taking long breaks

[TheFaQQer]

If you find work through agents then be prepared to explain where you've been and why. If you can find work through word of mouth / direct contact then it's much less of an issue.

[uk contractor]

The current situation is a marketplace full of highly qualified bench warmers & few roles so its going to be real hard to be considered a viable candidate the agents (who seem to be younger and more inexperienced than ever so harder to get by!!) will put forward instead of people with smaller CV gaps unless you have a super niche in demand skillset.

[Hobosapien]

Depends if the agent actually reads the CV rather than just filtering them by keyword search.

Hence why you only include skills you want a job/contract offer relating to, unless you want all sorts of spam about stuff you forgot over 10 years ago. Though maybe the niches these days are in such old tech, if you can find an old 'for dummies' guide to remind yourself what you've forgotten.

[Elliegirl]

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.

LM you are quite right. When my current contract ends I'm going to have to get someone to physically remove my laptop and other devices from me so that I can't check out prospective gigs. Probably have to pay someone to take my agency calls too! I'll have to be locked into a cell somewhere to deal with my withdrawal symptoms. But I'll come out feeling so much better.

[SueEllen]

LM you are quite right. When my current contract ends I'm going to have to get someone to physically remove my laptop and other devices from me so that I can't check out prospective gigs. Probably have to pay someone to take my agency calls too! I'll have to be locked into a cell somewhere to deal with my withdrawal symptoms. But I'll come out feeling so much better.

You will get a contract 3 weeks before you finish this one - cos it's Sod's law.

[Elliegirl]

You will get a contract 3 weeks before you finish this one - cos it's Sod's law.

Noooooooooooooo!!!!

See? going mad now.

The other thing I tend to do is check out linkedin to see who is currently benched in my area of work. Not because I'm cruel and heartless (I've been broke and benched) but because it helps me to see what skills I need to keep one step ahead. I made a decision to go 'niche' a few years back, so it's about honing and refining. I'm trying to avoid giving other people the opportunity to eat my lunch and dinner.

[MrMarkyMark]

17 years contracting.

I have probably had 4 years out over that time, a lot of it travelling.

The hardest was getting back after a whole year, however this was just after the financial crash.

[quackhandle]

17 years contracting.

I have probably had 4 years out over that time, a lot of it travelling.

The hardest was getting back after a whole year, however this was just after the financial crash.

Ditto, around 14 years with about three years out all added up. None of it my choice either!

Last year with 6 months out was tricky, got the house I wanted for 30k less, nice watching the kids grow up but the warchest was slowly ebbing downwards.


It's a strange life contracting.

qh

[Hugh Jardon]

Time off

Now in 22nd year of contracting. Had around 6 years off in that time. Only been an issue on one occasion. Awful interview, with an HR person present, for well known financial in Cirencester. This individual just could not get their head around me being in my 25th week of NOT being in a contract. Got so rude I bought the interview to a conclusion. Within a few days I had secured another role much closer to home. Which I finished at end of March this year, after a 23 month run. Have spent 6 weeks in the US Pacific north west and British Columbia and Alberta. Will be looking again by September 2017, unless something unexpectedly arrives out of the blue.

Not found any real issues with agencies. Probably helps that I tend to find most gigs via the same few pimps!

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Now in 22nd year of contracting. Had around 6 years off in that time. Only been an issue on one occasion. Awful interview, with an HR person present, for well known financial in Cirencester. This individual just could not get their head around me being in my 25th week of NOT being in a contract. Got so rude I bought the interview to a conclusion. Within a few days I had secured another role much closer to home. Which I finished at end of March this year, after a 23 month run. Have spent 6 weeks in the US Pacific north west and British Columbia and Alberta. Will be looking again by September 2017, unless something unexpectedly arrives out of the blue.

Not found any real issues with agencies. Probably helps that I tend to find most gigs via the same few pimps!

Very appropriate avatar given your name