Employing a tester: What do you think makes a good employee?

There's the usual list of attention to detail, good communication skills blah blah blah but probably one of the main things I look for is an interest ( passion would be even better ) in testing

So I used to ask if they read any testing books, surfed any testing sites, what did they do to increase their testing skills and knowledge

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In interviews I don't want people to draw me the v-model or tell me what SPACEDIRT stands for, it's not a memory test (I might ask a Junior though ;p ). I want then to tell me stories, I want to see them 'lost' in reflection, engaged in what they tell me and congruent in thier answers.

* "Tell me about a time when..." Ask them to recount testing challenges and any great success.

* Give me an example of when you were working on a test task that perhaps was hard but you also found was enjoyable, engaging.

* As testers it seems we always harp on about documentation, documents we should produce or we should have provided. Share with me your thoughts on that, based on your experience and perspectives.

* What is it about the testing profession that pulls you into work everyday?

What I'm looking for is a reflective, insightful answer, One where they tell you the point and then tell you how they felt, what they were thinking, how that connected with something else, how someone responded, what impact that had on people/organisation/project, how they were challenged, what they did to work with others, how that helped them grow and learn.

I've seen candidates look away into the middle distance or on the floor and keep talking in a fluid way that tells me they're really drawing out actual experience that they are engaged with.

A candidate who answers with "tricky projects... yeh, quite a few, but you have to be professional." type answers have already lost the role. Either because I don't believe them or they're not engaged and interested.

* Do you blog, write papers, visit forums, talk to other testers, go to SIGIST, etc?