Pero no pensaba contratar a nadie
Why do you use "a" here? Isn't it normally used for places?

See a translation

This is going to be a long answer, but I hope it can clear out many things for you in your Spanish-learning journey.

That «a» in your sentence is called “the personal A.” We use it whenever the direct object refers to a person.

-> No pensaba contratar *a* nadie.
I wasn't planning to hire anyone.

Here, «nadie» is the direct object and it refers to a person, or in this context, to no person in particular, but we are still talking about hiring people, so the personal A applies.
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If the direct object is not a person, do NOT use the personal A. It doesn't matter if you are talking about a place. Using the preposition A with places is not a rule, and I advise you to forget about that.

Just to prove my point:

-> Visité España.
(I visited Spain.)

Spain is a place and notice that I did not use the preposition A. That is because Spain is not a person, so you cannot use the personal A.

-> Visité a mi abuela.
(I visited my grandmother.)

My grandmother is a person, so I must use the personal A.
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More examples:

-> No vi nada.
(I didn't see anything.)

-> No vi *a* nadie.
(I didn't see anyone.)

+++

-> Traje comida.
(I brought food.)

-> Traje *a* mis hermanos.
(I brought my siblings.)

+++

-> Creo que vi algo.
(I think I saw something.)

-> Creo que vi *a* alguien.
(I think I saw someone.)
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To further clarify, let's see the following sentence:

-> Fui a España.

Here, we do use the preposition «a», but not because you are talking about a place. This is also not the personal A, since «España» is not even the direct object in this sentence.

The real reason we use the preposition «a» here is simply because the verb «ir» demands it. There are certain verbs called “intransitive verbs” that require prepositions in order to make sense, and «ir» is one of them.