Simple process. Recruiter contacted me, and sent over an "initial compensation agreement" after we discussed the "range" in which I would accept offers. Details below, but the 'agreement' was for a monthly payment, and that the position was not as an employee, but as an independent contractor. Interview was at the firm's office, which was undergoing renovation. The owner is very adept at self-promotion of himself and the firm, so the hall leading to the offices is bedecked with press coverage and photos of him and the firm. We talked for a couple hours mostly about management approach and work philosophy. As noted below, I left with some concerns to be ironed out.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Nothing "difficult" in the questions, just extraordinarily-awkward 'employment' package offered. The expectation was for full-time, on-site, employment, conforming to the firm's expectations of dress, conduct, and performance, yet the compensation was a flat-rate, monthly 1099 contract. When I questioned this practice, the interviewer launched into a lengthy, convoluted explanation about how it enables the firm to win contacts, by placing employees into one of five sub-contractor firms, that enable compliance with small/disadvantaged business for government contracts. All that didn't seem quite ethical to me. Further, payment of your monthly billing was to be tied to ANGARAI's receipt of payment from the government, meaning you work in October, ANGARAI invoices the government within a couple weeks, the government pays typically 30-35 days later, and ANGARAI pays you five days after they receive the check from the government, potentially in late December. The whole thing was just "fishy" and looked like something you'd see Steve Croft on Sixty Minutes chasing after as the owner speeds away, dodging questions.