Questions to Ask Before Accepting a Contract Position
A contract or temp role is often settled in one interview and a phone call, while the terms that decide whether it was worth taking sit in paperwork that arrives last. These 54 questions to ask when interviewing for a contract position, and before you sign one, follow the order the decision takes: the role and the day to day for the client's interviewer, then status and pay, invoicing, the contract terms, and how it extends, converts or ends, most of which goes to the agency or whoever pays you.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The role
Why is this a contract role and not a permanent hire?
Why ask it
The reason might be a hiring freeze, cover for someone on leave, a fixed project budget or a team that is not sure the work will last. Each answer says something different about how firm the end date is and whether a permanent seat could ever exist.
What exactly am I being brought in to deliver?
Why ask it
Push until you get something with an edge to it: a migration completed, a backlog cleared, a system documented. A brief that only says to help the team tends to drift, and a drifting brief has no finish that anyone can point to.
How long is the contract, and what is the end date tied to?
Why ask it
An end date set by a budget year, a project milestone or a colleague's return from leave behaves differently when plans slip. A three month contract that has been renewed for two years is a different proposition from one that really stops, and that changes what you should charge.
How will you judge whether this contract went well?
Why ask it
Permanent staff get a review. A contractor usually gets an extension or silence, so the measure has to be drawn out at the interview. If the interviewer has not thought about it, offer two or three outcomes and see which they pick.
Has this been a contract role before, and what happened to the last person?
Why ask it
Repeated short contracts in the same seat can indicate a role the organisation wants but cannot get approved permanently. Whether the last contractor left, was extended or was made permanent is a matter of record, and it counts for more than anything said about plans.
If this is cover for someone on leave, when are they due back and how firm is that date?
Why ask it
Temp jobs covering sickness or parental leave end when the other person returns, which can be earlier or later than anyone planned. Ask what happens to you if they come back part time or not at all.
What would you want finished by the end of my first month?
Why ask it
A short contract has no settling-in quarter, so the first four weeks are a large share of the whole thing. A concrete answer shows the pace expected, and it gives you something to check yourself against before anyone else raises it.
Who knows the work I would be picking up, and will they have time to hand it over?
Why ask it
The person with the knowledge is often the one who is leaving, or the one too busy to stop, which is why a contractor was hired. A handover that exists only as a shared folder adds weeks you will still be judged on.
How many other contractors or temps are on the team, and how long have they been here?
Why ask it
Contractors who have been around for a year or more suggest renewals do happen here, whatever is promised about yours. If you would be the only one, expect to be the test case for how an outsider gets access, invitations and answers.
Day to day
Who do I report to day to day, and who sets my priorities if that person is unavailable?
Why ask it
A contractor is often shared between managers who each have something urgent and nobody to arbitrate. One named person who settles the order of work is what stops you being pulled three ways.
Would I be included in team meetings, planning and reviews, or kept separate?
Why ask it
Some organisations exclude contractors from anything strategic, which makes the work harder to do well and much less interesting. Ask what a contractor here is not invited to, and you will usually get a straight answer.
On a temp job, who do I ask for on the first morning, and who shows me the work?
Why ask it
Temps sometimes arrive to find the front desk was never told. Leaving the interview with a name, an arrival time and a rough plan for the first hours avoids that, and a supervisor who has one ready has usually hosted temps before.
What are the hours and breaks on this temp job, and are the breaks paid?
Why ask it
Whether a break is paid depends on the employer and on local law, and on an hourly rate an unpaid half hour every day shows in the week's pay. Get the start and finish times as well, since the shift in the advert and the shift on the rota do not always match.
Am I expected to be available at set hours, or is this judged on deliverables?
Why ask it
Fixed hours, required attendance and a manager approving your time start to look like employment, and in some countries that affects how you are classified and taxed, so ask how it works where you are. The answer also shows whether the week has room for a second client.
Where is the work done, and are the rules on remote days different for contractors?
Why ask it
Some employers let permanent staff work from home while asking contractors to be on site, for security or insurance reasons, and some do the reverse. The advert may describe the team's arrangement and not yours, so ask which days apply to you.
What equipment and system access will I have, and how long does onboarding take?
