Acceptable number of previous contracts over a set period

[SueEllen]

Not sure I follow re the point in bold above. I tend to put date ranges on the CV hence it was a 5 month contract?

Good points re agent presumption.

In this instance to be fair the agent thought my CV was fine hence submitting me for the role. It was more the development manager who gave the feedback. I'm pleased the agent at least gave me that feedback as many just wouldn't bother. I won't lose any sleep over it for now although if I'm on the bench for any length of time I may have to consider whether it's a big factor.

I was thinking no one can tell whether you were extended or not.

The development manager is being an a**.

Anyway there are certain companies who think that because a lot of contractors apply for their position they can make it permanent.

Only to find that absolutely no one will work in those locations they have listed and/or that money.

[VillageContractor]

A CV or interview won't inform someone whether it's short roles or not being offered extensions.

But for me if I'm not sure about the individual during the individual then it's something that adds to the doubt.

[SueEllen]

A CV or interview won't inform someone whether it's short roles or not being offered extensions.

But for me if I'm not sure about the individual during the individual then it's something that adds to the doubt.

CV can. It depends how it's written.

[ShandyDrinker]

I was thinking no one can tell whether you were extended or not.

The development manager is being an a**.

Anyway there are certain companies who think that because a lot of contractors apply for their position they can make it permanent.

Only to find that absolutely no one will work in those locations they have listed and/or that money.

In this instance as it was an IB they'll undoubtedly have had a lot of people applying. I know many in the IB world who just seem to do the round robin tour of all the IBs and earn good money doing so. I decided to take a few short term contracts outside of the IB world and it may be biting me.

A CV or interview won't inform someone whether it's short roles or not being offered extensions.

But for me if I'm not sure about the individual during the individual then it's something that adds to the doubt.

CV can. It depends how it's written.

I used to put number of contract extensions on the CV but in some cases it looked a little daft as the contracts would be renewed on a monthly basis for a while due to very tight budgets. It can look a little odd when you've worked at a client for 6 months but then had a further 3 1 month renewals.

[Ketto]

CV can. It depends how it's written.

I agree you can make it clear that a project was small and of a limited timescale. I've done a couple where a public sector organisation just wants a business case doing, 2 months tops. Where it looks fishy is when someone (a Project Managers say) has lots of very brief contracts on their CV, but the projects they describe are huge and would obviously take over a year to deliver. The odd one is fine as sometimes it doesn't work out or you decide not to stay beyond the initial contract end date, but repeatedly doesn't look good.

[TheFaQQer]

It depends on what you do - I've got a couple of contracts on my CV where I was brought in for a couple of weeks to fix specific problems and then leave. I was told on one of them at the start "no chance of an extension, here's the 22 problems that you have to fix in the next three weeks".

Best contract I've ever had that one

[ShandyDrinker]

It depends on what you do - I've got a couple of contracts on my CV where I was brought in for a couple of weeks to fix specific problems and then leave. I was told on one of them at the start "no chance of an extension, here's the 22 problems that you have to fix in the next three weeks".

Best contract I've ever had that one

Yeah. Contracts like my last one rank up there as one of the most enjoyable too. Just a shame that some people have pre-conceived ideas about short term contracts.

I'm glad that many potential clients have an infinite pool of candidates that they can just dismiss people out of hand.

[anonymouse]

Not sure I follow re the point in bold above. I tend to put date ranges on the CV hence it was a 5 month contract?

Put start & end dates followed by- (number of extensions)

[TheFaQQer]

Yeah. Contracts like my last one rank up there as one of the most enjoyable too. Just a shame that some people have pre-conceived ideas about short term contracts.

I'm glad that many potential clients have an infinite pool of candidates that they can just dismiss people out of hand.

If you have a few like that, then word the job title to clearly indicate the nature of the role. You weren't a contractor, you were a troubleshooter (for example).

[cojak]

Acceptable number of previous contracts over a set period

For my short contracts, it's usually because the budget's been pulled or the project was in a tail-spin.

So my answer is generally 'it's the market/climate' or 'I completed what I was brought in to provide to the project' and point to other projects where I've been in contract for 2+ years.

I'm also happy to provide references for short contracts if they're still worried. It's never been an issue for me.