The 90-day (or in one extreme case I worked 6-month) probation is a good idea, but only if you are actually good at firing people. Even in 90 days you can become sufficiently aware of a person’s humanity to make it very difficult to let them go.

I think the ultimate hiring test is to go out drinking. I think you can tell more about a person at the bar than you can in a stuffy interview room, including gauging that most important and more ethereal quality: how well they fit into the team.

Of course, that assume you work for a company that values the ability to drink. I suppose a good dinner might do the same thing and be less legally troublesome.

Finally, in software we have that advantage of being able to look at a person’s portfolio, which a much better indicator of technical skill than on-the-spot technical questions or the resume, which is French for “a list of lies.”