State of the Market

[BritishLad88]

You are going to need to be very good and very lucky.

But you should be 'good' anyway (if not brilliant) to become a contractor in the first place.
I always believed to be a contractor you had to become a some sort of an expert in a field..

unless that's changed over the years such that any joe blogg can easily become a contractor without acquiring any good skill

[PlanB]

But you should be 'good' anyway (if not brilliant) to become a contractor in the first place.
I always believed to be a contractor you had to become a some sort of an expert in a field..

unless that's changed over the years such that any joe blogg can easily become a contractor without acquiring any good skill

With those sort of odds a combination of Bill Joy and Frane Selak would struggle to land a gig. Of the 96 out of 100 Java contractors rejected for a role I bet a fair few could have done the job pretty well.

[BritishLad88]

With those sort of odds a combination of Bill Joy and Frane Selak would struggle to land a gig. Of the 96 out of 100 Java contractors rejected for a role I bet a fair few could have done the job pretty well.

i would take posts from linkedin with a pinch of salt

[wattaj]

Having been a contractor for over 20 years, one tends to forget how tedious *permanent* interviews can be:

...This 2nd stage interview will include a face to face interview as well as a test so we would advise to keep 3 hours free in your diary...

AND they expect you to actually know/care about the company. WTAF?

[PlanB]

Having been a contractor for over 20 years, one tends to forget how tedious *permanent* interviews can be:



AND they expect you to actually know/care about the company. WTAF?

I had to do a competency based one recently

Probably only the second one I'd done in a 20 year plus career. It was a car crash, could not put examples to the questions on the spot. My own fault completely, I should have prepared more but I absolutely refuse to go through that nonsense again.

They are only of value if you are actively aiming to recruit bullsitters, so a lucky escape from my perspective as working with a team of spivs would have been unpleasant.

[Paralytic]

I had to do a competency based one recently

Probably only the second one I'd done in a 20 year plus career. It was a car crash, could not put examples to the questions on the spot. My own fault completely, I should have prepared more but I absolutely refuse to go through that nonsense again.

They are only of value if you are actively aiming to recruit bullsitters, so a lucky escape from my perspective as working with a team of spivs would have been unpleasant.

I had one of those the year before last. Interviewer read from a pre-prepared list of questions "Tell me a time when..." and wrote down my answers. I could have walking in and done the role with one eye shut, but I'd not prepared and my memory was not working.

As it was, my then contract was extended (I was keeping my options open in going for this one) and I would have rather stayed there anyway. I didn't hear back from the recruitment agency and I didn't bother chasing for feedback. There was absolutely no engagement at the interview - they might as well have stuck me in front of a computer and asked me to type in the answers with a 60 second countdown clock in place.

[GhostofTarbera]

I had one of those the year before last. Interviewer read from a pre-prepared list of questions "Tell me a time when..." and wrote down my answers. I could have walking in and done the role with one eye shut, but I'd not prepared and my memory was not working.

As it was, my then contract was extended (I was keeping my options open in going for this one) and I would have rather stayed there anyway. I didn't hear back from the recruitment agency and I didn't bother chasing for feedback. There was absolutely no engagement at the interview - they might as well have stuck me in front of a computer san asked me to type in the answers with a 60 second countdown clock in place.

Most banks like the comp based interviews

I have a file with 20 answers written down I read up on before interview.

All complete rubbish

Describe how you would deal with a difficult stakeholder
Blah blah blah


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[PCTNN]

I don't think there's ever been a better time to seriously asking ourselves whether contracting is still worth it.

With all the ir35 stuff happening, the difference between contracting and going permanent has dramatically reduced already. Now also we see rates starting to drop like crazy (£250 per day INSIDE ir35? Like...seriously now?).

Before Christmas people were saying "resist a bit, keep the contract you have/take the rate you can get until the dust settles". Are these people still of this opinion?

By the time the dust really settles there will be plenty more cheap labour in the country accepting £25,600 a year. Good luck when that happens.

[Paralytic]

I have a file with 20 answers written down I read up on before interview.

If they're nothing like you're posts here, I'm surprised you ever get a role!

All complete rubbish

Oh, they are

[redgiant]

Most banks like the comp based interviews

I have a file with 20 answers written down I read up on before interview.

All complete rubbish

Describe how you would deal with a difficult stakeholder
Blah blah blah


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

Not rubbish advice though I always have a few examples to refer to in memory to draw upon if interviewed or even in a more casual conversation with a client decision maker - it's all part of the sales pitch to convince the client that you are the person to make the challenge/problem(s) they have go away.

Majority of clients in my travels don't differentiate their interview questions for contractors/consultants and always ask the same scenario or experience based questions that they would for a permanent position. I also have a response for the why do you want to work for this company question.