What a fantastic idea.
Some IT Job seekers don't handle the pressure of a job interview well. And some don't handle the pressure of a skills test very well. So RightNow technologies has come up with another way to evaluate applicants: the test-drive.
At RightNow, IT job applicants do 20 hours of programming work on a consulting basis after they've passed the resume-screening process and completed a follow-up questionnaire. [via ComputerWorld]
That introduction seems to put this as a way to not lose good programmers just because they don't interview well. But I think this is even better served as a way to avoid false positives.
You know - those people who do interview well and maybe look great on paper, but then when they try to do real work (development or otherwise), you realize they're dumb as rocks - but by that time it's too late.