I have experience on the other end of your transaction.

I'm trying to really answer your question the best that I can. I'd like to think I'm the person you're looking for. If you had to boil it down to one word, it's politics. If a handful of words: "Game theory machavellianism, hidden attacks from within mixed with plausible deniability."

The Unknown unknown holding you back, behind your perceived problem is as that you are either a non programmer who's got a bunch of pointer-trivia and gotcha-type brain teasers in your head, in the context of a very narrow niche language and you're asking programmers these trivia and brain teasers, and conflating all that with "expertise in creating positive outcomes that directly relate to increasing revenues and decreasing expenses at company operations". Or more likely, given available information and assuming you're a mediocre programmer who knows just enough to not be fired but also knows how to keep your head low, and enjoying a little bit of drunkeness on the power you perceive yoruself having, you have incorrectly conflated your narrow band of Alex Trebekian brain puzzles as genuine C++ proficiency. The people like me, the one you're after, can see and smell this a mile away, and thus we respectfully give you what you're after, aloofness and we flunk your shit tests. Gladly.

I could probably drill down deeper and show you how you are the problem here, not the market, but that would be more pearls before swine. If you're honest with yourself, you really do prefer the shit and the shit-tests.