Why ask it
A fortnight without a login is about a sixth of a three month contract, and the deadline will not move to make up for it. Find out who orders the laptop and requests the accounts, and whether either can begin before your start date.
Is there any vetting, clearance or mandatory training to finish before I can start?
Why ask it
Background checks and induction courses can push a start date back by days or weeks, and nobody may be paying you while they run. Hearing the list during the interview lets you begin the paperwork early and plan for a later first payment.
Can I take time off during the contract, and how much warning would you want?
Why ask it
Unpaid leave still has to be agreed when the work has a fixed delivery date. A holiday you have already booked is a small detail if you mention it before signing and a sore point if it surfaces in week three.
If I have a problem with the work or with someone on the team, do I raise it with you or with the agency?
Why ask it
A contractor sits outside the usual HR route, and each side can assume the other is handling it. Put the same question to the client's interviewer and to the agency, because two different answers are worth sorting out before day one.
Pay and status
How would I be engaged: as an employee of the agency, as self-employed, or through a company?
Why ask it
This one answer changes your tax, your insurance, your holiday entitlement and who is liable if something goes wrong. The labels are local (W-2 or 1099 in the United States, PAYE, umbrella or limited company in the United Kingdom), so get the one that applies to you before comparing the rate to a salary.
Which company is my contract with, and which one pays me?
Why ask it
In agency work these are often different companies from the one whose office you sit in, and the answer determines who handles payroll, taxes and any dispute. Get the legal entity name, not the brand you interviewed with.
If I have to use an umbrella or payroll company, who chooses it and what does it charge?
Why ask it
Where an intermediary runs your pay, its fee usually comes out of your rate and not out of the client's budget. Ask for the fee as a figure per pay period and for a sample payslip, and whether you can pick the provider or must use one from the agency's list.
What is the rate, and is it hourly, daily, or a fixed price for the whole piece of work?
Why ask it
Fixed price shifts the risk of a scope change onto you, which is fine if the scope is defined and painful if it is not. Hourly and daily are safer for vague briefs, so match the pricing model to how well specified the work is.
What is the client paying the agency for me, and how much of that is the agency's margin?
Why ask it
Some recruiters disclose the margin and some refuse, and the refusal itself is information. Knowing the bill rate shows how much room there is to negotiate now and whether an extension could come with a raise.
Is overtime paid, and what counts as overtime?
Why ask it
A day rate can swallow long days without anyone noticing, so pin down what a day means: seven hours, eight, or until the work is finished. On an hourly rate, whether extra hours earn a higher rate depends on local law and on how you are engaged. Weekends and on-call deserve their own answer.
If the office closes over a holiday period, am I paid or expected to stop work?
Why ask it
A two week shutdown in the middle of a three month contract takes a visible slice out of the income you were counting on. Find out the dates now, and whether you could keep working remotely through them.
What benefits, if any, come with this: paid holiday, sick pay, health cover, a pension?
Why ask it
It depends on how you are engaged and where: agency employees in some countries are owed paid holiday by law, while a self-employed contractor typically gets nothing. Whatever is missing has to come out of the rate, and three unpaid weeks off means billing forty-nine weeks of the year, not fifty-two.
Which taxes and deductions are handled for me, and which are mine?
Why ask it
Getting this wrong shows up as a bill months later, not as a problem now. Have the agency or client put in writing what they withhold, then take the question of how much to set aside to an accountant or the tax authority's own guidance, because a recruiter's estimate is not advice.
What insurance do I need, and does the client require proof?
Why ask it
Professional indemnity or liability cover is required by many contracts, and the premium belongs in your rate. The types and amounts should reach you in writing before you agree a figure, not after.
Are expenses such as travel, parking or software licences covered, and how do I claim them?
Why ask it
Contractors are often expected to absorb costs an employee would simply expense. If the role involves travel to other sites or tools you pay for yourself, get the rule and the claim route agreed alongside the rate, since claiming afterwards is much harder.
Getting paid
How often do I invoice, and how many days after that am I paid?
Why ask it
Monthly invoicing on sixty day terms means the first payment can land nearly three months after you start. Work out that date for the terms you are offered and check you can cover the gap, or ask for weekly invoicing or shorter terms.
What do I have to submit to be set up as a supplier or on the payroll, and how long does that take?
