State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

I think there is inevitably some truth in that linked with earlier posts from me - although there has been a downturn even in the Logistics industry I am in there is value in having a long term exposure to one sector as it gives continuity of exposure to products, providers and a more focussed network to lean on when things get a bit tighter.

I suppose when compared alongside industry career diversity both have their positives and negatives.

I think logistics in this country gets helped by commonly having a geographical overlap with what is happening round Cambridge. Certainly I contracted in that part of the world and the locals I worked with seemed to have faired better than those in London and the South East, which tends to be heavily influenced by what is going on in finance due to the City.

I did have a brief stint in logistics and can well imagine a lot of things such as route planners that have existed for years will be rebadged as AI!

I suppose the risk of specialising in one industry is you are putting all your eggs in one basket but it does seem to work out for many.

[willendure]

At this point I wonder if a negative attitude is what is keeping some people on the bench. I certainly appreciate people coming on here with ideas on how to find work, even if they are ideas I have already tried and dismissed.

Sometimes as a contractor finding work is easy. Most of the time you have to innovate and try new things. Usually that process happens by itself as you get more desperate!

[ResistanceFighter]

At this point I wonder if a negative attitude is what is keeping some people on the bench. I certainly appreciate people coming on here with ideas on how to find work, even if they are ideas I have already tried and dismissed.

Sometimes as a contractor finding work is easy. Most of the time you have to innovate and try new things. Usually that process happens by itself as you get more desperate!

The saving grace is that it seems to be most contractors are in the same boat. My attitude would be totally different if I wasn't getting anything, but places like here, linkedin et al were all saying the market is booming.

I can count on 1 hand the number of contractors I know personally who are in work. The majority are either benched, or are slowly starting to reappear with perm roles.

A slight pattern I have noticed is that those wo aren't working are either juniors or high cost resources like us. Those in the middle ground, especially perm, seem to be doing ok

I'm still just chipping away at a few things - side project, courses, books and also taking time out with gym and video games. Not much else I can do that I haven't already tried

[willendure]

The main thing on my mind is: Does the market get worse before it gets better, or is the worst behind us?

Main reason I took my current contract, which I would not have taken if I thought there were other options on the table, is that I think it gets worse before it gets better. I want to be working up to the recession as much as I can, because I know I will need the funds to get through it.

[cojak]

Removed the childish name-calling.

[avonleigh]

The main thing on my mind is: Does the market get worse before it gets better, or is the worst behind us?

Main reason I took my current contract, which I would not have taken if I thought there were other options on the table, is that I think it gets worse before it gets better. I want to be working up to the recession as much as I can, because I know I will need the funds to get through it.

Hard to see how it can get any worse. Don't think going into a recession will make any difference. We have had recessions before and the market has been ok. Or at least I have never had any problems finding a gig. What we have now is something different and something that nobody on these boards has witnessed before.

[oliverson]

Hard to see how it can get any worse. Don't think going into a recession will make any difference. We have had recessions before and the market has been ok. Or at least I have never had any problems finding a gig. What we have now is something different and something that nobody on these boards has witnessed before.

I've seen a slight increase the last week or so but it's the f***ing agents that are killing me.

LinkedIn message:


"Hi [me], I have a contract that looks perfect for you, have you got a quick 5 mins for a chat"

Me responding within minutes.

"Yeah, sure, here's my number *************"

**** ALL. Nothing further. Is my phone number so offensive?


Rinse and repeat the above several times.

Or you get the, I'm expecting something next week that fits you perfectly.

Next week never happens.

Over 20 years contracting and obviously this happens, but only in the recent years I've been looking, say 2020 onwards, is this an issue. It's not just the occasional one either, it's almost every single one. The lack of professionalism and work ethic of the agents is off the scale.

I genuinely believe if all these agents were back in the office, supervised, most of us on here would be back in contract. Instead, I imagine they're all running or cycling around London, trying to dodge SchumiStars.

I'm currently sat here waiting for another call, scheduled from 10:00 this morning. This guy asked for my number and I provided it, he didn't call me that day, so I messaged him again on LinkedIn. He came back in the evening saying he'd call in the morning. That call never happened until lunchtime when I was at another appointment, so I called him back, again no answer. It's gone on like this for 3 days now. WTF is wrong with these people? How can you place people if you don't pick up your f***ing phone?!?!

[malvolio]

I've seen a slight increase the last week or so but it's the f***ing agents that are killing me.

LinkedIn message:


"Hi [me], I have a contract that looks perfect for you, have you got a quick 5 mins for a chat"

Me responding within minutes.

"Yeah, sure, here's my number *************"

**** ALL. Nothing further. Is my phone number so offensive?


Rinse and repeat the above several times.

Or you get the, I'm expecting something next week that fits you perfectly.

Next week never happens.

Over 20 years contracting and obviously this happens, but only in the recent years I've been looking, say 2020 onwards, is this an issue. It's not just the occasional one either, it's almost every single one. The lack of professionalism and work ethic of the agents is off the scale.

I genuinely believe if all these agents were back in the office, supervised, most of us on here would be back in contract. Instead, I imagine they're all running or cycling around London, trying to dodge SchumiStars.

I'm currently sat here waiting for another call, scheduled from 10:00 this morning. This guy asked for my number and I provided it, he didn't call me that day, so I messaged him again on LinkedIn. He came back in the evening saying he'd call in the morning. That call never happened until lunchtime when I was at another appointment, so I called him back, again no answer. It's gone on like this for 3 days now. WTF is wrong with these people? How can you place people if you don't pick up your f***ing phone?!?!

The people calling you are not the agents, they are telesales lookalikes working to a bonus scheme based on numbers. You are an irrelevance, as long as they feed half a dozen vaguely relevant referrals on to the real client-facing agents, that's all that matters.

The perfect applicant for a job with an agency is a ex-estate agent followed by anyone in retail sales. They get promoted to being real agents when they show they are up to it. Most, sadly, aren't.

[oliverson]

The people calling you are not the agents, they are telesales lookalikes working to a bonus scheme based on numbers. You are an irrelevance, as long as they feed half a dozen vaguely relevant referrals on to the real client-facing agents, that's all that matters.

The perfect applicant for a job with an agency is a ex-estate agent followed by anyone in retail sales. They get promoted to being real agents when they show they are up to it. Most, sadly, aren't.

Nah, I always do some due diligence on whoever drops me a message or email before responding.

Never get any true 'cold calls', as in phone calls these days.

[dsc]

The main thing on my mind is: Does the market get worse before it gets better, or is the worst behind us?[...]

Looking at what is being said about a potential recession in the US / bond market crash, I think the worst is still to happen.