State of the Market

[jayn200]

The flip side is that accepting large drops in rate resets the market rate. When covid clears, clients aren't then going to then turn round and say "sorry the rate was lower, going forward we'll whack it back up". The view will be "well, you were happy to work at that rate then...".

Consultancies especially are more concerned about driving their own profits.

It will be a competitive process between multiple clients trying to secure the same contractor so rates will get bid up. At least for in demand contractors with multiple offers.

If you were ever in a situation where economy was great and your skill set was in demand and on short supply you likely benefited from an above normal market rate situation and likely cashed in on that, why should you be excluded from the down market? Take your cut and deal with post-covid when it's post-covid.

[dsc]

Weirdest phone call with a pimp ever, he was chasing me after a perm offer which I'm considering as it's some extra skills which would look good on my CV and potentially open up a lot of extra work. He said the recruitment is a two stage process, first video interview with the pimp !? and a technical test.

Wtf? Anyone ever had to interview with a pimp as part of the recruitment process?

[Old Greg]

Weirdest phone call with a pimp ever, he was chasing me after a perm offer which I'm considering as it's some extra skills which would look good on my CV and potentially open up a lot of extra work. He said the recruitment is a two stage process, first video interview with the pimp !? and a technical test.

Wtf? Anyone ever had to interview with a pimp as part of the recruitment process?

Question 1: give examples of projects you have delivered at each previous client and employer, providing details of the senior manager who makes hiring decisions.

[Rearden Metal]

Weirdest phone call with a pimp ever, he was chasing me after a perm offer which I'm considering as it's some extra skills which would look good on my CV and potentially open up a lot of extra work. He said the recruitment is a two stage process, first video interview with the pimp !? and a technical test.

Wtf? Anyone ever had to interview with a pimp as part of the recruitment process?

Yes, it's reasonably common for perm roles and it's more of a screening exercise to ensure they are putting the right candidates in front of the client.

[eek]

Yes, it's reasonably common for perm roles and it's more of a screening exercise to ensure they are putting the right candidates in front of the client.

Really can't see any problem with that - if an agency is charging me 20% of the annual salary to recruit someone the very least I would expect for the £xxxk I'm paying is ensuring I don't waste my time interviewing people who are only paper qualified.

[sira]

The flip side is that accepting large drops in rate resets the market rate. When covid clears, clients aren't then going to then turn round and say "sorry the rate was lower, going forward we'll whack it back up". The view will be "well, you were happy to work at that rate then...".

Consultancies especially are more concerned about driving their own profits.

In that situation people would move to a new gig on a better rate, and that in turn will have a domino effect and increase rates. We can't hold tight and wait for rates to increase again because that will take years.

Most people on this forum appear to be alright for money with a decent war chest but the world of being self-employed stretches way further than this forum. Some people have little savings and will happily take a 50-70% pay cut just to keep ticking. It's inevitable.

Personally I'm more concerned about my CV, it would be good to get something (even on lower pay) just to keep working & racking up experience. And landing a job during a pandemic may look great on the CV, as it shows you're able to get a gig during stiff competition.

[jayn200]

Yes, it's reasonably common for perm roles and it's more of a screening exercise to ensure they are putting the right candidates in front of the client.

Yeah it's very normal in perm job. Actually quite lucky that it's only 2 stages.

[Old Greg]

Yeah it's very normal in perm job. Actually quite lucky that it's only 2 stages.

Last time I applied properly for a perm role, there was no agency involved, but I had 4 interviews with different people. They then asked for a fifth and at that point I said no thanks.

[quackhandle]

Wtf? Anyone ever had to interview with a pimp as part of the recruitment process?

You do get these but as mentioned, they are mostly for permy roles. Any pimp that has tried this on with me I point to the clients I have worked with and how long I've been freelance. If they push it I tell them to jog on.


qh

[quackhandle]

Last time I applied properly for a perm role, there was no agency involved, but I had 4 interviews with different people. They then asked for a fifth and at that point I said no thanks.

Unless it is for fco/government/military roles, any more than two interviews is taking the pee.

qh