A 40-person logistics startup asked R. to pair on a real bug from their backlog for 90 minutes — paid, at his day rate. The offer came before the invoice did.
The process: one 30-minute intro call with the CTO, who explained the company, the tech stack, and the specific problem they were hiring to solve. Then a single 90-minute pairing session on a real backlog item. They paid R.'s standard contracting day rate — prorated for the time — and had the invoice template ready before the session started.
The offer arrived on day five. Salary was above what R. had asked for. He accepted on day six and started two weeks later.
"A year later I asked the CTO why they did it that way," R. says. "He said: 'We need people who can solve real problems. The fastest way to find them is to watch them solve a real problem. And the fastest way to lose them is to waste their time.'"
They haven't changed the process. They've hired 14 more engineers this way.