[ericb]

That is a great starting point, and will probably get you better than average candidates if you can figure out how to tease out that information without knowing how to code yourself. Compared to the average non-coders approach, that will get you really far.

I'm curious what you ask in interviews.

[artas_bartas]

Eric, I deal with my programming handicap in several ways.

The easiest thing to do is to ask new candidates to walk me through how they would model a specific business problem we've worked on before. Since I like to listen in on developer talk, I am usually aware of technical challenges that different approaches entail and listen to whether the candidate spots them or offers a way to deal with them when prompted.

I am also very curious to see how the candidate approaches the problem itself. In my experience, average developers feel they are done with the task when they explain how the program will work, while great developers are done when they explain how the program will work even when something it depends on doesn't work (e.g. how to you handle errors and outliers).

Obviously, I ask my developer colleagues to evaluate candidate's sample code.

Talking about testing is pretty fun too, just asking candidates what were the most nerve-wrecking debugging stories they had, reveals how much experience they have in this area. Then I would drill the candidate about testing routines and heuristics he employs; rule of the thumb is that the more specific candidate is, the more he knows about testing. Listening to heuristics also gives you an impression of how creative/crazy people are.

Finally, walking through a specific project the candidate has worked on in the (recent) past helps to understand what workflows & routines he follows in his daily routines. Here though you have to remember to ask clarifying questions along the way.