Advice needed on breaking into Contracting (in Finance)

[joy division]

Yep, the yacht, the supermodel and monkey butlers don't pay for themselves.

Have you seen how expensive running a company is becoming?? I got a quote from a specialist accounting place who charge £35+VAT a week! Never mind yachts etc, I am just keen on being able to afford my habit of grocery shopping in M&S!

[gables]

Who knows!

Some things that *may* go against you:
- permie moving to contracting - newbie contractors can often struggle as the agents may only want to put forward experienced contractors (flip side: they might put you forward if they think they can stiff you on rate)
- Time off like that can certainly be a red flag to some agents, and the longer it lasts the worse it looks. And in your case (an ex-permie, moving to contracting) it may look to some like you were made redundant/got fired and can't get anything else, despite what you would clearly be telling them.
- less jobs (as you have experienced yuorself), more people on the market, less chance of getting in.


Consider lowering your rate to get the foot in the door.

Hmm, not sure about being newbie contractor should be a problem, let's face it most of us were permie first, I started contracting after just 4 years permie - but then had a very in demand skillset and the supply was low

The time off might be a red flag although I took 7 months off before this current contract (july 2014-jan 2105), didn't seem to be a problem.

Maybe not focus so much on FS and lower your rate, obviously we've no idea on your personal circumstance but stating that lower £450/day is uneconomical seems a bit much.

[joy division]

Did you get any feedback from the agents as to why? Hard to tell from a post - but it sounds like this is where things are going wrong.

How do you think the interviews went?

To date, i.e.: since Feb, I have had 11 interviews. Four of those were as a result of recommendations from old colleagues. The reasons for not landing these positions were varied: in one case I was told they went with an internal candidate instead. In 3 of the other cases, they wanted experience I did not have and which was not on my CV. I did not receive any job specs for these roles so was unable to root out any time wasters beforehand. The 3 roles in question were at a bank which was decommissioning one system (R&N) and on-boarding another system in its place (GMI). In all of those interviews they quibbled about me not having either R&N or GMI experience. Why bother calling me in then!?

The majority of other interviews went well, I thought. In a few cases I did not receive feedback. In others the feedback was, admittedly, they wanted more experience. In a couple, I was told they found an internal candidate. In a number of cases, they say the job profile changed once they started interviewing candidates. For example, in the last interview I had, it went brilliantly and I was really expecting a positive outcome... only to be told by the agent that they liked me the most out of all the candidates BUT they had decided they wanted someone with Murex experience! Arggghhhh!!!

[joy division]

Problem with announcing to the recruitment market that I will consider perm roles, is that recruiters will immediately stop putting me forward for contract, because placing a permie is far more lucrative for them. How do people get around this when applying for both perm and contract positions?

[MrMarkyMark]

11 interviews is quite a lot without a positive outcome.

Unfortunately, it is all pointing to your lack of experience.

Obviously, your CV is good, otherwise you would not be getting interviews.
On the flipside, maybe, people are thinking you are pitching yourself too highly.

There is nothing worse to have someone in for interview, that on paper looks good, but proves much less so, once questions start been asked.

[TheFaQQer]

I have tried using my network to respectfully ask if anyone knows of anything.

How?

There's a big difference between emailing a friend and saying "know of anything?" and speaking to someone who might actually have something and explaining exactly why they should hire you.

If you're relying on the former then consider the latter approach.

[pr1]

leaving a perm job without having
a) another perm job lined up
b) a contract on the table

10/10 for bravery

[MrMarkyMark]

leaving a perm job without having
a) another perm job lined up
b) a contract on the table

10/10 for bravery

Thats how most of us started on here...

[joy division]

11 interviews is quite a lot without a positive outcome.

Unfortunately, it is all pointing to your lack of experience.

Obviously, your CV is good, otherwise you would not be getting interviews.
On the flipside, maybe, people are thinking you are pitching yourself too highly.

There is nothing worse to have someone in for interview, that on paper looks good, but proves much less so, once questions start been asked.

MrMarkyMark difficult advice to hear but you could have some points. I don't think I am under qualified for any of the roles I am going for. I only apply for positions I can definitely demonstrate experience in. I think the issue is more likely rate. Why would rate be such an issue for a newbie contractor? People say it is such a different way of working but I don't believe that. Ultimately perm is no more stable, having witnessed on several occasions and in different firms that whenever there is a cut, the first people to go are the PERMIES not the contractors!

[joy division]

leaving a perm job without having
a) another perm job lined up
b) a contract on the table

10/10 for bravery

My notice period at my last firm was a ridiculous 3 months! Plus I wanted to take time off to study for the CFA exam and therefore was off the job market for almost 4 months anyway.