response

[light moat]

Thanks for the answer! He was saying this is for the review process since they're talking with other candidates as well. Also when I ask about the process after the review, he said it's even possible to work full time with them. Should I still insist on the payment upfront? (I feel a bit passive during this )

[swift eagle]

Maybe I misunderstood the situation

they arent hiring you for a contract, but are hiring you as a contractor?

[light moat]

yes! Sorry I haven't express myself clearly. They want to hire me as a contractor at the beginning, although during the interview when I ask about future work(I was trying to ask workload and product details), they said they could consider full time role even.

They're a start-up company and have their own website - seems legit at first. But then I feel weird because they didn't talk about budget details and promise possible full time position after the contract role, which seems to me they are trying to attract me into doing the free review work. During the interview they spent lots of time explaining to me details they want to change for their product, instead of assessing my background and all.

[shell hemlock]

so it's possible this is legit and they just aren't good at hiring designers, but there's enough red flags here that I'd probably pass if you don't really need the work