State of the Market

[oliverson]

sell yer flash motor and buy an umbrella.

It's leased. Who'd buy an EV, even one as wonderful as a Tesla? Tech loses value quickly. Moore's Law and all that.

[oliverson]

Might not be your thing, but if I were in Malaga in the rain I'd spend a happy day slowly strolling around the Picasso museum.
Maybe lunch at Antigua Casa de Guardia. I even rather like El Pimpi.

A day trip to Gib, buy a couple cigars from Alberto Stagnetto. Lunch and a pint, perhaps a cigar at the Angry Friar.

A person who knows the area!

Been local today, a bar once owned (or maybe still) by Antonio Banderas.

[oliverson]

Just an update that I do believe the market is finally getting going.

Had a LinkedIn message yesterday and a spec. that unfortunately wasn't something I'd be interested in. But the agent did actually respond to my response, which seems not to be the norm these days.

Today I had a role sent to me by a contracting buddy for a bank in Canary Wharf. 3 days on site. It's a front end role, which tbh doesn't really interest me as I'm not that good at it. There are others much better than me, so I'll leave it to them.

But it's not over there folks, late afternoon (I'm 1 hour ahead of UK) and two more possibilities. Awaiting the full spec. on one of them, but the other one looks a belter. Carbon copy of the 3.5 year role I just finished, so fingers crossed for that one.

Believe people!

[SussexSeagull]

I actually talked to an actual agent about an actual job this week.

Didn't get put forward for it but baby steps.

[SchumiStars]

I've been out of contract for 2yrs.

I live in London, currently SC, full stack developer who can do Java, C#, Episerver.

I speak perfect English, educated from Oxford University, never been in prison and hold a driving license.

I run marathons, ride my bike hundreds of miles, in the gym most days and got a six pack you can grate cheese with.

If anyone can tell me what's wrong with me, apart from the outstanding self assurance and self belief I would be more than grateful.

Certainly of the hardest times in my life for finding a contract. However, running marathons has taught me, that no-one has a pain-free life.

Even if some of the posters on here, claim to be headhunted onto outside contract roles that pay awesome rates for skills that no-one, else can do, I am going to run with the belief that everyone on this thread and more are suffering the same market.

Ego driven, keyboard warriors.

I'm currently on holiday with the boys away from the wife and kids enjoying the buffet breakfast.

[SussexSeagull]

I've been out of contract for 2yrs.

I live in London, currently SC, full stack developer who can do Java, C#, Episerver.

I speak perfect English, educated from Oxford University, never been in prison and hold a driving license.

I run marathons, ride my bike hundreds of miles, in the gym most days and got a six pack you can grate cheese with.

If anyone can tell me what's wrong with me, apart from the outstanding self assurance and self belief I would be more than grateful.

Certainly of the hardest times in my life for finding a contract. However, running marathons has taught me, that no-one has a pain-free life.

Even if some of the posters on here, claim to be headhunted onto outside contract roles that pay awesome rates for skills that no-one, else can do, I am going to run with the belief that everyone on this thread and more are suffering the same market.

Ego driven, keyboard warriors.

I'm currently on holiday with the boys away from the wife and kids enjoying the buffet breakfast.

Wouldn't your SC have expired by now? Also, of the many admirable traits you list I would have thought work experience is the only one clients/agents look at.

Without wishing to repeat myself and others, it is the market. I hate to over simplify it but it is true. The only unknown is if it will ever improve.

[Dorkeaux]

Wouldn't your SC have expired by now? Also, of the many admirable traits you list I would have thought work experience is the only one clients/agents look at.

Without wishing to repeat myself and others, it is the market. I hate to over simplify it but it is true. The only unknown is if it will ever improve.

I have to think that most of the posters in the professional forums are not "ego driven keyboard warriors". Rather we are here to share experiences and exchange information.

Agree with Sussex that clients and agents don't care about marathons, where you were educated nor what your six-pack can do.
I disagree that the state of the market is the only factor.
There is the market (including the agents), and there is you.

The agents only care about a) the skills and experiences on your CV and Linkedin profile, b) the rate you'll take, c) if you interview well, d) any blatant red flags.

