[juicebox]

"Everyone is nervous during tests and interviews."

Yes, but what you're missing is the degree certain people are nervous. Some people lock up completely due to performance anxiety, which has nothing to do with how difficult the problem is. Those people are also more likely to be found in the computer engineering profession due to the nature of the job.

So if you want a charismatic person with strong social skills, then you're just going to have to accept the bullshit artist who is more PR than talent over the painfully anxious and shy person who knows how to program.

That, or deal with hunting down the very few people who are both social and vastly knowledgeable. Good luck with that.

[kscaldef]

a) you've presented a false dichotomy between social comfort and programming skills. FWIW, most of the great programmers I've know were quite socially capable.

b) If you want to advance as an engineer (of any sort, I would say), social skills are nearly mandatory. People who just code well-specified problems, no matter how well, are going to be stuck at the lower tiers of the profession. Being able to talk with your customers (internal or external) and understand, and help them understand, their needs is essential to increasing your value as an engineer.