Interviewing for Candidates

Back in the past, an interview process was a simple one for a techie.
They tested your basic knowledge of the given language/discipline and then, if you were a fit, they looked at your suitability.
And this would usually work out fine.

What does the interviewer do nowadays ... especially when you see the long list of requirements they append to the job sepcification?

I find that the written test that usually some interviewers who haven't got an expert on tap are a waste of time.
Surely there is no other way than to ask a few questions about recent projects with a general basic test to ensure that the interviewee is not messing one around.

After 20+ years in the business, a written test is somewhat tedious and where does one begin subject-wise?
There's a lot of knowledge that is picked up temporarily and filed/discarded after use ... the brain can only store so much. Surely it's about one's capacity to come up with a solution rather than the ability to recall all aspects of programming syntax and other answers.

Nowadays, it must be more useful to discuss the frameworks one employs and higher level design processes rather than just low level syntax.
What do you like about Spring? When would you use Hibernate? Any thoughts on the employment of Groovy? Design Pattterns, discuss ...
Is this person moving with the times? Or are we just happy to get a one-track technologist?

Life Changing Moment in Development - Spring 2

The most notable so far was the day I actually started reading Spring in Action (SIA2) ... early in December 2007.
I'd picked up this book a few times before and even dabbled in version 1 of Spring but in finally buying that hardcopy I made the commitment. What a book! I absolutely loved reading and using SIA2. All the chapters were useful, making my application development easier & better & safer and thus made my life better.
This battered book has trudged on most of my commute to work and social events ever since, such that I even considered getting another copy for the workplace only.

Groovy in Action is getting in on the action now and while I hope that Grails in Action Early Access e-book will eventually achieve nearly the same score as SIA2.

2009 will be a year for quick reliable software delivery, I have no doubt!

RAD with Grails

Over the past few years I have forsaken my Java Struts front-end development and become more of a back-end developer.
This has been good but most recently I found a need to put a face to my works ... initially for 3rd party testing and even documentation!
Groovy is new to my toolbox and so natural progression was to investigate Grails.
This little baby is growing on me swiftly as there is none of the growing pains I had with Struts 1 way back when.
It seems that things just get easier to do, auto generation of code from domain/controller classes is sweet! I earlier investigated Rails back when it was new and making waves but learning a new language on contract time is a no no!
Even now as a permie, you must produce ... hence my little time invested in Groovy and Grails have already started to reap rewards.
Next year with good time management I expect to see very quick application turn-around and with a pretty face for the users ... Grails!