Great Story. Stories like this give me back my faith in humanity. Often Companies are looking for the 20 year old senior with 10 year experience in the same job, they are applying for.
However in the startup world the hiring process you experienced at ODesk is very common.
Most startups don’t have a HR team to do all the personnel stuff. The CEOs and 'techies' decide who is joining the company and they are focused on your skillset. Can that applicant deal with our everyday problems? Which of course makes sense; they don’t necessarily need a senior or principle. They need someone who can get the job done.
I’m happy for you and wish you best of luck doing the job you’ve always wanted.
I'm a little confused about the "We have internet access so we can work there." part. If you search for teambuilding I would not expect that any work is done there. In my experience teambuilding means "do something with your colleagues, and get to know each other better". That's pretty hard if everyone is working on their pc/laptop.
I like the idea of a one day trip to the cottage. You can spend a nice day on the lake. Maybe do some fishing, hiking, barbeque and of course drive the cruiser.
The company I work for does team events four times a year: a Christmas party, a summer party at a random beach and 2 activity events (like paintball, ski trip, laser tag, zumba etc.).
We're a consulting company. Most employees are on customer company site, so we don't see each other that often. These Events are a perfect opportunity to get together with everyone and just have a fun day.
However in the startup world the hiring process you experienced at ODesk is very common. Most startups don’t have a HR team to do all the personnel stuff. The CEOs and 'techies' decide who is joining the company and they are focused on your skillset. Can that applicant deal with our everyday problems? Which of course makes sense; they don’t necessarily need a senior or principle. They need someone who can get the job done.
I’m happy for you and wish you best of luck doing the job you’ve always wanted.