But the agents are only the second hurdle. First hurdle is you, and the contract search.

Some posters here have a lot of deflection activities. I get it, mental and physical health are important and deflection activities are fun.
But searching for a contract (while not in contract) is full-time job in itself. There is a lot of organising and work to do every single time. In front of a computer and on the phone. Every weekday, all day.

Not to be harsh, but if you’ve stopped doing that and can’t resume you probably aren’t a contractor anymore. Lots of other things to do.

[SussexSeagull]

To be absolutely fair I do think it is helpful to be able to display some life outside of work as it might humanise you to an agent or client but you would still need the requisite skills and experience to be able to do the contract before that becomes a factor.

Has been said any others on here that the hard part of contracting isn't the actual contract, it is finding it to start with. Applying for contracts (and/or jobs) can be absolutely soul destroying as you know that no matter how well you tailor your CV, spend time on a covering letter or get on with the agent you will most likely either never hear back or get an automated decline.

It is not unreasonable to do something you enjoy to take your mind off it for a while but you do need to keep at it as well.

[sadkingbilly]

I've been out of contract for 2yrs.

I live in London, currently SC, full stack developer who can do Java, C#, Episerver.

I speak perfect English, educated from Oxford University, never been in prison and hold a driving license.

I run marathons, ride my bike hundreds of miles, in the gym most days and got a six pack you can grate cheese with.

I'm currently on holiday with the boys away from the wife and kids enjoying the buffet breakfast.

so you write code, speak English and are mobile. anything else is irrelevant.
It's down to how well you can sell your abilities to contribute to a given project.
Maybe your priorities need a reshuffle?

[oliverson]

I've been out of contract for 2yrs.

...

If anyone can tell me what's wrong with me, apart from the outstanding self assurance and self belief I would be more than grateful.

Certainly of the hardest times in my life for finding a contract. However, running marathons has taught me, that no-one has a pain-free life.
...

Nothing wrong with you from what you've said per-se, and from a skills perspective. The problem is with the market BUT that's definitely changing.

Many of us have been where you are right now. You look for work, it's not there, you keep pressing F5 on your JobServe browser session hundreds of times a day. You shake your head in despair, it's all going wrong and you feel powerless to stop it. But then it changes, you get a lead or two and all of a sudden there's a spring in your step, the end is in sight. But for whatever reason those leads come to nothing. You're back to square one, F5 on JobServe yields nothing again. Again you shake your head in disbelief. No matter how many times you hit F5, nothing turns up.

Have to understand it's a numbers game, and the fewer roles there are, the harder it is.

Back in the financial crisis, I took a REAL BATTERING and lost a lot, including my mind at times, yet that period was relatively short lived, and there were a lot of roles on the market still. I had dozens of phone interviews and several face-to-face, which required great expense to get to London (I didn't live there) I could barely afford. Looking back, in the interviews, I genuinely believe they could sense the desperation in my voice or in my demeanour, or in the emails I sent. Facing being booted out of our home counties rental property, two cars to be repossessed, unpaid credit cards, the Spanish apartment in which I'm sat currently, typing this out, literally hours from being repossessed, well how could there not be desperation in my voice? Anyhow, the worst came to the worst on all that, except the apartment, happened. We had to flee the home county and return north, kicking our tenants out of our own home. Shortly after I was in the local pub looking out of the window as the repo man took the second car away. The first one was a horror show btw, at around 05:00 some thug in a van turned up at our rental property and clamped the car. Shouldn't have done that as it was a private estate. Anyhow, I got the police out and the officer was trying to separate me and the ****** who came for the car. Ended up dragging the car onto a low loader with all my posh neighbours looking on. Hey ho.

So, what I'm trying to say is that whilst I don't know your circumstances, on the basis of what you've said, and it's totally understandable that two years on the bench can screw with your mind, you don't appear to be in the kind of place that some people, me included, find themself. But I do suspect that like me, there may be some desperation coming across in your communications.

But didn't you have an interview the other day? So, something is definitely right with you or you wouldn't have got that. When the next one comes along, just go along with the intention of not taking it, even if offered, almost as if you don't really care, and see what happens. Eventually that worked for me.