IT Manager's Journal: Interviewing Hackers

"Many articles address the question of how to interview people when trying to fill a technical post. Perhaps the most important part of such an interview is the technical assessment. Here's a technique that we believe can improve the accuracy of technical assessment.

"The next time you have a candidate for a technical interview, try to gauge his self-study ability by assigning a problem that he never has solved before. If the candidate has never worked on a similar problem, so much the better. Place all available documentation within reach. Give the candidate a computer. Then watch what happens. If the candidate makes good progress towards a solution, tilt your mental scale toward hire..."

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