I would not take a programmer just based on looking at their code. I might reject someone after seeing (bad) code, but a code sample does not answer the crucial question of whether, among the many ways to do it, that programmer can live with settling on the way(s) shared by the team who has to live with his or her code.

This is not to say that a good programmer would not have a significant role in deciding what the shared ways to do it are - but teamwork needs willingness to live with other people's limitations.