State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

Happily, I have retired (despite what a few knucklehead may want to think) so am no longer impacted by this.

It is the age old question and the age old answer. Depends on many factors such as where you are, what you work in, what rate you want and your skillset.

I never took the number of calls I got as an indication of how good or badthe market was. Agents are on the phone irrespective of how good or bad it is. That's how they generate leads.

What struck me most in the last 3 years I was working was how compartmentalised the contracting industry had become. When I started, switching sectors was a piece of piss. I started in utilities and switched back and forth with financing. Then, a couple of consecutive finance sector jobs meant it became very hard and nigh on impossible to get back into utilities.

Then it became the same faces filling the same roles at the same client. Mate of mine kept getting roles in the pharma sector. One contract would end then they'd find him another on site. When that finished he'd go back to the original role. Eventually when the pharma roles dried up, he couldnt get another role in a different sector.

In short, it has become a lottery out there. Thank god Im no longer involved. To the quoted poster, dont give up but at the same time, dont ignore other permie opportunities that may come up. Good luck.

I think there is a lot in this. Putting sector aside for a moment, when you see adverts asking for specific versions of technology you know you face an uphill task.

[uk contractor]

For sure its a lottery out there now. Rate is the golden ticket if you are happy to work for way below what your worth is then you can fill your boots. The only exceptions are people lucky enough to have skills in a niche area but even that is shrinking rapidly as well so much automation is replacing the sheer basic need for anyone. Already on the Desktop & Server side Virtualisation, OS Level Self Repair Scripting Events & more reliable software in general is also taking a lot of work away. Those factors alone & the Tier 2 Workforce have removed the vast majority of contracting vacancies.


Good luck to everyone looking its a challenging environment not sure if its going to change anytime soon either now the actual figures for last quarter of 2017 show an overall business decline.

[breaktwister]

The recruitment agent model seems broken to me at present. Far too many opportunities that I should be a top candidate for slipping past and unable to get a response from the recruiter via email or telephone. Maybe there are a lot of fake roles out there at present, I don't know but this is the most challenging period I have encountered in the past few years. I guess IR35 has played a part, more candidates chasing private sector roles.

[ShandyDrinker]

The recruitment agent model seems broken to me at present. Far too many opportunities that I should be a top candidate for slipping past and unable to get a response from the recruiter via email or telephone. Maybe there are a lot of fake roles out there at present, I don't know but this is the most challenging period I have encountered in the past few years. I guess IR35 has played a part, more candidates chasing private sector roles.

I agree with you that the recruitment agency model is broken. However, it's a bold statement to say you're a top candidate for roles yet being bypassed; unless you have a uniquely niche skillset there's always likely to be someone equally if not better qualified than you whether that be with technical skill, soft skills or that another person has had a closer fit due to previous projects they've worked on. It's been a tough market for the last few years and it's only likely to get tougher.

[Hawkeye]

Happily, I have retired (despite what a few knucklehead may want to think) so am no longer impacted by this.

It is the age old question and the age old answer. Depends on many factors such as where you are, what you work in, what rate you want and your skillset.

I never took the number of calls I got as an indication of how good or badthe market was. Agents are on the phone irrespective of how good or bad it is. That's how they generate leads.

What struck me most in the last 3 years I was working was how compartmentalised the contracting industry had become. When I started, switching sectors was a piece of piss. I started in utilities and switched back and forth with financing. Then, a couple of consecutive finance sector jobs meant it became very hard and nigh on impossible to get back into utilities.

Then it became the same faces filling the same roles at the same client. Mate of mine kept getting roles in the pharma sector. One contract would end then they'd find him another on site. When that finished he'd go back to the original role. Eventually when the pharma roles dried up, he couldnt get another role in a different sector.

In short, it has become a lottery out there. Thank god Im no longer involved. To the quoted poster, dont give up but at the same time, dont ignore other permie opportunities that may come up. Good luck.

I think so too. Looking at some of what is out there (who knows if they are fake roles) all seems very focused on experience on a specific product and experience with a specific sector. Have been in finance for a while so finding that other sectors have lost interest.

I guess it only takes one call to find the perfect role.

My husband is telling me now is the time to start opening the door to looking at other business opportunities too. So that is good advice around permie roles if any stand out.

The recruitment consultant model is broken for sure. Also there are so many out there it is also very hard to build up relationships that mean a good stream of work.

[SussexSeagull]

Jobserve has certainly changed in the last few years. Five years back if you had something to do first thing in the morning and didn't check your e-mail until lunchtime you could easily have a hundred adverts waiting for you. Now it is ten if that. Granted this might be a more accurate reflection of the actual jobs available as opposed to fishing.

Don't know about being a top candidate but I know what you mean about being more than suitable for a contract and never hearing back from an agent even if you chase them up, no doubt caused by a lot of good candidates being around.

Had you asked me a month ago i would have said using your network is the only game in town but I start a role I got through Jobserve tomorrow so what do i know?

[uk contractor]

The recruitment agent model seems broken to me at present. Far too many opportunities that I should be a top candidate for slipping past and unable to get a response from the recruiter via email or telephone. Maybe there are a lot of fake roles out there at present, I don't know but this is the most challenging period I have encountered in the past few years. I guess IR35 has played a part, more candidates chasing private sector roles.

Its not just you its been broken for ages probably because there are few real actual jobs & lots of fake ads. This is because recruitment agency staff have to appear busy or face the sack so seed the jobsites with fake ads to generate fake work so their phone rings & to their bosses without looking too deeply they appear to be thriving buys them some more time in the role! Also you have to keep reminding yourself that there are a lot of resource fighting over few roles so you might think your the top candidate then there are also another 10 or so top candidates who have just come out of public sector, defence or banking contracts as they constantly churn over contractors to make quarterly staffing payroll adjustments then rehire again when their budgets get reset or renewed.

[tarbera]

Why is java so hot in London at the moment - drinks with 2 agents this week confirm this as the no 1 hot role at the moment £800+ a day

One is organising a team from Poland to fly in Mon-Fri to make a few bob

[clearedforlanding]

I guess it was the agency who told you that you were the top candidate? They tell me and everyone else on here that we are as well. Even MF.

[jamesbrown]

I guess it was the agency who told you that you were the top candidate? They tell me and everyone else on here that we are as well. Even MF.

Yep, they're flying MF in from Poland.