title: Testing HTML/CSS/Javascript skills when hiring
body: <p>When hiring a front-end developer, what specific skills and practices should you test for? What is a good metric for evaluating their skill in HTML, CSS and Javascript?</p>
  
  <p>Obviously, table-less semantic HTML and pure CSS layout are probably the key skills. But what about specific techniques? Should he/she be able to effortlessly mock up a multi-column layout? CSS sprites? Equal height (or faux) columns? Does HTML tag choice matter (ie, relying too heavily on <code>&lt;div&gt;</code>)? Should they be able to explain (in words) how floats work?</p>
  
  <p>And what about javascript skills? How important is framework experience (jQuery, Prototype, etc). today?</p>
  
  <p>Obviously, the details of the position and the sites they'll be working on are the best indication of what skills are needed. But I'm wondering what specific skills people might consider to be deal-breakers (or makers) when creating tests for candidates. </p>