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Struggling to get to an interview...

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    Struggling to get to an interview...

    Hi,

    I'm not totally new to contracting, i'm doing it for 4 years now.
    I've spent these 4 years at only one company. I didn't have to search for this contract, because they already knew me, and got hired without any questions.

    Now that this contract came to the end, I find myself in this unfamiliar situation that I actually have to look for a job

    Strangely, it doesn't go as smooth as I expected. Couple of weeks passed since I 've uploaded my CV to a few places (some job sites, and agencies), but nobody contacted me yet. I've even applied for a few contract jobs directly, but no response at all. On the other hand, I've turned down at least 20 bad paying permanent job offers in the last three months.

    I'm far from being desperate, but I'm curious if you think that's normal. I thought that demand for temporary IT staff is pretty high, and expected a bit more traffic than that.

    Btw, i'm a well decorated JAVA/JEE/Scala/Web developer with over 9 years of experience. I also have numerous certificates, and a half completed MBA in finance. I would say I'm pretty neat , yet the situation is what it is.

    I'm interested in your thoughts...

    #2
    Originally posted by gabox01 View Post
    Hi,

    I'm not totally new to contracting, i'm doing it for 4 years now.
    I've spent these 4 years at only one company. I didn't have to search for this contract, because they already knew me, and got hired without any questions.

    Now that this contract came to the end, I find myself in this unfamiliar situation that I actually have to look for a job

    Strangely, it doesn't go as smooth as I expected. Couple of weeks passed since I 've uploaded my CV to a few places (some job sites, and agencies), but nobody contacted me yet. I've even applied for a few contract jobs directly, but no response at all. On the other hand, I've turned down at least 20 bad paying permanent job offers in the last three months.

    I'm far from being desperate, but I'm curious if you think that's normal. I thought that demand for temporary IT staff is pretty high, and expected a bit more traffic than that.

    Btw, i'm a well decorated JAVA/JEE/Scala/Web developer with over 9 years of experience. I also have numerous certificates, and a half completed MBA in finance. I would say I'm pretty neat , yet the situation is what it is.

    I'm interested in your thoughts...
    Where are you?

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by SpontaneousOrder View Post
      Where are you?
      Hungary...

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by gabox01 View Post
        Hungary...
        And your gamble is based on £450 per day? Yes?
        "it's people like Jim, Jim MacDonald, who keep me going,"

        tulip in your flowerbed

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Brian Potter View Post
          And your gamble is based on £450 per day? Yes?
          Exactly.

          Comment


            #6
            If you are in Hungary and applying to roles in the UK, the agents most likely bin your cv becuase you are not in the country and might not be able to go to interview at the drop of a hat. Can you try local cos and in particulary, ones which are taking on outsourced software development for clients Western Europe??? You might be seen as more niche there. Also try Germany or Austria if you have language skills.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by sunflower View Post
              If you are in Hungary and applying to roles in the UK, the agents most likely bin your cv becuase you are not in the country and might not be able to go to interview at the drop of a hat.
              Exactly. Spend some money and move to London for one month just to see how it goes and if you get more lucky with interviews..

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by sunflower View Post
                If you are in Hungary and applying to roles in the UK, the agents most likely bin your cv becuase you are not in the country and might not be able to go to interview at the drop of a hat. Can you try local cos and in particulary, ones which are taking on outsourced software development for clients Western Europe??? You might be seen as more niche there. Also try Germany or Austria if you have language skills.
                That's bulltulip, phone/skype only interviews are now very common.
                There are absolutely no need for physical apperence in order to hire you, expecially in the world of contracting.

                Btw, nowhere i mentioned in my CV, that i'm not living in the UK.
                Last edited by gabox01; 22 April 2014, 11:40.

                Comment


                  #9
                  But mightn't your name / last place of work give a clear indication of your location?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by gabox01 View Post
                    That's bulltulip, phone/skype only interviews are now very common.
                    There are absolutely no need for physical apperence in order to hire you, expecially in the world of contracting.

                    Btw, nowhere i mentioned in my CV, that i'm not living in the UK.
                    You might not like it, but it happens.

                    I've won work off phone only interviews, but more often than not clients want to interview me in person. As you haven't had to job hunt for 4 years, and I have to do it a couple of times a year for the past few years, I guess you must know better, though.

                    Not only that, but just about every gig I've had recently have interviewed me on the Thursday and wanted me in the office on the following Monday. They may be more nervous about your ability to do that.

                    Since you can't even get a response to your CV, let alone get put forward for an interview, something must be working against you. It could be your location, or maybe your CV isn't as great as you think.

                    Comment

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