[zboox]

Hi Hnrobert42, thanks for your advice but I am not certain about limiting my options to small startups. I already attract small startups to a high degree and for better or for worse, they never want to hire me as W2. So I don't get sign-in bonuses, nor a 401K nor health benefits.

What I don't know is what is so different about the approach to getting hired as full-time employee compared to a freelancer that makes it so difficult for me to pass. In what ways should one behave differently at a full-time job interview compared to a contractor's interview.

Right now I'm on YouTube looking for winning tech interviews in order to see how I should speak and things to say. It's the closest you could be to a fly on the wall eavesdropping on an interview. Because when it comes to social cues, I learn better by observing than by intuition.

[Hnrobert42]

Fair points. I don’t know if there are differences in interview responses that would get you placed more frequently as a W2 or 1099. Usually that distinction is already set by the time the company posts the job. So I would confirm early in the interview that the position is full-time and not contract.

It may help to explain to the interviewer why you want a full-time position, from their perspective. That is, emphasize that you want to build something lasting and meaningful. You work best within a team where you all support each other work together. You want to minimize time wasted on spin-up cycles. Practice a 60-second explanation along those lines, so that when they ask “Why are you looking for a full-time position,” your answer will be smooth and thoughtful.

My other bit of advice is about self-confidence. I have observed that self-confidence is completely unrelated to competence. That is, there are many confident folks with who are terrible at their jobs and lots of talented people with little self-confidence. So don’t get stuck thinking that you could feel confident if you just had xyz experience or skills. You can feel that confidence right now. So while you are youtubeing, consider studying how to improve your self-confidence.

I say all this not really knowing anything about you. I may be totally wrong. I don’t many an offense. I only want to help. Best of luck.