I'm a ex-FANG dev that started a recruiting company, so I am VERY familiar with the arbitrary tech interview process. I'm a huge proponent of contract-to-hire. Even started a company* to make it easier for companies to offer contract-to-hire.
Now before you dismiss the idea because you are "too good" to do C2H hear me out. Everyone knows that actually working with someone on the job is the only way to get an accurate evaluation of an engineer. Everything we currently do in technical interviews (whiteboard coding, pair programming, take home assignments, etc) are just attempts to recreate a working environment. If you are hiring a contractor first, you can do a light-weight interview process and then just bring them on and start working together.
As the dev being brought on you can prove your value before you negotiate your salary. You can also try out the company and manager before committing to an offer.
It's crazy, I know, but I think it would drive dev salaries up if it weren't so hard to change jobs because of the tech interview gauntlet we've created for ourselves.
Now before you dismiss the idea because you are "too good" to do C2H hear me out. Everyone knows that actually working with someone on the job is the only way to get an accurate evaluation of an engineer. Everything we currently do in technical interviews (whiteboard coding, pair programming, take home assignments, etc) are just attempts to recreate a working environment. If you are hiring a contractor first, you can do a light-weight interview process and then just bring them on and start working together.
As the dev being brought on you can prove your value before you negotiate your salary. You can also try out the company and manager before committing to an offer.
It's crazy, I know, but I think it would drive dev salaries up if it weren't so hard to change jobs because of the tech interview gauntlet we've created for ourselves.
[*] https://www.facet.net