[southernplaces7]

I don't see how it's much different from working at a company for any period of time even as a fully onboarded employee, aside from specific legal obligations that possibly protect your employment. In any place where firing at will is legal, they can toss you at any time for almost any pretext and claim you weren't a correct fit. It applies in general even if you're fully hired, barring some specific contract (that they might anyhow wiggle their way out of).

[TheDong]

Note the phrasing is "we run paid trials with potential teammates before bringing them on".

While at-will employment does mean you can be fired at any time, the default assumption is that your job will continue, barring something happening (like poor performance, or the company being unprofitable, or your boss being in a bad mood that day).

The phrasing here makes it sound like the default is that it's time-limited and an extended interview. Sure, technically at-will and "a tech interview" both have the same amount of job-security (exactly zero), but there's social expectations around employing and firing people, and overhead for the company, which lead to full-time employment having more security in practice.

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

> full-time employment having more security in practice

Not sure about other at-will states but in Utah one can apply for unemployment after losing their W2 gig. If this trial period doesn’t involve W2 paperwork then I wouldn’t think it’s comparable.

[makk]

I’ve yet to find a way to deposit social expectations in my bank account.

[JohnBooty]

I certainly agree that we shouldn't bank (figuratively or literally) on positive social expectations, such as expecting an employer to treat us fairly.

However, AppSumo is apparently promising the opposite - they are setting the expectation that it is quite likely new hires will not work out and you should be fully prepared for termination.

Now that's an assurance I'd take seriously.

[materielle]

If the company follows normal at-will employment practices, there would be no need to mention it.

The fact that they explicitly call out this practice is probably a sign that they lay off a larger percentage of new hires compared to the average company. Otherwise, why mention it?

[harshalizee]

Legal, medical insurance, and the general understanding that you're an employee of the company and it comes with all the benefits of being one. True, you can get fired at anytime for no reason at all, why would anyone with any option choose a place that says they will maybe explicitly fire you after a certain period? Might as well get hired at Netflix which has a similar perform or out culture where you are guaranteed a very high salary and a generous severance.

Just go to a regular place of employment. I've never seen any place with these kinds of deviant methods and process end up be a remotely successful company or an actual good employer.

[Loughla]

> I've never seen any place with these kinds of deviant methods and process end up be a remotely successful company or an actual good employer.

What other employer do you know what does this?

[caphector]

LinkedIn does contract to hire.