9.3.2012
It is very popular these days not to hire employees, but just contractors. The companies for some reason think that short the can save money in short term by not making long term commitments.
A popular way to sell this to job candidates is by telling them that this is a "contract to hire" opportunity, but really hides under this word may be totally different.
There are a few red flags you should be looking for when offered a contract to hire opportunity.
First, the employer is trying to be cheap, and don't want to pay recruiter's fees, so they have this deal, where they let the recruiter have part of your hourly rate for 6 or so months, and then decide what to do. Do you really want to work for a "cheap" employer? Might there be more budget cutting surprises down the road?
Second, the employer is cheap and picky, so they already wen through a few contractors, and nobody is good enough. Smaller companies or start-ups usually fit the bill here. When offered such position, make sure you ask about the history of this role, and looking for any red flags of high turnover, or situation where the project might be so messy, that it is impossible to complete.
The employer is desperate, but cannot hire full timer yet. This is a pitch to those who would not consider a contract role otherwise, and so it's being wrapped into this BS. The reality is that if the employer cannot hire full time people now, they will not be able to do this later either, so when your "to hire" date approaches, you will hear things like "The HR is working on the paper work... but the process is taking a long time." The longer this takes, to more you are vulnerable to any changes in the organization, that may end your project, and you end up on the street.
Final advice: Most contract to hire positions do not end with a hire, and in general there are a lot of red flags when a contract has a "to hire" suffix so be aware of that!