> Before I go to a mechanic I am checking their review online.
I've tried that but it's very unreliable. Online reviews are heavily gamed. Bad mechanics have many good reviews. Good mechanics have some bad reviews, or no reviews at all because they are a tiny two-man shop.
How I found a good mechanic was to first take to all the places people recommended. All these were bad. Then I went to a place I saw in my neighborhood run off of a guy's property. Wow, they were great. Went there for years. Then they retired and closed.
Tried a few other places with small jobs. No luck. Tried online reviews. No luck. Saw a hole in the wall on the side of the road in a bad area. Tried taking it there. They are great. They not only have absolutely no online presence, the business doesn't have a name, and they only accept cash. But they always fix my car right.
> Before I hire an artist that would make some graphics for me I would ask for a portfolio. Nobody in graphic industry is surprised when someone asks to show some of their works.
That is very reasonable. But if you ignored their portfolio, and asked them to spend 4 to 50 hours doing a custom project for you at no charge to prove they were good enough, after which you plan on ghosting them, do you think they would be within reason to tell you no thanks? What I just described is the "standard technical interview" in our field.
Myself I have an established reputation and don't apply to jobs any more, unsolicited job offers come to me. Nearly all which I ignore. Anyone asking for work samples should just look around at work I have done during my career. I don't do custom work for free. However I will do such work if I am interested and paid my standard consulting rate.
I've tried that but it's very unreliable. Online reviews are heavily gamed. Bad mechanics have many good reviews. Good mechanics have some bad reviews, or no reviews at all because they are a tiny two-man shop.
How I found a good mechanic was to first take to all the places people recommended. All these were bad. Then I went to a place I saw in my neighborhood run off of a guy's property. Wow, they were great. Went there for years. Then they retired and closed.
Tried a few other places with small jobs. No luck. Tried online reviews. No luck. Saw a hole in the wall on the side of the road in a bad area. Tried taking it there. They are great. They not only have absolutely no online presence, the business doesn't have a name, and they only accept cash. But they always fix my car right.
> Before I hire an artist that would make some graphics for me I would ask for a portfolio. Nobody in graphic industry is surprised when someone asks to show some of their works.
That is very reasonable. But if you ignored their portfolio, and asked them to spend 4 to 50 hours doing a custom project for you at no charge to prove they were good enough, after which you plan on ghosting them, do you think they would be within reason to tell you no thanks? What I just described is the "standard technical interview" in our field.
Myself I have an established reputation and don't apply to jobs any more, unsolicited job offers come to me. Nearly all which I ignore. Anyone asking for work samples should just look around at work I have done during my career. I don't do custom work for free. However I will do such work if I am interested and paid my standard consulting rate.