State of the Market

[rootsnall]

Employment gaps are myths. No one cares especially when you used that time to learn a new programming language or tech skill and picked up 3-6 relevant industry/vendor certs.

I have reskilled multiple times with the changing technologies and into different areas. I've taken time off to do it sometimes and no one cares.

Agree, it's all about the 'skills'. If you are seeking permiedom on the open market it might be worth chipping a month or two off older gaps by adding an extra month either side.

[ladymuck]

Agree, it's all about the 'skills'. If you are seeking permiedom on the open market it might be worth chipping a month or two off older gaps by adding an extra month either side.

That's poor advice. If you're going for a role with background checks then lying is never going to look favourable.

[The Bona Fide]

That's poor advice. If you're going for a role with background checks then lying is never going to look favourable.

Compliance these days, as far as I know, needs you to account for your movements during any inactive periods exceeding 3 months.

[founder]

Yeah I would rather sit out. Basically going from like 9k net to 2.5k net depending on your tax position... for probably a similar workload. Doesn't make sense. If that happened to traditional business they'd just close shop.

I'd rather just sit out for a year and learn a new skill or programming language or even just holiday on the cheap.

After multiple years at 600 pd you should be able to sit out a year without issues.

true realist!

[rootsnall]

That's poor advice. If you're going for a role with background checks then lying is never going to look favourable.

Agreed, done many moons ago to shrink gaps dossing/backpacking when contracting meant you could take 6 months a year off. I withdraw that advice.

[quackhandle]

It brightened for a bit then went south like an excel spreadsheet from 2007.

None of the f**kers (pimps) even bothering to acknowledge they have your CV.

Tedious, all very tedious.

qh

[KinooOrKinog]

very interesting - Wouldnt believe anything the agency says but who knows

Im astonished 39K is mentioned I really am - Dont tell me your day rate was also 600ish

If this is the new norm god help us all

I'm quite lucky I'm on 500 at the moment, but normally anywhere between 400 - 500.

[GigiBronz]

people saying 40k will be the new 60k. that is pure nonsense. rent is the biggest expense for the great majority of people and that, with the exception of zone 1&2 in London has not seen any movement.
regular folks have car payments, mortgages, student loans, ex wives to pay for. you can't do all that while still paying 50+% in housing costs. something has to give.

and yeah, property prices apparently are going up. desperate people craving for years a place of their own have finally managed to save up. I still think they've been played by the gov and institutional investors trying to find a way out, but that is just me anyway.

I'd rather live as frugally as I can and have the day to myself than work 60h per week in a dinky start-up being bullied and overwhelmed by the fear that I am not enough and I will loose my job.

[eek]

people saying 40k will be the new 60k. that is pure nonsense. rent is the biggest expense for the great majority of people and that, with the exception of zone 1&2 in London has not seen any movement.
regular folks have car payments, mortgages, student loans, ex wives to pay for. you can't do all that while still paying 50+% in housing costs. something has to give.

and yeah, property prices apparently are going up. desperate people craving for years a place of their own have finally managed to save up. I still think they've been played by the gov and institutional investors trying to find a way out, but that is just me anyway.

I'd rather live as frugally as I can and have the day to myself than work 60h per week in a dinky start-up being bullied and overwhelmed by the fear that I am not enough and I will loose my job.

40k is the new 60k because it used to cost me £60k to get a good developer and currently I have people begging me to take them on and those people are willing to accept £40k.

[LondonManc]

So much bulltulip in this post.

A couple of things:

- in normal times, sitting out for a year might be an option because you know there would be contracts to come back to. Put ir35, covid, brexit in the mix and you'll see the number of contracts you'll be able to come back to in 2021/2022 will not be as many so your 1 year off might well become 18-24 months, and THEN you'll have to take a 40k permie job if you're lucky to find one given your big employment gap.

- "holiday on the cheap"? what does that even mean? Are you going on holiday alone? Can your partner take that much time off? Don't you have a social life/social commitments? You just take and leave? Bulltulip

"Holiday on the cheap" - been there, done that when I was much younger and didn't have the money but needed some time away. If you go self-catering, you can still choose whether to holiday on the cheap or not. Literally self-cater - do your normal weekly shop instead of eating out, don't do the expensive tourist things, walk more, etc


However, I do agree with the 12 month gap. What a 'kin diva. Why let your pot dwindle far more than you have to? Your most recent rate is nothing to do with your current application, your rate that you've asked for is. Drop to a cheap one to "break even" and it means your pot isn't emptying. You as a shareholder of your co should be doing your best by it.