When Dan Jessup talks about how Groupon has hired perhaps 200 people a month – or more – he can get a little carried away. He talks about putting them on the ropes course or making them interview before an audience of 100 – both jokes – and requires tests of their skils and cultural fit – totally seriously.

Yes, Jessup isn’t your typical HR director or talent acquisition guy. He lists his Screen Actors Guild membership and experience with not one but two improv theaters in Chicago on his LinkedIn profile.

“We take our jobs seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,” he told me in an interview, much of which landed in Fortune’s July 25 issue. (The LINK’s coming soon, I hope.) Jessup has headed Groupon’s hiring since 2009, as it has grown from 37 workers to 7,100 in 30 months. He’s also conducted workshops at Second City Communications, mostly for corporate clients, and has been an improv actor at The Annoyance Theater.

So what kind of people does Groupon want for its team?

“We want people who don’t come in overly coached, who don’t say things to move to the next step. We like people who are asking very good questions. We want people who are ethical, have good intentions. Someone who will adapt what they’re doing or where they’re sitting to the many changes happening. Someone who can go with the flow and react naturally.  Many of the customer service staff have theater or improv experience, so they can operate without a script.”

Here’s some more Q&A with Jessup, edited just a bit and served as tasty leftovers from my two interviews. These didn’t make it into Fortune but may still be fruitful for some readers, especially if you are running fast as a recruiter or you’d like to land a job at Groupon – or one of its array of competitors.

Q: What’s the interview like?

A: “Recruiters often start with a phone interview, a screening interview. They are checking details and watching for soft skills like communications as well as hard skills. Some departments require a skills test, often online, to check competency.” Then, Jessup said, virtually everybody is met face-to-face before an offer is made. “Sometimes we put a person with 500 employees — in an auditorium to fire questions at them…. That’s a joke. It’s mostly one on one. Sometimes it’s three staffers and one candidate. That way, there’s balance and even if one person doesn’t connect, others may see the person’s potential…. We are a pretty direct organization. We don’t hold our cards too much.”

Q: How does Groupon use its name recognition in hiring?

The company wants to extend its corporate brand to its employment brand. This begins with the way the job posting reads and it “sets the table in advance for the hiring and for the people who are going to apply,” said Jessup. So show some personality, your style and humor. “At Groupon, we want our brand to be about transparency and pride and excitement. ….And we want to see individuals as humans not just as a job applicant.”

Q: How do your recruiters and manager know they’ve found the right person for the job?

“It’s very intangible and qualitative. If the person has a really cool name, that’s sometimes a trump card. I’m joking… If they have come [to the in person interview] and they back up all their claims on a resume and they are a right fit, three out of three people walk out of interview and had a good experience, and it’s flowed genuinely, then OK – it’s great.”

Q: What might other hiring managers learn from Groupon?

“We do not assume the candidate wants the job just because they’re at the interview. This is big – important. Sometimes people haven’t checked out our culture – and don’t realize what it’s like at our organization….It’s as much about the candidate as it is about the employer” learning and checking to see if there’s a good fit and the likelihood of job satisfaction.

Q: How do you keep the joy in the recruiting and HR department?

“Everyone is given a company dog when they’re hired.”

With Independence Day approaching, I’ve been thinking about how independent agents – like me – could celebrate and boost their independence. I mean financial independence, but also the freedom to read a great novel for 90 minutes in the afternoon.

For whether you’ve chosen to work as a free agent or taken the freelancer’s road because other avenues were closed to you, your work and life is so different from the Corporate Job. You are responsible for so much more as an independent contractor and yet your income could be less. So even as beach and summer fun beckon,  July 4th seems like a great occasion to consider our financial freedom and futures.

Part of my approach has been to grow my freelance writing career so I have several regular gigs; I write every other week for the Washington Post Capital Business and weekly for the Glassdoor.com blog. I hope to contribute regularly to Fortune.com . Now I’m trying to trade up on clients – so I end up with more higher paying assignments and better finished articles, too.

But I’ve also focused on some other ideas to rebuild my finances (after a divorce and leaving a full-time editing job). Here’s four of them:

1. “I live an abundant life on a modest paycheck.” This became my mantra several years ago – and it still works for me. It helps me see my choices in a positive light. Living frugally seemed like a dear, old friend by the time the economy hit the skids. So I shop at the Kiwanis Sale and second-hand shops; see a lot of free theater, easy to find in a college town, or usher at nonprofits to get into some amazing performances. I use coupons and Groupons and restaurant specials – loved The Earle’s nickel and dime specials. I bring my lunch a lot, and say no to an event that is too costly or not worthy.
2. I set clear financial and life goals. I want to buy a house – maybe this year! – so I’ve saved money for it steadily.  And I want to travel and encourage my children to travel – so I established travel funds for each of them (and gave them “travel money vouchers” for Christmas). It can start small – mine certainly did. Save $15 a week and at yearend you have almost $800, or shove away $50 a week and you’ve got $2,600 toward your dreams. An extra project – park more of it in your goal accounts.
3. Develop your reputation – and your network. If you are flying solo, you want a reliable, well-tuned plane. So choose carefully your clients – and then exceed their expectations every time. Build your reputation for quality, integrity and reliability. Don’t be shy about saying no to work if you’re too busy or if the client doesn’t meet your standards or goals. That said, I also strive to create karma LINK and friendships  as I go – and expand my network of editors, writers and creative types who I know and like. Thursdays are my outreach day – I need to put that reminder back on my calendar so I have a nudge to network.
4. Cultivate multiple options and careers. Writing is my main love and my profession, yet I also want some Plan B career options: training and teaching, selling Italian ice (and maybe soup), maybe even career coaching. I’m not going to depend on one media outlet or one career path as the only way to achieve my goals.

And on days when I think how much easier and more collegial life would be if I were back in a newspaper newsroom, I remind myself: Independence has its costs, and all the diversity and joys cannot arrive without a little loneliness and variety in income. Today, I realize many independent contractors and freelancers will celebrate Independence Day not with picnics or fireworks but with deadlines and marketing campaigns.  I’m marching in the 4th of July parade as CEO of Mity Nice and then may do a little reporting for the Observer. But I’ll savor my freedom to take a holiday or skip work on the day I choose.