Everything is nonsense about it. In most parts of the world, setting up to be a contractor (as opposed to an employee) is a hassle with various implications (ta

Everything is nonsense about it. In most parts of the world, setting up to be a contractor (as opposed to an employee) is a hassle with various implications (tax, retirement, insurance,..). Doing it for a couple of weeks as part of a hiring process? Get real. Getting someone to do actual work during an interview is also a no-no. As soon as someone walks through your door and you ask them to do actual work, they're your employee, period. They are now automatically entitled to compensation and a minimum severance period. You can interview people in almost any way you want, but as soon as it involves doing actual work, you're toast. This may be different where you live, but it strikes me as being unethical at the very least. Hiring is hard. But exploiting people (by expecting them to do actual work, homework, forcing them into temporary contracting) is not the answer.