North West Contractor Scene

[Big Blue Plymouth]

I wonder who they are getting in, if they are getting in

I wonder...

I've just had to turn down an agent who had a role that I would normally be a shoe-in for.

I ticked all the boxes plus have sc. Then she informed me it was for Army HQ in Andover.

[SueEllen]

Well true, as agent said, "the cream always go to the top" ...

Nope it's called having the right skills for once.

[WTFH]

++ getting anywhere from Dublin airport is supposed to be a nightmare.

Hence min 700 euro PD.

You can fly to london and the US, amongst other places, so getting from Dublin AIrport isn't too bad.
When you're in Dublin getting to the airport is a pain. No trains, only buses or taxis.

[Biggles78]

Hmmm, opportunities don't sound great at the moment. I'm currently on a good role with a public sector client where the work is interesting but doesnt require more than a 40 hour week and I get to work from home sometimes. I'm not a dev, so at a guess £300 pd looks like top end in NW.
I know the upcoming ir35 changes, although I'm not sure whether the end client will deem me inside or outside - yet to assess.

On a slightly different note, if the rates don't match London, what's the work like? Do they generally offer some flexible hours or work from home? I can take a job on less pay, but I really want to avoid an inflexible dull job which has no prospects for CV or career improvements.

[MrMarkyMark]

You can fly to london and the US, amongst other places, so getting from Dublin AIrport isn't too bad.
When you're in Dublin getting to the airport is a pain. No trains, only buses or taxis.

This is exactly what I meant actually....

[diseasex]

On a slightly different note, if the rates don't match London, what's the work like? Do they generally offer some flexible hours or work from home? I can take a job on less pay, but I really want to avoid an inflexible dull job which has no prospects for CV or career improvements.

In my experience , and I had dozen of interviews in London (unsuccessfully), jobs in London seem more "advanced" than in NW, utilising newer tech, demanding more knowledge from a contractor . To contract in London you need "London experience" indeed

[The Spartan]

In my experience , and I had dozen of interviews in London (unsuccessfully), jobs in London seem more "advanced" than in NW, utilising newer tech, demanding more knowledge from a contractor . To contract in London you need "London experience" indeed

The tech generally is newer but add to that a large pool of candidates that are available in and around London, I was the first person interviewed for my current gig but had to wait two weeks to find out whether or not I had landed the role as they had 8 other people to interview and that was after they'd done phone screening.

[MrMarkyMark]

In my experience , and I had dozen of interviews in London (unsuccessfully), jobs in London seem more "advanced" than in NW, utilising newer tech, demanding more knowledge from a contractor . To contract in London you need "London experience" indeed

Basically you are really saying you aren't quite good enough, then?

[FrontEnder]

Hmmm, opportunities don't sound great at the moment. I'm currently on a good role with a public sector client where the work is interesting but doesnt require more than a 40 hour week and I get to work from home sometimes. I'm not a dev, so at a guess £300 pd looks like top end in NW.
I know the upcoming ir35 changes, although I'm not sure whether the end client will deem me inside or outside - yet to assess.

On a slightly different note, if the rates don't match London, what's the work like? Do they generally offer some flexible hours or work from home? I can take a job on less pay, but I really want to avoid an inflexible dull job which has no prospects for CV or career improvements.

It totally depends on the company rather than the location. There are a lot of digital agencies in Manchester and they're usually relaxed working environments and can be quite flexible.

There are companies like rentalcars.com in Manchester that are highly innovative, both in terms of technology and working practices.