State of the Market

[jamesbrown]

Since January I have applied for over 27 contract roles. Skill suitability varies between 80%-100%. Absolutely no reply received. May be agents are merely harvesting CVs.

Yesterday out of the blue received a message on Linkedin from an unknown recruiter. 100% matching skills. Fully Remote. The rate is about a £1 more than I got in 2004. It's £275. Outside IR35. I have said Yes.

Better to be earning than doing nothing. Besides, I want to grab it before some one from overseas quote a lower rate.

Yep, better earning. 'ave a banana

[oliverson]

Just been told Im being extended for another 6 months, quite relieved as it's pretty dead out there.

Congrats

[edison]

Since January I have applied for over 27 contract roles. Skill suitability varies between 80%-100%. Absolutely no reply received. May be agents are merely harvesting CVs.

Yesterday out of the blue received a message on Linkedin from an unknown recruiter. 100% matching skills. Fully Remote. The rate is about a £1 more than I got in 2004. It's £275. Outside IR35. I have said Yes.

Better to be earning than doing nothing. Besides, I want to grab it before some one from overseas quote a lower rate.

At least you got something but how depressing at the same time.

In the past I've usually been selective in that I find my opportunities through contacts at about 25 recruiters plus my network. That's all dried up so it's becoming a numbers game and I'm targeting a much bigger pool of agents and lower roles now.

[dsc]

Since January I have applied for over 27 contract roles. Skill suitability varies between 80%-100%. Absolutely no reply received. May be agents are merely harvesting CVs.

Yesterday out of the blue received a message on Linkedin from an unknown recruiter. 100% matching skills. Fully Remote. The rate is about a £1 more than I got in 2004. It's £275. Outside IR35. I have said Yes.

Better to be earning than doing nothing. Besides, I want to grab it before some one from overseas quote a lower rate.

Good move imho, I'm just wondering how probable is it that whoever is hiring has a hiring freeze and can only take contractors? if that's true, then they might've just said well we would pay X per year in salary / taxes, which equates to...£275 per day, throw in outside to attract more people and bam you have yourself an ad.

The reason I'm saying the above, is that I did a contract once for similar rate at an old employer. Salary back then was around 40k, from what I gather employer costs would be times 1.7, so around 70k. If you take the £275 rate and multiply by 260, you get 71k, so pretty much bang on. They probably need someone, but can't take on a permie and are offering a low ball contract.

[PCTNN]

So everyone is saying 'good move' to this guy accepting 275 a day.

Then in other threads we bash contractors for doing exactly this because they're bringing down rates for everyone else.

Can you please make up your mind?

[SussexSeagull]

So everyone is saying 'good move' to this guy accepting 275 a day.

Then in other threads we bash contractors for doing exactly this because they're bringing down rates for everyone else.

Can you please make up your mind?

It's called the market and at the moment people need to get whatever they can.

[oliverson]

So everyone is saying 'good move' to this guy accepting 275 a day.

Then in other threads we bash contractors for doing exactly this because they're bringing down rates for everyone else.

Can you please make up your mind?

Afraid I agree with you here and I just couldn't do it, which is why I as on the bench 17 months!

I just couldn't 'turn up' and pretend I was remotely interested and I think they'd detect that.

[gables]

So everyone is saying 'good move' to this guy accepting 275 a day.

Then in other threads we bash contractors for doing exactly this because they're bringing down rates for everyone else.

Can you please make up your mind?

I wouldn't ever bash a contractor for taking a contract such as this (or any contract for that matter) as I don't know their circumstance. As to bringing the rates down for everyone else (1) I doubt it (2) tough titties as needs must. In 2015 I took a contract paying £200/day which was the same as I charged in 1994 required a big swallow of my pride.. but I'd just got a divorce settlement, had left a permie position and wanted back into contracting.. it worked a treat :-)

[avonleigh]

So everyone is saying 'good move' to this guy accepting 275 a day.

Then in other threads we bash contractors for doing exactly this because they're bringing down rates for everyone else.

Can you please make up your mind?

You can never judge people on what they are prepared to work for. Everybody's circumstances are different. 20 years ago, I took a role paying £192 a day and that was also working away. I ended staying in a single room in somebody's house to keep costs down. Did it for 12 months and kept me ticking over. Whilst some people I know didn't work for quite a while and had to sell their homes. People taking low rates does not bring rates down either. Has no consequence. Even when the market is good you will find some roles with low rates.

[Snooky]

Afraid I agree with you here and I just couldn't do it, which is why I as on the bench 17 months!

This concept is quite alien to me. Being on the bench for 17 months when you don't need to be (and assuming you had bills to pay and no other income) seems to fall heavily into the cutting off your nose to spite your face category and is also a luxury most of us can't afford.

If you can't get the rate you think you deserve, either your abilities aren't worth that to any client or there's a dearth of work out there, or possibly both. It leaves two options - swallow your pride and take a low paying contract, or slowly watch your warchest dwindle. I've been in that position before post 9/11 and I grabbed with both hands a contract at half my normal rate just to keep me and my family going.

You don't have to stay in that low-paid gig forever - if things improve and something better appears, you can easily move, as I did once the market opened up again in 2002.