True, but: If you don't know what to look for, what good does talking looking at prior work or talking shop with them do? For all you know, they're completely m

True, but: If you don't know what to look for, what good does talking looking at prior work or talking shop with them do? For all you know, they're completely making everything up as you go along in the conversation. Getting recommendations from people is the best thing to do, but people are much more likely to need a dentist or an electrician then a writer or musician for something. So solid recommendations may be slightly harder to get.