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Someone recently commented on my awareness of writing skills. It's true that I consider myself a writer more than a programmer... I've met way too many people who were billed as "programmers" but whose writing skills - writing English, or French as it mostly happens - were so impaired as to cast serious doubt on their ability to perform their main job. I certainly have no aspirations to the Académie Française, but that's what my criteria sometimes felt like in comparison to the absurdly low standards I've encountered for hiring technical people.

You want to know how to hire a programmer - don't even bother with technical questions in the first interview; have them write a one-page essay (preferably at home, using their choice of tools). Too many spelling errors - no hire; they will write bugs and not fix them. Monolithic block of text without paragraphs - no hire; they won't structure their programs. No introduction or conclusion - no hire; they won't know how to start or finish.

On the other hand, if you see a proper logical flow, maybe even a main title and section headings, and if there's a single coherent story being told - grab' em. Do hit them with a technical challenge, it is programming skill you're after - but you have a much better shot at a good programmer if they can write well to start with.

And if they fail the technical test, keep their resume around - you can probably use them in some other job.