I have encountered the phrase “We Do Not Know You” a few times during the job hunting process. Recently I interviewed with a company that used this phrase. I threw everything at them including LinkedIn Recommendations, Contacts, Resume, Cover Letter, Links to Code Samples and screen shots. This was not enough. I respect the fact they do not know me. In fact I almost respect them more knowing they have their guard up and that they are dedicated to finding the right person. The way this meeting ended threw me for a loop. They asked if I was willing to do contract work so that they could get to know me. How could someone turn down extra money and a possible chance to prove myself? I took it. Not sure where it will lead. I have done the first project and invoiced them. I just received another request to do more work. It is looking promising. Perhaps this is a new job search strategy. If you cannot close the deal on a job, close the deal on contract work and see where it leads. Really; what do you have to lose?
UPDATE
It turns out the company was not ready. They had trouble supporting the code that was provided to me. Apparently it worked well in the environment that they had in their office, but was not built for a remote developer with no access to their internal environment. I cancelled the work due to lack of support and because it was wasting my time. In the long run, I probably would not have been happy; although it was a great company with great potential.
