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taking long breaks

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    taking long breaks

    Hi,

    I was wondering what peoples experiences have been if they've tried contracting for say 6 months a year and having 6 months off .. I'm now in my 50s, mortgage paid off, pension (sipp) ok, and currently enough savings to last a year on the bench without having to sell any assets so financially I should be ok .. unless I did go without work for over a year! If I did work for 6 months that would last me another 6 months now so theoretically I would be able to be on the bench for 18 months from finishing a contract.

    If anyone has done this how did they find their prospective clients responded to large gaps - I've only spoken to one person who did this and he said he had quite negative experiences/feedback when trying to get new contracts - practical or a pie in the sky pre-retirement idea (figure 3 years to go before I retire)?

    thanks
    Slogger

    #2
    Well it's not going to be easy but depends on a lot of factors. The primary one being what you do. If you are just another PMO/PM you are going to put yourself at the back of a very long queue. If you are super niche it probably won't be a problem.

    Agents are your biggest problem as well so a direct engagement with a client might be OK. An agent is going to put forward the person that they think will guarantee them income. A guy who's just come of a gig doing exactly the same thing or a guy that's had a 6 month gap.... Or more. They just don't understand why we take gaps so they will immediately assume it's a problem and move past you.
    'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

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      #3
      Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
      Well it's not going to be easy but depends on a lot of factors. The primary one being what you do. If you are just another PMO/PM you are going to put yourself at the back of a very long queue. If you are super niche it probably won't be a problem.

      Agents are your biggest problem as well so a direct engagement with a client might be OK. An agent is going to put forward the person that they think will guarantee them income. A guy who's just come of a gig doing exactly the same thing or a guy that's had a 6 month gap.... Or more. They just don't understand why we take gaps so they will immediately assume it's a problem and move past you.
      yep -that's my worry - I've been contracting on and off for nearly 30 years with a few breaks going permie (lottery of startups attracted me and prop trading firms - never won the lotto though!) - even with always finding work - never had a day on the bench - I don't want to do something that would be clouded by my desire to chill a bit more rather than a rational decision.

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        #4
        Give it a try and see how you fare. Take 6 months off and gauge how difficult your next gig is. I took 5 months out (about 3ish my own choice) and I didn't find the break did my any more harm than normal gig searching. You're at a stage in life where you should be able to do this. Play the game, don't let it play you.

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          #5
          I want to do this after my current contract ends, though I'm a babe in arms in contracting terms compared to you. But it's been from one to the other with barely a break in between and suffering a number of bereavements in the past two years. I've been unwell a lot lately which doesn't help and I think it's related to not having a proper break. I was thinking about 2-3 months off to properly recharge my batteries. The market in my field is fairly good; getting maybe 5-6 calls a month from agents. I was wondering if I would be so attractive with a longish break but it's getting to the point where I don't care; I need a rest!

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Elliegirl View Post
            I want to do this after my current contract ends, though I'm a babe in arms in contracting terms compared to you. But it's been from one to the other with barely a break in between and suffering a number of bereavements in the past two years. I've been unwell a lot lately which doesn't help and I think it's related to not having a proper break. I was thinking about 2-3 months off to properly recharge my batteries. The market in my field is fairly good; getting maybe 5-6 calls a month from agents. I was wondering if I would be so attractive with a longish break but it's getting to the point where I don't care; I need a rest!
            Take the break! Life is way too short to do constantly do back to back gigs with no down time to recharge and have fun. Quality of life is far more important than stashing the cash.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Elliegirl View Post
              I want to do this after my current contract ends, though I'm a babe in arms in contracting terms compared to you. But it's been from one to the other with barely a break in between and suffering a number of bereavements in the past two years. I've been unwell a lot lately which doesn't help and I think it's related to not having a proper break. I was thinking about 2-3 months off to properly recharge my batteries. The market in my field is fairly good; getting maybe 5-6 calls a month from agents. I was wondering if I would be so attractive with a longish break but it's getting to the point where I don't care; I need a rest!
              My 5 month break was mostly down to a rotten-as-tulip 2016 and a real need to recharge batteries. I've come back somewhat refreshed. It sounds like your needs are greater. You owe it to yourself, it seems.

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                #8
                I have done 3 months break between every gig and it works well. Never had any problem. However, if I start a gig and an extension is offered I generally accept it (subject to not too many changes), that means, my 3 months break comes once in 15 months or 18 months etc.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Brummie View Post
                  I have done 3 months break between every gig and it works well. Never had any problem. However, if I start a gig and an extension is offered I generally accept it (subject to not too many changes), that means, my 3 months break comes once in 15 months or 18 months etc.
                  You'll always get people who say it hasn't been a problem for them, and that's fine.

                  The problem is, there are lots of people out of work, who are desperately trying to find work. How do they tell the 2 apart. Why should they believe you can afford, and want to take X months off?

                  And there are so many people applying for roles, they don't need to worry so much about not putting you forward, even if you are the best candidate available.

                  So sure, it can be done, but be wary of agents (as always of course!)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    If you have some ideas about what you want to do during the break you can think about how to cover the gap on the CV by doing something appropriate during the break.

                    Depends if you want to pick up where you left off skills/role wise or want to use the time to try something different with even a view of not going back to contracting if something else works out or comes along.

                    Having decent savings to fall back on allows for a 'go with the flow' approach where you can see what happens and not worry too much about when you need to start earning again. Be wary though of how fast you can burn through the savings if not careful.

                    Probably one of the biggest advantages of being freelance is you decide what work you're going to accept and when. A freedom that is only possible with a decent 'warchest' to fall back on so money becomes less and less of a worry as you build up the savings/investments over the freelance career.
                    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down. Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

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