Why ask it
Supplier forms, bank details and tax documents have to clear before any money can move, and that queue belongs to a finance team you will never meet. Sending everything before your first day keeps the setup from delaying your first payment.
Do I bill from my first day, including time spent waiting for access or sitting in induction?
Why ask it
Some clients only accept billable hours once you are productive, which makes their slow onboarding your cost. If that is the policy, ask for it to change or for the start date to move to the day your accounts are ready.
Who approves my timesheets, and what happens when they are away?
Why ask it
It sounds administrative, but an unapproved timesheet stops an invoice however good the work was. Ask for a named deputy, and find out whether approval is weekly or monthly, since one missed weekly sign-off can hold up a whole month's invoice.
Is there a purchase order or an approved budget behind this contract, and how much does it cover?
Why ask it
Invoices are usually paid against a purchase order with a value and an end date, and they tend to stall once it is used up. Ask what the number is and who raises a new one, particularly if an extension is being discussed.
What happens if an invoice is paid late, and who do I chase?
Why ask it
Some contracts set interest or a fee on late payment, and in some countries the law gives suppliers that right, so check which applies to you. A named contact in the accounts team matters as much as the clause, because a payment stuck in a queue needs someone who can find it.
Contract terms
Can I see the full contract before I resign from anything or turn down other work?
Why ask it
The terms in the contract routinely differ from the ones described on a call, particularly notice, payment days and restrictive clauses. Nobody reasonable objects to this request, and needing to rush past it is the warning.
Does the contract commit you to a minimum number of hours or weeks?
Why ask it
Without one, a client may be able to cut your hours to nothing and never end the agreement, which leaves you unavailable and unpaid. A minimum, even a small one, is often negotiable and rarely offered unprompted.
What notice does each side have to give?
Why ask it
Look for whether it is equal. A week from them and a month from you means they can end it almost at once while you cannot take a better offer without working four more weeks, and that imbalance is worth pushing back on.
What happens if the budget or the project is cancelled mid-contract?
Why ask it
Find out whether early termination comes with any payment or whether the notice period is your only protection. Work funded from a single budget line can stop the week that line is cut, so it is fair to ask how secure the funding is through to your end date.
What exactly is in scope, and what happens when it changes?
Why ask it
Scope on a contract grows through requests that each sound small. Ask whether changes go through a written variation or a conversation, because only the first reliably gets you paid for them.
Who owns the work I produce, and can I show it or name you as a client afterwards?
Why ask it
Most contracts hand the output to the client, and what applies when the contract is silent differs by country. Two things are worth settling in writing: that tools or code you already had stay yours, and whether the work can go in your portfolio.
Is my liability for mistakes capped, and at what amount?
Why ask it
Some contracts make the contractor responsible for the client's losses with no ceiling, a risk out of proportion to a few months of fees. Ask for a cap, compare it with what your insurance covers, and have a lawyer read the clause if the wording is hard to follow.
Does the work have to be done by me personally, or could I send a substitute?
Why ask it
In practice this decides what happens if you are ill for a fortnight in the middle of a deadline. In some countries it also bears on whether you count as self-employed, so ask how that works where you live before relying on the clause.
Does the contract stop me taking other work while it runs?
Why ask it
Exclusivity clauses turn up even in part time contracts, sometimes copied from an employment template nobody reread. If you already have other clients, name them now and ask for the clause to be narrowed to real conflicts of interest.
Is there a non-compete or non-solicit clause, and how long does it run after I leave?
Why ask it
For contractors these clauses can block the next role in the same industry or stop the client hiring you directly. Read the scope and the duration, and check how far such a clause can be enforced where you live, since that differs by country and by state.
Extending or ending
What would make you extend this, and when is that decision made?
Why ask it
Get the date, then work backwards. If the decision comes four weeks before the end, that is the week to start lining up the next contract, whatever has been said in the corridor.
If you extend me, is the rate open for discussion or carried over as it stands?
Why ask it
Renewal is the one point where the paperwork is being redone anyway, so a change costs nobody extra effort. Raising it before you start means that asking at month three will not come as a surprise.
If this could become permanent, when could that happen, and would you owe the agency a fee?
