Trouble getting a new contract

[WTFH]

Is there a reason why, as a contractor, you are limiting yourself to one small city?

[SussexSeagull]

I have found it a very quiet Summer, which you kind of expect. Let's hope things pick up while the schools are going back.

[billybiro]

You sure you are just chancing your arm with stuff you think you might be able to do....

Oh behave, that's what we all do, all of the time. Fake it til you make it and all that.

[northernladuk]

Oh behave, that's what we all do, all of the time. Fake it til you make it and all that.

A good point indeed. But to be a pedant, that takes quite a bit of skill as well so again not quite in the fresh faced newbies repertoire.

[Agent]

Your problem is you're using job boards and agents. Both are a waste of time and you will spend months until get an interview, let alone an offer.

Most contractors get work through their extended networks. All about who you know as they say..

nope, simply not true.

[Agent]

OP - Rather than aimlessly applying for job, map out your local agencies.

Get on linkedin and Find Recruitment Agencies at Agency Central

Pick 10-15 agencies that look like they recruit in your sector. Then map out the more senior Contract recruiters at these companies - you can normally tell this by their job title and duration of employment.

Give each of them a call and introduce yourself, offer to meet them for a coffe (if they're local or you're willing to travel). Once they've met you, you'll be in the top 1% of people they remember. Some of them will actively go out of their way to find you work (expect an annonymous version if your CV to start floating around local companies). Others will have nothing today but will always call you first when something lands.

In an ideal world you want to be the guy that gets a call before the vacancy gets on jobserve. The only way to do this is to know the agent. I fill over 50% of my contract roles without any advertising or mail-shotting to our database, I use my memory and the first people that I remember are the ones that I've met.

It's just an option but I guarante that if the market is tough then the agencies are spending ton's of time looking for new contracts, having a good contractor to sell into companies really helps. If they've met you and trust that you won't let them down then it will be your profile that's opening doors and you'll be the first pick for interview.

[gixxer1k]

For the short term, I cannot suggest anything, but keep in mind that you will need to build up your niche skills and/or product portfolio and start to become real business, rather than the morning to evening contractor, going forward in future.
See where your passion lies, and start to think about the business opportunities in there - that will keep you going successfully, and the typical contractors will not be your competition anymore.

Would you care to share your story? I've been thinking about exactly the same thing recently, I think it's a dead-end though, at least for my skillset - I also don't think of my self as an innovator. I don't think there's much I can do alone and without significant capital, unless the business is aiming at small time i.t. services like local pc repairs or some other form of retail etc. Large organizations won't even talk to small time LTDs for window cleaning services, nevermind letting them touch their core software/infrastructure etc

How did you pull it through? Are you providing services/came up with some really good idea and tried a vc/something else??

[gixxer1k]

Since early July, I've been applying for contract roles in and around Edinburgh, but to no avail.

Not an expert, but from what I've been told by ex colleagues/friends, August and December are mostly dead. If you made it happen for the past couple of years for 5 different contracts I wouldn't think there's anything wrong with you or your cv etc. Probably a combination of the time of the year and maybe what others mentioned previously about lots of recently laid off contractors flooding the market.

[northernladuk]

This ... I do both.

Hmm ...

7 contracts in last five years - 3 out and out networking, 2 where applied through job board, but phone interviewed by people I knew. 2 where job board unknown. 1 of the unknowns I came back to via the network.

So basically 3 out of 7 / Plus 2 50%


If you are sitting at home, firing off some e-mails and making a few calls a day will eventually turn up some work.

By saying 'this'would indicate you agree with the statement.. Which you then go on to disprove....

[Pgtips]

I'm fairly new to the contract market in the UK. I read a lot of threads on the boards here where everything is doom and gloom and so many people are on the bench. Within 1 week of applying on job boards I had two contract offers.
Having said that though, agents are getting flooded with CV's and this appears to be the hardest stage to get past. Several people were put for one of the contracts I was offered and some of them their CV's were better than mine, yet they couldn't get past the technical questions at the interview stage. The kind of questions that only someone with a lot of true experience can answer. Might also depend on the line of work too. There might be more work available in the infrastructure space than coding, project management etc