State of the Market

[LondonManc]

Had a phone call about a permanent job. Not ideal but we shall see.

Can't get promoted off the rock'n'roll

[SussexSeagull]

Can't get promoted off the rock'n'roll

Hasn't got that bad yet!

[Lily]

Not a sniff since June

There was a very ill wind blowing on my last project so I decided to put the feelers out. This was in June.

Sure enough they pulled the rug on the project two weeks later and all 10 of us on the project were given notice.

I have not had a single call for interview in the UK since June and I have made hundreds of applications now. I'm hearing from the agents that they are getting 400 applicants for each role. One told me he got 600 applicants for a particular role.

What's noticeable is that my (what was a niche) line has become inundated with immigrant contractors in the last 3 years from India. Brexit seems to also be causing a problem I sense.

I've had the odd telephone interview, about 3, for foreign roles but even there they are seeing many more applicants.

The market is dire.

[munkee]

There was a very ill wind blowing on my last project so I decided to put the feelers out. This was in June.

Sure enough they pulled the rug on the project two weeks later and all 10 of us on the project were given notice.

I have not had a single call for interview in the UK since June and I have made hundreds of applications now. I'm hearing from the agents that they are getting 400 applicants for each role. One told me he got 600 applicants for a particular role.

What's noticeable is that my (what was a niche) line has become inundated with immigrant contractors in the last 3 years from India. Brexit seems to also be causing a problem I sense.

I've had the odd telephone interview, about 3, for foreign roles but even there they are seeing many more applicants.

The market is dire.

What's your line of work

[SeededLoaf]

Judging by the frequency of posts in this thread, the market hasn't tanked just yet. I'm getting a fair few approaches from agencies with 'roles', whether they exist or not is another matter. No doubt i'll find out when this gig comes to an end potentially quite soon.

[SueEllen]

Judging by the frequency of posts in this thread, the market hasn't tanked just yet. I'm getting a fair few approaches from agencies with 'roles', whether they exist or not is another matter. No doubt i'll find out when this gig comes to an end potentially quite soon.

There isn't one market.

[Elliegirl]

What's noticeable is that my (what was a niche) line has become inundated with immigrant contractors in the last 3 years from India. Brexit seems to also be causing a problem I sense.

The market is dire.

It was niche, but is now inundated with Indian immigrants? might be me, but it can't have been that niche then....

[SussexSeagull]

It was niche, but is now inundated with Indian immigrants? might be me, but it can't have been that niche then....

I wouldn't describe it as niche but you can certainly get into an area, for example testing mobile apps with me a few years ago, ahead of the crowd but eventually the world catches up.

[SussexSeagull]

Judging by the frequency of posts in this thread, the market hasn't tanked just yet. I'm getting a fair few approaches from agencies with 'roles', whether they exist or not is another matter. No doubt i'll find out when this gig comes to an end potentially quite soon.

A lot of Testers I talk to are really struggling at the moment but it might be different for other skill sets. We are talking about experienced ones with reasonable networks who haven't really struggled much for work in the last few years.

As has been said elsewhere I think it is a combination of projects and programmes coming to an end and placing people on the market without new ones starting up, which has crowded the market and a lot of foreign workers come in over the last few years.

Last time it was this bad was during the crash in 2008 so at least you knew why it was happening. This time round I suspect a more existential threat is happening as by all accounts the wider economy is doing fine.

From my standpoint we are heading towards a fairly massive correction in the next couple of years, which I doubt will be entirely limited to Testing.

But apparently we have a STEM shortage in this country so what do I know?

[SimonMac]

There isn't one market.

I don't know how many pages this thread is (viewing it in the app) but you've just succinctly summed up the whole thread in four words