Slightly tangential. I've been running an experiment of my own. As part of my work, I need to hire freelancers for dev, design and so on. It's not specific to

Slightly tangential. I've been running an experiment of my own. As part of my work, I need to hire freelancers for dev, design and so on. It's not specific to the tech field, I also hire virtual assistants as well. I've been working with devs on and off for about 10 years and have my fair share of experiences. I don't interview people that I hire/sub-contract to, I just chat to them. Maybe there are people out there that do interview, but I find it a bit strange, so asking the "5 min" question as per the blog post would be a little weird. But I've been doing some experimenting for quite some time. It's really important that the people that i choose to sub-contract to work well with me as part of a team. When put out an ad for a freelancer of a particular kind, I deliberately say something that paints me as a potentially difficult client. I tend not to let on how much I know about the field that i am looking to hire in either. The results are always amazing. The ones that contact me that don't make even the slightest mention of the possibility of me being difficult, or find a way to laugh about it, are the ones that i choose to do business with first. These people are so intent on focusing on the positives that they don't even notice my poor behaviour. It's that enthusiastic attitude that makes them a really good team player. Of course, after i establish the business relationship with them, i do my level best not to be a difficult client for them. Personally, i always feel that the relationship you have is far more important than the skill set, and the rates being charged. I've tried this experiment a few times - I call it my freelance filter. One example is a project that a freelancer worked on for me when i first tried this filter. His skill set was a bit worrying to me. I had spoken to others that were more experienced, but i loved his attitude and he passed my filter test with flying colours. Anyway, i hired him and he far exceeded my expectations in every way. Was very responsive, communicated really well, exceeded my expectations on the project and over-delivered voluntarily and gave plenty of his own creative input without being detrimental to the project. Anyway - just thought i'd share. It might rile a few people up, but maybe one day someone will benefit from using this process.