London market - dead? Overcrowded?

[northernladuk]

Is the quoting system FUBAR'ed or something?

[pr1]

Is the quoting system FUBAR'ed or something?

test

[SueEllen]

Can work against you.

Little heads up you didn't not get that contract because you left a newspaper behind.
You think anyone uses a receptionist as a deciding factor?

They actually do - you will be surprised.

Sometimes the person acting as a receptionist or doing security at that moment actually does another job, or is being trained by the company to do another job.

[barrydidit]

Is the quoting system FUBAR'ed or something?

Just being used by the hungover or terminally cretinous, I believe

[diseasex]

They actually do - you will be surprised.

Sometimes the person acting as a receptionist or doing security at that moment actually does another job, or is being trained by the company to do another job.

Well she directly complained to the hiring manager.

[LondonManc]

At £450 a day how would you be making the NW > London thing viable without upping sticks? I've been plugging in the numbers for a while on this (on slightly higher rates too) and it barely seems worth it no matter how I pretend I'll be able to reduce expenses.

London and NW rates can vary considerably, depending on the area of work. my most recent decision was a £200/day difference in rates between NW and London. Easy to do with the right working arrangements - an extra day or two WFH per week and it would be easy to carry on past two years and no longer claim expenses based on the same rate comparison. £100/day difference and it's a different ball game.

[LondonManc]

They actually do - you will be surprised.

Sometimes the person acting as a receptionist or doing security at that moment actually does another job, or is being trained by the company to do another job.

I've known of this too - it's part of your "ability to communicate at all levels" and how you present yourself. Amazing how many people think that only counts when talking about presenting upwards.

[SueEllen]

Well she directly complained to the hiring manager.

The hiring manager must have asked for her to give any input/feedback into anyone who comes for an interview.

[LondonManc]

The hiring manager must have asked for her to give any input/feedback into anyone who comes for an interview.

I guess that's the only corporate fit they look at with contractors versus the whole cultural fit requirement for a perm. The perms probably get the receptionist test, too, but a whole lot more. While it's not scientific, it's a simple one that is very easy for the candidate to get wrong or right.

[uk contractor]

I'm northwest contractor and started applying in london to score these awesome rates.

Current experience : 15-25 calls a day. Rarely any interview. Managed to get 2 over a 3 weeks of looking with that amount of calls daily. Ridiculous

Interview #1. 550pd javascript/ hedge fund: 5 min slot, queue outside of the room with other candidates. Manager is rushing me, handing me over some tests and quickly asking few questions. 4 min later Thank you NEXT!

Interview #2. 450pd javascript: Waiting in reception reading newspaper. Manager approaches me, left newspaper on table. Technically excellent. Feedback: Receptionist told the manager I was rude that i left newspapers like that. Didn't get the gig.......
Haha

Interview #3 450pd javascript: Technically excellent. Manager had many other excellent candidates and chose among us.

Now I wonder what it takes to be contracting in London. Contacts? Be wordclass, Davos speaker authority?

JavaScript contractors are as common as imported Indian IT guru's in London doing the same thing for about £100 a day (the outsourcer or agency takes the other £400!).The other 499 people who applied had better interview skills than you & did not leave newspapers behind either! Stick to NW region otherwise your just making up the candidate numbers as London living expenses are so high anyway your better off not working here as the rate difference will fly out your pocket faster than you can ever earn it!