Underpaid in one role - does it hurt your next role?

[SueEllen]

I know it's good fun to pretend that everyone on this board is rubbish at everything, but it'd take some seriously creative writing to positively explain moving from a senior consultant position to a mediocre support position....

Titles are meaningless so make all of them more generic - one company's "senior" is another company's bog standard level. I actually got asked once, when I was permie, why I was senior in one company but not in another when I was doing nearly the same thing. So after talking to a few people on both sides of recruitment I made more of my job titles generic. This also got rid of some of the weird job titles I had been given.

However the thing you can't lie about is technologies. I've been at client's seen candidates getting busted at interviews due to stating a company used a load of technologies. Someone who had worked a the same place at the same time stated in no way, shape or form had they.

[Mattski]

I dunno, some people seem to be able to get away with some truly amazing things if only for a short while... a certain company I have worked with hired someone for a Linux role who had zero knowledge of Linux. How that got missed on the interviews I'll never know!

[TheFaQQer]

London rates are generally already a lot higher than for similar roles elsewhere in the country.

In any event £200 a week is only £40 a day. You'd be better upping your rate by that 40 quid a day for all applications but that's just how Id look at it.

Plus the £50 a day minimum on accommodation, plus food.

If the local market would pay that additional £100 a day, then that's where I would pitch the rate. However, it doesn't.

[vwdan]

Titles are meaningless so make all of them more generic - one company's "senior" is another company's bog standard level. I actually got asked once, when I was permie, why I was senior in one company but not in another when I was doing nearly the same thing. So after talking to a few people on both sides of recruitment I made more of my job titles generic. This also got rid of some of the weird job titles I had been given.

However the thing you can't lie about is technologies. I've been at client's seen candidates getting busted at interviews due to stating a company used a load of technologies. Someone who had worked a the same place at the same time stated in no way, shape or form had they.

Yeah, but surely it's patently obvious whether you were operating in a senior capacity from the type of work you're doing. In other words, if you have a string of "consult, design and build" roles and then wind up in a support role, that's going to give the wrong message.

[SueEllen]

Yeah, but surely it's patently obvious whether you were operating in a senior capacity from the type of work you're doing. In other words, if you have a string of "consult, design and build" roles and then wind up in a support role, that's going to give the wrong message.

Apart from the fact roles in two companies aren't necessarily compatible, agents and clients' are hardly likely to hire someone with senior skills for a junior role that is completely different. They don't want you walking of the job for more money.

[worzelGummidge]

Surely you have to tell them at some point?

If asked, I always either add or take away from the rate when speaking to agents.
It's what they do to me reference their rate so it's only right and proper to do the same back to them.

[northernladuk]

Yeah, but surely it's patently obvious whether you were operating in a senior capacity from the type of work you're doing. In other words, if you have a string of "consult, design and build" roles and then wind up in a support role, that's going to give the wrong message.

I'd have to agree with this to a degree. There is always some wiggle room you can use on the CV to represent skills you used in a lesser role to make them look similar to the profile of a more senior one but there is a limit where you can polish the turd as much as you want, it's still a turd. Depending on the difference between the two roles you could end up almost lying on the CV to make them look similar. There are boundaries to what you can do.

[Boo]

I am worried that recruiters / companies find it odd that I was paid that little?

Not if they don't know...

...how best can I get around that?

...don't tell them ?

Duh.

Boo

[Tasslehoff]

Tell them it depends on the exact location and specifics of the contract (technologies, conditions etc.) and bounce it back to them by asking what range they are offering.

+1 this is what I do.

I try my up most not to even mention rate till post interview.

[flipFlop]

Jesus wept. How do people like this manage a contracting career???

I would frame the question differently, based on her plenitude of posts: how does northernladuk manage her own contract "career"?