Advice needed on breaking into Contracting (in Finance)

[NickNick]

Probably TSB at Bristol.

Nope the roles are TSB in Gloucester, Lloyds in Bristol.

[LondonManc]

Nope the roles are TSB in Gloucester, Lloyds in Bristol.

What a quality agent that was then

Probably had a long day when they sent me that.

[wantacontract]

Not sure why anybody would want to break into contracting and finance right now, bad enough one or the other. The reality is that both markets are stuffed. Contracting is a dying game, government wants to kill it and is doing a good job. Finance is a dwindling market with crippling pressure from regulation, leading to downsizing and cost cutting to lower cost centres such as Eastern Europe, along with the established offshore locations. I'm noticing an increase in consultancies mopping up the work. In short, both are very bleak places to be. I was 'lucky' enough to get into the scene back in 2008 but even then the game was very much over compared to previous years. Having said that, it was infinitely better than it has been the last few years. I'm talking massive, massive decline. I took August off after my gig ended with the view that September is usually a busy period but it failed to materialise. I've never seen the market so dead in the London banking sector. Fortunately I landed something and with the compliance complete I'm awaiting a confirmed start date. The pencilled-in date is for next Wednesday. My good friend also followed a similar path and he's now struggling to find work with less than 3 weeks remaining on his contract. We are talking contractors with 12-15 years commercial experience, much of it in banking and with in-demand skills. If we are/were struggling with our experience, contacts and connections, then I pity the newbie who is trying to break into the scene. In short, it's unlikely to happen unless you are very, very lucky.

But I've posted on here before about whether this is something you really want. I guess you have to go through it, tick that box and then ask yourself whether it's a place you want to be longer than maybe 5 years. Do it, tick the box but make sure you have an exit strategy because boy are you gonna need it.

I'm starting to come to that realization also, contracting is a dying market with more and more applicants....my wife doesn't understand, she says but you've never struggled in the last ten years, why would you struggle going forward.......to coin game of thrones, winter is coming....and I am going to make my way down south....

[wantacontract]

To OP.....I would go back to permie land in FS or get a contract in any sector that pays well......as once the warchest gets empty, you'll get really desperate....

[GJABS]

I'm noticing an increase in consultancies mopping up the work.

By which I guess you mean offshore providers the likes of Wipro, TCS, and onshore like Accenture?

Could we as contractors get together and form consultancy companies to compete with these guys? Would this work?

I need to sit down and work out why larger consultancies have an advantage over us now - which I have not yet done.

[pr1]

By which I guess you mean offshore providers the likes of Wipro, TCS, and onshore like Accenture?

Could we as contractors get together and form consultancy companies to compete with these guys? Would this work?

I need to sit down and work out why larger consultancies have an advantage over us now - which I have not yet done.

the same reason your local coffee shop goes under 6 months after a starbucks opens down the road - because clients have heard of them

[Cirrus]

I lowered since that to £450. I suppose, given I am new to this, rate is something that should be compromised on. Going any lower though, will make it uneconomical.

I pitch at £600-700 but not so long ago I did a contract on £350. I actually made quite lot of money despite having to fund a flat.

[MrMarkyMark]

the same reason your local coffee shop goes under 6 months after a starbucks opens down the road - because clients have heard of them

Its not quite as simple as that .

CEOs are often golfing buddies.
Useful to have a big consultancy in to blame, when it all goes South. Shareholders and regulators can be told, well if the big guys, like Accenture, couldn't fix it, what hope did we have?
Useful to have a big consultancy in when it goes well, shareholders can be told that even though it was expensive, it provided real value.
Perception that the big consultancy support network will provide rich shared experiences and thus real value.
Lots of ex senior consultants on clients sites, networking with previous colleagues.

[Cirrus]

Joy, if you haven't read Thinking Fast & Slow by the Nobel winner Danial Kahneman, then you should.

Every millisecond we humans are building a picture of the world around us from the available bits of information. It's a huge computing task which of course feels completely effortless. Unfortunately as the amount of data falls to next to nothing, it still feels effortless and our brains come up with a story that feels to us to be pretty sensible.

Lots of people here - including you - are trying to build a story out of near zero facts.

From reading this thread in one go it looks like you are the sort of person who could get a job in a week. But equally the sort of chap who might languish for a year, but - heh - then land a pleasant role.

I've been doing this for nearly 30 years and I can tell you there are no simple patterns.

Personally I treat it as a numbers game. I just keep plodding along with leads until I break through the agency barrier and get to an interview. There's a lot you can say about interviews but getting them is extremely unpredicatable. Haven't you noticed how most salespeople are disconnected? We are salespeople and you need to stay disconnected until a customer starts giving you order details. Otherwise you will live a life of frustration.

I would advise you to keep plugging away. It seems rather tight in FS at the moment but it is worth preserving that classification. Go off piste and your next FS bid will be much tougher.

I am facing the prospect of having to go down market. I've done it before (times were worse in 2002) and picked up enjoyable roles. My last rate was £650 as a regulatory programme manage. I can see that dropping to £450 as a jobbing project manager.

Hope we don't finish up interviewing for the same thing in wee's time.

[pr1]

Its not quite as simple as that .

Useful to have a big consultancy in to blame, when it all goes South. Shareholders and regulators can be told, well if the big guys, like Accenture, couldn't fix it, what hope did we have?

because shareholders and regulators have heard of them

Useful to have a big consultancy in when it goes well, shareholders can be told that even though it was expensive, it provided real value.

because shareholders and regulators have heard of them

Perception that the big consultancy support network will provide rich shared experiences and thus real value.

because shareholders and regulators have heard of them