State of the Market

[LondonManc]

Surely that's D&C. You'd need a new contract to do other stuff.

PS seems to have her head screwed on - I'd imagine they mean renewal of service but have a new set of deliverables.

[PerfectStorm]

Surely that's D&C. You'd need a new contract to do other stuff.

And that's what will be produced.

I'm not going to turn down work due to advanced IR35 theory

[bownyboy]

Quit my permie role last August. Had spent two months networking, lunching, having coffee's, meeting recruiters, working linkedin andapplying to the job boards.

Walked into a contract role 1 week after permie role finished.

Been renewed twice now, current contract runs until end of the year.

Life is good. Why didn't I do this before?

[1manshow]

Quit my permie role last August. Had spent two months networking, lunching, having coffee's, meeting recruiters, working linkedin andapplying to the job boards.

Walked into a contract role 1 week after permie role finished.

Been renewed twice now, current contract runs until end of the year.

Life is good. Why didn't I do this before?

Ditto, started beginning of year (was deliberating taking it up vs two good perm offers I had), now got an extension to the end of the year (and probably subsequent extensions due to the workload). Why not sooner indeed!

[ShandyDrinker]

Quit my permie role last August. Had spent two months networking, lunching, having coffee's, meeting recruiters, working linkedin andapplying to the job boards.

Walked into a contract role 1 week after permie role finished.

Been renewed twice now, current contract runs until end of the year.

Life is good. Why didn't I do this before?

Ditto, started beginning of year (was deliberating taking it up vs two good perm offers I had), now got an extension to the end of the year (and probably subsequent extensions due to the workload). Why not sooner indeed!

While it's great to hear some success stories of people still breaking into contracting, it should be noted it can get very tough out there. This combined with the looming private sector IR35 changes, if indeed they go ahead, will only make contracting more difficult in the longer term.

The same advice as has been given over the years should be to build that war chest, as you never know when you're going to need it.

[washed up contractor]

Getting your first contract and being renewed isnt that big an ask. In fact, Id say if you are not being renewed in your first contract, there is something seriously wrong with the contractor.

What I believe is starting to happen is, traditional contracting roles such as PM, BA, TA etc, are being taken back in house or becoming the preserve of large consultancies who can offer clients a turn key solution.

There will always be exceptions of course but I think unless you have very niche skills, the contracting market is getting a whole lot tougher.

[uk contractor]

What I believe is starting to happen is, traditional contracting roles such as PM, BA, TA etc, are being taken back in house or becoming the preserve of large consultancies who can offer clients a turn key solution.

There will always be exceptions of course but I think unless you have very niche skills, the contracting market is getting a whole lot tougher.

You hit the nail right on the head that is exactly what is happening for those roles. Senior managers are looking at budget closely & can see the value in spending on inhouse upskilling vs paying over the odds for an experienced but usually unknown resource who can walk away & still get paid if it does not work out.

[PerfectStorm]

That's been my experience, slowly being replaced by perms, which is fair enough if people are to be there years and years.

[edison]

Getting your first contract and being renewed isnt that big an ask. In fact, Id say if you are not being renewed in your first contract, there is something seriously wrong with the contractor.

What I believe is starting to happen is, traditional contracting roles such as PM, BA, TA etc, are being taken back in house or becoming the preserve of large consultancies who can offer clients a turn key solution.

There will always be exceptions of course but I think unless you have very niche skills, the contracting market is getting a whole lot tougher.

I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence in the last few months to back this theory up. Several friends have all recently gone down the 'consulting associate' route and are contracting with a small to medium consultancies who are delivering most of the project. At the other end of the scale, a friend who runs a financial services IT recruitment company is continually moving away from recruiting directly for banks to recruiting for large consultancies like your Wipros of the world. I've just finished a gig in retail banking and again, a greater proportion of contractors seem to be coming through a handful of consultancies, both large and small.

[Smackdown]

Just moved to London and wondering wtf is going on.

I've had more rejections in the last two weeks (3) than in the past 4 years in another, smaller UK city.

How often do you guys get offers? I'm really interested in London answers because this has been so bizarre for me. The worst bit is I always seem to be passing on the technicals, are London companies super picky on fit? Is it something else?

Software dev for reference...