My neighbor is doing a contract contingency job right now. From what I see, he’s doing a lot of work for free. He’s allocated maybe 20 hours a month paid but is working at least 20 hours a week. If it pans out for him, then good. He’s been unemployed for a while. If it doesn’t, not a fun situation.

Former fed trying to ramp up my job search. I've seen several positions that are the same job description posted by multiple companies, contingent on winning a contract. How does this work and is it worth sending my resume to each? Do they extend a conditional offer then? Do they use my resume in the bid? Just trying to understand what my risks are (other than time) if I apply to the same job posted by multiple companies.