[dragonwriter]

> But in a lot of cases, it is. I prefer a high-functioning communicator with decent programming skills over a top-notch programmer who can't communicate.

I would suspect that the specific subset of communication skills tested implicitly in a system biased toward people's drive and ability to successfully cold-email potential employers is generally neither the same subset of communication skills that are important in actual work of technical staff in most development teams nor a subset which serves as a good proxy for those.

But I could be wrong.

[yummyfajitas]

There are some places where writing kickass software, demonstrating it, and clearly and honestly answering technical questions about it will cause a person to perform effectively in their job.

There are other places - a surprising number of them - where effective internal marketing and sales skills are needed. Those are probably the communication skills that patio11's clients are lacking.