Wow, where did you get all that from? Did I say I wanted cheery people? Didn't I say I was rigorous in screening and interviewing? I don't need what I call "factory programmers"...the widget assemblers as you put it. I've got roadies; I need rock stars. I want people smarter than me. I never dismissed tech skills - but I don't want only tech skills. The smartest candidate isn't necessarily the best candidate.
Yesterday I conducted 2 interviews. The first was a factory programmer - there's no way she would succeed on the project I'm hiring for. I think we spent 30 minutes with her (me and two other senior developers). The programmers on our team (of which I'm one) solve problems, probably learning new skills along the way, and ship code. Ever read
A Message to Garcia? I need Rowans. Rowans succeed on this project.
The second interview got to almost the 2 hour point when the project manager came in to say we've gone long enough. We covered everything his resume claimed he knew, had him rough out a design on the whiteboard, and went over the other things (i.e. attitude-related) we look for: success at and away from work, ability to collaborate, flexibility, self-motivation, drive for results, decision making. He was a Rowan. Hopefully HR can put together a decent enough package to seal the deal.
Smart candidates respect the rigor of our process. Very few companies ask for code and writing samples prior to the review...our team does. There are plenty of places a factory programmer can go...companies where a manager does the interview so it's easy to look smart. The large company I work for is one of those places...but the project I'm on isn't like that.
Nice misread of my post.