State of the Market

[rocktronAMP]

I think what we're seeing is more and more people in despair. After months of rejections and no success, remaining positive is hard as I'm sure many of us know from past experience. It's also quite challenging to see an end to this stagflation and a return to growth, so I don't know how people can even judge how long this downturn will last. We are told that inflation is falling. Big deal. We need actual costs to fall; not everyone is getting inflation level income increases.

It's easy to say, stay strong, remain optimistic, but with bills to pay and no end in sight, I'm inclined to cut people some slack.
I'd like to think that clients / employers will still see through to experience and skills even if mood is a little off.

As for LinkedIn ... sycophants talking up employers, photos of pets and sprogs, repeated adverts for things I'm not interested in ... it's yawnsome.

I don't see rejected people or despair in my Linkedin timeline, maybe it is my connections or maybe I turn off random spam / stories or something.

However, from February to May 2023, I got chuck out of employment. I thought I could get back to income, but instead I went throw my remaining savings. By April, I also opened up my search to contracting, I was willing to do Inside IR35 6 months jobs arr £400pd minimum, but the market was dead then. J.F.C! Eventually, I found a decent high senior job that sort of matched my previous salary, it slightly higher. So I lost. I should have bailed in September 2022, but I stuck with the b*******s. Never trust completely.

Remember the electronic band, The Art of Noise, with Trevor Horn, "Close to the Edge". I felt that I living like that song. Even with this permanent job, I am not actually building a future warchest. It is hard to really save and pay off debts like a mortgage, car, new bathroom, replacement boiler whatsever. So I see this issue from totally the other side. I am working hard to make myself indispensible and my employer, my manager likes me. But I know from hard experience, that doesn't mean s****! I also remember the ruthlessness of investment bank when the axe has to fall, it will, restructuring taking people at the desks row by row at XXX Bishopsgate.

So yes, people are on Linkedin, who are shouting desperation, I can understand and feel their pain AND see the nonsense of Facebook like posts on a so-called professional platform.

[Cookielove]

I’m not seeing any outside roles any more …lot of FTC’s.
Looking at permanent but that is v difficult after contacting for a long time …
It’s all really awful

[hungry_hog]

Gave notice on contract.
A dreadful client...abusive, no direction, throwing people under the bus and basically a slave driver. Team of good people crushed to dust by poor management.

Looking forward to December off. Main thing the contact has taught me was not to jump ship for 50 quid bump in day rate! If you are working even one extra hour for that you are down!
And aside from that 50 quid a day is a small price to pay for happiness!

6 months war chest so feeling quite relaxed.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Gave notice on contract.
A dreadful client...abusive, no direction, throwing people under the bus and basically a slave driver. Team of good people crushed to dust by poor management.

Looking forward to December off. Main thing the contact has taught me was not to jump ship for 50 quid bump in day rate! If you are working even one extra hour for that you are down!
And aside from that 50 quid a day is a small price to pay for happiness!

6 months war chest so feeling quite relaxed.

Good on you. I've worked for an absolute vile **** of a manager. Sexist patronising bully who always take credit for others work and public throw them under the bus at every opportunity.

Remember they explicitly told me to do X against my reservations, I did X, someone senior responded that it was pointless to do X, and he cc'd all 'Why would you do X? I told you it's pointless'.

And the classic 'I'm used to tough situations, I always get my way, even if it comes to throwing fists outside the office, which has happened more than once'. Bearing in mind the guy was 8 stone wet and the spitting image of Mr Burns.

If I was perm I would have seriously gone tribunal route. I was burnt when I was very young so have always evidenced and documented everything since.

Toxic work environments can serious **** you over if you stick around.

Personally I wouldn't sit December out, you might come to regret it.

[andromedan]

Something probably off-topic: I would expect getting more contracts to be easier the longer you do this and the more experience you gain, but lately, it's not the case. And it's not like during my downtime, I'm not upskilling like crazy.

I'm trying to create my first YouTube video and continue marketing myself there with programming tutorials, but I think I have lost hope in this market for now.

Almost all of my friends I know stopped contracting, but I kept going, but now I'm starting to doubt whether I'm sane enough despite whatever war chest.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Something probably off-topic: I would expect getting more contracts to be easier the longer you do this and the more experience you gain, but lately, it's not the case. And it's not like during my downtime, I'm not upskilling like crazy.

I'm trying to create my first YouTube video and continue marketing myself there with programming tutorials, but I think I have lost hope in this market for now.

Almost all my friends I knew stopped contracting, but I kept going, but now I'm starting to doubt myself if I'm sane enough despite whatever war chest.

You can't fight the market or the Government for that matter. The Government is steadfast in wanting everyone on payroll and the market is reacting to that.

[JustKeepSwimming]

The estimated number of vacancies in August to October 2023 was 957,000, a decrease of 58,000 from May to July 2023.
Vacancy numbers fell on the quarter for the 16th consecutive period in August to October 2023, down by 5.7% since May to July 2023, with vacancies falling in 16 of the 18 industry sectors.

The industry sector showing the largest annual decrease in the number of vacancies is professional, scientific, and technical activities, which fell by 35,000 from the equivalent period last year.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentand...k/november2023

[simes]

Gave notice on contract.
A dreadful client...abusive, no direction, throwing people under the bus and basically a slave driver. Team of good people crushed to dust by poor management.

Looking forward to December off.

6 months war chest so feeling quite relaxed.

Could I suggest you at least keep looking.

Anything you find now will likely start after Xmas, but more likely if you are Starting to look in January, it could just as easily be that you will be taking Spring off, as well...

[dsc]

Something probably off-topic: I would expect getting more contracts to be easier the longer you do this and the more experience you gain, but lately, it's not the case. And it's not like during my downtime, I'm not upskilling like crazy.

I'm trying to create my first YouTube video and continue marketing myself there with programming tutorials, but I think I have lost hope in this market for now.

Almost all of my friends I know stopped contracting, but I kept going, but now I'm starting to doubt whether I'm sane enough despite whatever war chest.

It really depends on the industry, but even with hot industries you get high / low periods (or just a single high and a low period like with oil & gas for example), unless you can position yourself in some niche area and find clients that stick with you and get funding. I was never a big believer in "ir35 will kill contracting", but together with the current job market, job cuts, brexit etc. it seems like the perfect storm has finally brewed. Sure there'll still be contracts, but the fairly popular bum on seat earning twice as much as perm has sailed imho, that will all be inside and paying close to perm.

I'm still in contract with a EU client, but apart from another client in London, I have no other options. Yes there is other work I could potentially try to get but it's tulip, rates are tulip, involves traveling a lot and site work which I simply don't want to do. Also UK is doing my head in currently so I'll most likely leave both the UK and contracting next year.

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

Two came at once, got congratulated on getting another role, 500 inside, but had to turn it down. AFAIK it was the same public sector via a different consultancy, presumably a different department but who knows.