Should I get a contract before resigning my job?

[SueEllen]

I have a 1 month notice period at my current company and I'm thinking about going to start with contracting.

Do you people recommend me getting a contract first before resigning the job or do 80-90% of the jobs require you to start immediately?

It depends.

Some roles ask you to start tomorrow. Some ask you to start in a couple of weeks to a month. With contracting there are no rules.

The only thing you need to do apart from reading up and checking your skills are in demand, is to make sure you are set up to act quickly including ensuring you know who you are going to use for contract reviews and their quickest turn around time.

It would be a good idea before you post your next question to think of everything you want to ask then use the search facility or search this site through google. Every question you want to ask has been asked before. If the answer is out of date then mention you searched before posting.

[jjdarg]

Have to say not being immediately available has worked against me on a few roles, even when it takes them 2-6 weeks to decide whom to interview then hire. (Especially if civil servants are involved in the decision making process.)

But there is some truth that having gaps in your history is a liability as well. It works both ways.