Java Programming

For this week's installment, I'm asking for questions (what?).

If you were to interview somebody for a job in your domain (and I know that many of you probably do interview people), what are some key questions you would ask?

I'm always disappointed in job interviews when I just get asked the same go-to questions: Would you rather work on a team or alone? Name a problem you experienced. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Blah. Those kinds of questions only reflect negatively on the company, I think. Sure, a few might be necessary, but the answers are so generic that it really doesn't teach the interviewer anything about a person.

What would you ask somebody applying for a job in your field? How would you determine whether or not somebody is a a capable programmer? What traits about a person do you think are important to learn about before hiring them? How do you learn them in the limited time an interviewer has? You don't actually have to be in a position to interview people to answer this question: If it was your job, what questions would you want to ask?

Anyway, just a distracting discussion for a Friday. Respond if you want, don't if you, um, don't. Either way, have a lovely weekend!