What is the best time to start?

[TheFaQQer]

So basically, there's no bad time - however I would probably avoid Christmas as that's the time when damn near everyone's on holiday. Some would argue august too cos of school holidays but I reckon that's overegged a bit.

The post you quote says that every time is a bad time. The glass is half-empty - mainly because the agency have stolen the water.

[SueEllen]

Think it depends on the role.

My own personal opinion is August is the worst month followed by middle December to middle January.

Best months are October-November, March-April.

I've got and started contracts in December and August.

As I stated you need to find out why the role is available.

Some companies do global work where different regions have different financial years so want projects to go live at different dates which would be unacceptable in the UK/EU.

[Eirikur]

2nd half of December is certainly a quiet time, however I once managed to secure a contract on Dec 28th for Jan 6th start. (which was actually my very first contract after being made redundant from my permie job)

[SussexSeagull]

I have got a couple of good contracts in January. Got a couple of average ones in August but they paid the mortgage.

I personally think December and August are times to avoid if possible but does depend on the sector.

[Whorty]

I interviewed on the 3rd Dec, offered role same day. Contracts delivered 4th Dec. Start on 8th.

I had 2 possible contracts available, plus 3 others in the pipeline should they fail. It is a quiet time, but there are always projects starting, progressing, struggling etc

This will be my 3rd Dec contract start Seems December is a good month for me!

[TykeMerc]

Unsurprisingly the OP hasn't returned after the initial flurry of activity (multiple threads with dumb questions) I'm sure we will see the return of this "poster" at a much later date as per the standard operating procedure. Not that I would ever accuse the OP of being one of the endless sockie battalions.

[SimonMac]

Ironically I have been getting two or three approaches a day recently (I am very niche and 2-3 a month is the norm), depends on your skill set but some haven't shut down for Christmas yet

[newmove]

Dec/Jan/feb are never good, depends what your skill set is.

I know one permie put in his notice and failed credit check as a contractor with same bank he was with for 15 years as permie - lol

Get all tour ducks in a row 1st

Sorry to derail the the thread. How bad should one's credit be to fail a credit check for an employment contract? I ask because I just discovered that there's has been an error on my credit file and I have been rejected for credits lately. Would that impact job credit checks?

[TykeMerc]

Sorry to derail the the thread. How bad should one's credit be to fail a credit check for an employment contract? I ask because I just discovered that there's has been an error on my credit file and I have been rejected for credits lately. Would that impact job credit checks?

It may well do.
If the errors are visible on the credit check agencies then they are more than likely going to be picked up in the checks many companies (finance especially) do on contract and staff.

[ujjain]

Unsurprisingly the OP hasn't returned after the initial flurry of activity (multiple threads with dumb questions) I'm sure we will see the return of this "poster" at a much later date as per the standard operating procedure. Not that I would ever accuse the OP of being one of the endless sockie battalions.

Hey! I'm still here. I realize I've asked some poor questions (e.g. where to live), but reading your answers and articles on this site has been very useful for me.

I have a 2 week holiday upcoming this month and when I'll return I'll apply to contracting positions to get a feel for the current contracting market.