the downside to this is that potential hire may have a few interviews lined up and you might not be the first, so the "best guy" might get an offer while you're

the downside to this is that potential hire may have a few interviews lined up and you might not be the first, so the "best guy" might get an offer while you're still undecided or looking for someone better. It's a good strategy if you're not yet desperate for another developer, but if you're more established and desperate for more than one dev you could hire a few and later let go of a few (contract to perm is more friendly and you can hire them again as a later point). in a way the presented solution is a micro-contract to perm.