The problem that is faced in requiring industry experience in both development dba's and non dev is that they often do not ask important questions because they 'understand' the industry. Sometimes it is more important to hire someone who can think, grasp and move quickly. They may not even be a stellar sql gee golly wizbang but because they can think on their feet, adapt and grow quickly you will get much better product from them.

Industry experience at one company may be completely different than the industry experience at a competitor of that company. It really goes back to the fact that you cannot hire someone based on a multiple choice test or a short interview. You need to hire the person and their abilities not their knowledge. Their abilities to grow and adapt will take them much further than their outdated MCDBA... (oh did they forget to mention it was for SQL 7)