Contracts
Fill a contract seat before the sprint slips
A contract search moves when the rate, the overlap, and the end date are decided before the first call.
Note
The argument
Contract seats fail when the company is still debating the day rate while the sprint board is already red. Engineers who can start this month are also talking to two other desks. Ambiguity is how you lose them.
Decide three things up front: the rate band in USD, the hours of overlap with the team, and the date the contract ends. Tell us whether an extension is likely. Those facts belong in the first message, alongside the stack.
Our median to fill a contract seat is eleven days. That count starts when the brief is complete. A search that reopens the rate after the first interview starts the clock again, and the engineer has usually moved on.
If the work is real and the budget is approved, send the brief on Monday. You should be choosing from a shortlist before the next planning meeting, with our desk still on the thread through the start date.