A month on the bench

[dack]

As the title says, been 4 weeks since last gig and the only calls I’m getting are for PPI or claiming for an accident I never had.

Got the CV out to the usual sites, updated LinkedIn profile etc. Market is looking okish for my skill set, C# in South Wales\West.

Never had more than a week off between gigs for over 12 years so a bit lost what to do next. Is there any mileage in actively sending my CV off to select agencies, or even approaching clients directly? Or should I just suck it up, sit tight and enjoy the delights of daytime telly?

[Unix]

As the title says, been 4 weeks since last gig and the only calls I’m getting are for PPI or claiming for an accident I never had.

Got the CV out to the usual sites, updated LinkedIn profile etc. Market is looking okish for my skill set, C# in South Wales\West.

Never had more than a week off between gigs for over 12 years so a bit lost what to do next. Is there any mileage in actively sending my CV off to select agencies, or even approaching clients directly? Or should I just suck it up, sit tight and enjoy the delights of daytime telly?

Are you searching and applying for jobs? Also you can post on LinkedIn like facebook which if you have thousands of Agents linked like I have, should get a few bites.

[dack]

Are you searching and applying for jobs? Also you can post on LinkedIn like facebook which if you have thousands of Agents linked like I have, should get a few bites.

Yeh, got JobServe on constant refresh and jumping on anything that looks good. CV went forward for 2 gigs last week and another early 2 this week but heard zilch back from all.

Only recently started accepting connection from Agents so have about 100+ connections and posting status update every few days. Seems that LinkedIn has come a long way since I last used it.

thousands of Agents linked

Wow, maybe this is the way to go in readiness for next bench time.

[quackhandle]

As the title says, been 4 weeks since last gig and the only calls I’m getting are for PPI or claiming for an accident I never had.

Got the CV out to the usual sites, updated LinkedIn profile etc. Market is looking okish for my skill set, C# in South Wales\West.

Never had more than a week off between gigs for over 12 years so a bit lost what to do next. Is there any mileage in actively sending my CV off to select agencies, or even approaching clients directly? Or should I just suck it up, sit tight and enjoy the delights of daytime telly?

The buggers are getting sneaky, PPI call yesterday was listed as San Antonio, Tx.

qh

[Bunk]

The buggers are getting sneaky, PPI call yesterday was listed as San Antonio, Tx.

qh

Yeah, I had a call from Texas the other day. Ignored it and googled the number, seemed to be a common spam number even for people in the UK.

[tractor]

...

Book a holiday, plan to do loads of thing locally that you never got around to, fill your diary up and then magically.......


Loads of opportunities will come your way, scuppering all those plans you made.

Works every time!

[SPWeb]

Tractor - you're not the only one. I've been "immediately available" for the past three weeks. Lots of calls (10 yesterday) and I've been put forward for a few things but so far none of the these 'red hot opportunities' has turned into so much as an interview.

The best thing I did was to stick my CV on a load of job sites - that got me a lot of calls but unfortunately none of the people calling seemed to have any jobs! But I figure that when something does come up the most recent contacts are most likely to get a call back.

[Gaz_M]

I find it difficult to comprehend the panic in not finding a gig after four weeks. I believe the OP also started a similar thread two weeks ago having been 'in between' for a whole fortnight.

Obviously I don't know your personal circumstances but surely you have some kind of warchest after having only one week off between gigs in twelve years? If I'd worked that consistently since 2002 I'd be looking at retirement!

[northernladuk]

the only calls I’m getting are for PPI or claiming for an accident I never had

Coincidence you should post this today. I've spoken to a number of agents over the last week and I've also notice almost zero calls and very little spam email. Two agents independently told me that the market has changed and they get almost zero results from chasing people. In both cases almost every single contractor they have been placed have been a result of an application from and advert, recommendation etc. Even they are surprised by the shift. They didn't really offer any explaination, possibly the tools are much more advanced for finding gigs, there are enough contracts out there so very few people on the bench etc but both said exactly the same thing.

It appears from what they told me the days of agents spamming roles or chasing individuals is over for the time being and the onus falls squarely to the contractor to do the leg work at the moment.

When you do speak to agents ask them about it and see if they say the same. I know agents will sprout anything they want but it did seems coincidence two said the same thing on the same day.

[TheFaQQer]

The buggers are getting sneaky, PPI call yesterday was listed as San Antonio, Tx.

qh

I feel like I'm missing out - the last time my phone rang was September 2nd when the PCG tried to ring me twice but didn't leave a message. Before that it was my dentist the previous week cancelling my appointment.