Recruiter hinted at an extension 2 weeks before my contract ends. Am I getting played?
Hey everyone, looking for advice from experienced contractors.
I’m doing an IT Support contract at an AM100 Law firm, covering an internal employee’s leave. My hard end date is August 28th, which is what they told me before I took this role on June 1st and again when they had a meeting halfway through the contract around 2-3 weeks ago (3 month contract) , everyone told me Legal IT was absolute hell, but honestly, I've been treated incredibly well. I talk to a majority of the capital partners often, have built a great reputation with the staff, and have even been informally recruited by someone on their newly formed AI workflow team. And they did allude during the interviews if they liked me there was possibility of hire, but made no promises.
Here’s the twist:
The Office Administrator just flew in from out of state and scheduled a sudden 1-on-1 "check-in" with me for this Wednesday. I originally thought it was just an exit interview, but then I got this text from my agency recruiter today
She said she heard "good news" from the firm’s internal coordinator that they might be extending me, but
I know the golden rule: Don't trust anything until the contract is signed. Managers love dangling the extension carrot so you don't check out mentally. Plus, the current ticket volume here really doesn't justify two full-time IT people once the main guy returns.
My questions:
-Have you dealt with a late-stage "maybe" text from an agency?
-With my good standing with the partners and the AI team interest, do you think the firm will actually pitch an extension on Wednesday, or is the agency just blowing smoke?
-How should I play this check-in? I’d love to stay, but I don't want to sound desperate or show my hand.
TL;DR: My IT contract at a law firm ends Aug 28th. Despite warnings about Legal IT, I've built a great reputation with the capital partners and even had internal interest from a new AI team. The out-of-state Office Admin just scheduled a sudden in-person check-in for Wednesday, and my recruiter texted me hinting at an extension. Trying to figure out if this is a real offer brewing or just standard contractor string-along tactics, and how to handle the meeting.