Why ask it
Agency contracts often carry a conversion fee or a minimum period before the client can hire you without penalty. A fee the hiring manager has no budget for can stop a conversion everyone wanted, so learn the terms before you take the role for that reason.
How many contractors here have converted to permanent in the last year?
Why ask it
A count of people is harder to dress up than an intention. If nobody has converted, the path to permanent exists in the job advert and not in the budget.
If I did convert, would my time as a contractor count toward leave, probation or length of service?
Why ask it
Often the clock restarts at zero, so someone who has done the job for a year begins a probation period on it. Policies differ by employer and by country, which makes this one to get answered in writing with the permanent offer.
When this assignment ends, will the agency look for another one for me?
Why ask it
Some agencies start placing you again before the last week and some go silent until you ring. Whether you stay on their books, and whether anything is paid between assignments, depends on the agency and on how you are engaged, so ask both parts.
When the contract ends, who would give me a reference: you or the agency?
Why ask it
An agency can confirm dates but has not seen your work, and some clients have a rule against managers giving references to contractors at all. Hearing that at the interview is better than discovering it when the next client asks.
How is the end of the contract handled: handover, final invoice and return of equipment?
Why ask it
A final invoice can be held until a laptop is back or a handover is signed off. A short agreed checklist for the last week protects that payment and leaves the team with a clean finish.
Working out whether the contract is worth taking
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
At the interview for a contract or temp job
Split the questions between the client and the agency
When an agency sits in the middle, the interviewer at the client often does not know your rate and may not be free to discuss it. Ask the client about the work, the team and the end date, and take pay, status and paperwork to the recruiter, who is the one able to change them.
Expect one short conversation
Contract and temp interviews tend to be a single meeting, sometimes a phone call, with a decision soon after. Choose four or five questions from the first two groups to ask aloud and send the rest by email afterwards, so the answers are also in writing.
Asking about the end is not disloyal
A candidate for a permanent job might hesitate to ask how it ends. For a contractor that is the ordinary business of the role, and an interviewer who hires contractors regularly will expect to be asked about length, extension and notice.
For a temp job, ask about the first day
A temp may start within days of the interview, with no induction beyond a desk and a login. Who meets you, what the first task is and who signs off your hours are small questions that decide how the first week goes.
Working out whether the rate is real
Convert the rate into a year, honestly
Take the daily rate, multiply by the days you will actually bill after holiday, sickness and gaps between contracts, then take off the tax, insurance and pension saving that fall to you. The comparable salary is usually a lot lower than the first multiplication suggests.
Price the gap, not just the contract
A six month contract is really six months of work plus however long it takes to find the next one. A contractor who prices only the billed weeks can end up earning less than the permanent role they left.
Find out what the client is paying
Ask the agency directly; some will tell you and some will not. Thin margins and wide ones both exist, and only a wide one leaves room for a raise at extension without the client paying more.
Negotiate terms, not only the number
Equal notice, a minimum number of paid hours, shorter payment days and billing from your first day are often easier to win than a higher rate, and on a short contract they are worth more.
Check status and tax where you live
How a contractor is classified and taxed is set by national and sometimes state rules, and the same arrangement can be treated differently across a border. Use the answers to the pay and status questions to know what to look up, then take the classification itself to the tax authority's guidance or an accountant, not to the recruiter.
What to read closely before signing
- Payment terms, including the invoice date, approval route and the number of days until payment. This is the clause you will care most about in month two.
- Notice on both sides, and whether the client can suspend or reduce your hours without ending the contract.
- Intellectual property wording, especially anything covering work created during the contract period rather than work created for the client.
- Restrictive covenants: who you cannot work for, for how long, and whether that includes the end client and their competitors.
- Any clause allowing the agency to change the rate at extension, or to substitute a different contractor.
- Whether you are required to carry your own insurance, what type and at what level, and whether your liability under the contract is capped at or below that level.
Signals worth pausing on
- Will not send the contract until you have given notice elsewhere.
- Cannot say who your day to day manager would be.
- Vague on the engagement type, or keen for you to decide the classification yourself.
- The brief is a list of skills rather than an outcome, and nobody can describe what done looks like.
- Long payment terms combined with a short contract, so most of the work is done before the first payment.
- Several contractors have come and gone from the same seat in a year.