London market - dead? Overcrowded?

[diseasex]

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?

[Lance]

London isn't paying much more than the north atm.
And like everywhere there are plenty of candidates for not many roles.

If you want Java jobs for 450 a day stay north and have patience IMO

[northernladuk]

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

You need to have a clue what you are doing. I'd stick to the NW if I were you.

Cool story though. Thanks.

[diseasex]

You need to have a clue what you are doing.

Thats rude. I would pass that feedback to your client.
Haha

At least agent from Dublin called and as he need to fill 25 contractors in some major bank. Ireland seems booming if they can't find contractors on local market

[MrMarkyMark]

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

Current experience : 15-25 calls a day. Rarely any interview

Spotting BS in the CV?

You need to be clued up and savvy to work in the city, I'm not sure you will be able to perform the needful.

For that reason I'm out

[diseasex]

[QUOTE=MrMarkyMark;2361536]

Spotting BS in the CV?

You need to be clued up and savvy to work in the city, I'm not sure you will be able to perform the needful.

For that reason I'm out

Well some are put off that I'm based in Manchester, other putting me forward along with 50 other CV's.
Given they do call me it can't be that bad?
The only real chance to get a contract was with this receptionist issue which i failed.

[amanwhoisquiet]

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.

[SlipTheJab]

[QUOTE=diseasex;2361544]

Well some are put off that I'm based in Manchester, other putting me forward along with 50 other CV's.
Given they do call me it can't be that bad?
The only real chance to get a contract was with this receptionist issue.

So you were perfect for the role but got rejected because you left your copy of the Daily Star on the table, I think maybe you weren't the shoe in you thought you were...

[MrMarkyMark]

[QUOTE=diseasex;2361544]

Well some are put off that I'm based in Manchester, other putting me forward along with 50 other CV's.
Given they do call me it can't be that bad?
The only real chance to get a contract was with this receptionist issue which i failed.

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?

[diseasex]

[QUOTE=MrMarkyMark;2361550]

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?

I failed that interview and not blaming anyone else. Maybe I wasn't smiling enough.

So the question is , the experience for contractors in London might be similarly frustrating or I'm just odd case, and it's all rainbows and unicorns once you are estabilished contractor with good names on CV?