[mattlutze]

> [...] without actually having the candidate be part of the team (and even then it'll take a good amount time before someone settles in)

Some companies are trying to answer this issue by signing a potential employee on for a 2 week "trial," where they hopefully get paid. The trouble there is figuring out how long a trial really needs to be to get a good idea of how that person works and fits in with the team -- too little and it's still a crap shoot, too much and you've already essentially hired them.

In the meantime, test trial runs only work for developers currently out of a job; how do I skip my current gig for 2 weeks to go sit at a potential new employer's office? I certainly have no safety in quitting to go do it since I may get dropped after that two weeks, and there's only so much vacation you can take before you run out of personal time.