so.. if you don't have any knowledge on perl and you want to hire a perl programmer you first.. hire a perl programmer to help you ? won't that put you back on the step 1 ?
It's much easier to check the credentials of the relatively few people who offer such services. For the above example, you'd find that the Stonehenge people [1] have a long history of contributions to Perl and an excellent reputation.
http://www.stonehenge.com/consulting.html
"Human resources hiring support, including interviewing and evaluating candidates"
I would at least have someone like merlyn hire your first person.
P.S. I do think it's a good list of basic Perl knowledge. Id on't think it's smart for someone who doesn't know the language to hire people though.