognizing programming talent in the book Coders at Work. I really liked what Bendan had to say about the subject. He's the kind of guy I'd want interviewing me for a job.
