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Comment by qxmat | Hacker News Reader

The last big interview I had was with a four letter company in Canary Wharf. The interview 'day' was me alone in a catered meeting room with a File->New assignment.

Despite end of the day praise and the acknowledgement that I'd be recommended for the next phase, not to mention a genuine rapport with the devs that sporadically popped in, the four letter firm acquired a software house and froze recruitment a week later.

I spent a day revealing tricks and patterns - something I charge a substantial daily rate - for nothing. But this is ridiculously common: the more effort required to interview the less likely I am to get the job.

Nowadays I'm happy to walk out of bullshit interviews where they ask open ended questions where only their answer is correct.

You get to a certain age/experience where it becomes apparent that a good interview is an informal session where you have a meeting of the minds not an adversarial grilling.

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I have been on the other side when consulting at a 4 letter company in that location.

Most of the time you know nothing about the interview until someone asks you to give them a technical screening an hour before. There is also no formal process or seeming involvement from HR, it's just a, "is this person any good". From my experience it often comes down to, in order of importance: - Are they willing to be perm - Do they know what they are talking about - Will they fit in the team

The first one seems to be a trump card, even though most perms end up leaving before the contractors.

This brings me onto another point in which the best interview process is hiring someone as a consultant, and then converting them after a year or so if you are both happy to.

> the best interview process is hiring someone as a consultant, and then converting them after a year or so

Unfortunately, this is also a "great" way to keep temp employees in constant limbo with the perm job as the carrot and stick. Usually, the temp job also leaves you with a lot less money (particularly because all the perks - insurance etc. - are reserved for proper employees) and, depending on the company, that's just all too attractive: A temp worker turning in work like a perm worker, always trying to "get there".

Ironically it's the opposite in the UK, temp employees in the tech industry typically earn a lot more.

In context to the interview I was talking about the perm rate was half of the contract rates they were paying people on the same team.

I concur.

As a contractor in the UK, you are likely not paying National Insurance contributions, are able to write off mileage and other expenses, can reduce your tax liability with dividends. Plus you'd still get access to the NHS.

I'm perm at the moment, but if I was a contractor I'd be saving a significant amount of money.

The main thing is that if you are earning decent money, you want to be a contractor because it is tax efficient.

You ought to be paying National Insurance.

If you own your own limited company and received income via dividends, it's not subject to NI.

There are a lot of people like this in the UK, not just in IT, the BBC, the media, even the government are full of them. They look like employees, quack like employees, but dodge PAYE. They are the problem, not a couple of billionaires with Swiss bank accounts.

In AU, once you factor in tax and benefits, contractors typically earn 50% more than full time employees. For a $100k full time role, the same might go to a contractor for $800+/day ($180k/year).

Contracting in the UK typically pays close to double the equivalent permie postion... its much more profitable and there is no way I would go permie again given the choice.

Honestly, quite surprised to hear its the other way around in the states. Here, contractors tend to laugh at the 'perks'... they're pretty much worthless.

In the States, as a contractor you have to pay your own health insurance,which can be ruinous. Large corporation can provide a much better package than what you could afford on your own,because they get discounts. Obviously here in the UK it doesn't matter, because you get NHS coverage either way.

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