Luck Run Out?

[ContractBunny]

I'm prepared for a bit of piss taking here but can a couple of people give me their informed views please?

I have been contracting for three years now, first six months was with a telco and the last 30 months was with two different local authorities. I have had several renewals. I am a project manager who works on web dev and SharePoint projects (I have some service management project experience and some infrastructure project experience but I am definitely not an 'infrastructure pm).

My problem is that my current contract runs out in five weeks time and I have had very little attention from agents. I have been put forward for some Central and Local government contracts but it has not got to interview stage. My two best theories for this is that agents are getting reluctant to place contractors from out of area and they are wary of dealing with you if you are still in contract, when they can deal with people who can start immediately.

Are either of these two theories credible? I am considering the other possibility that my luck has run out and there is too small a market for software pms with public sector experience?

I am thinking of going back to permiedom for a few years to get either other sectoral or product experience.

[northernladuk]

What you see suffering from is a dose of reality. There are many people leaving PS clients at the moment so it's going to be very quiet for a couple of months but even in good times it's not unusual to have a couple of weeks on the bench. It's why we build a warchest up to see us through the lean times. You shouldn't even be blinking at up to a month on the bench between gigs.

[eek]

I'm prepared for a bit of piss taking here but can a couple of people give me their informed views please?

I have been contracting for three years now, first six months was with a telco and the last 30 months was with two different local authorities. I have had several renewals. I am a project manager who works on web dev and SharePoint projects (I have some service management project experience and some infrastructure project experience but I am definitely not an 'infrastructure pm).

My problem is that my current contract runs out in five weeks time and I have had very little attention from agents. I have been put forward for some Central and Local government contracts but it has not got to interview stage. My two best theories for this is that agents are getting reluctant to place contractors from out of area and they are wary of dealing with you if you are still in contract, when they can deal with people who can start immediately.

Are either of these two theories credible? I am considering the other possibility that my luck has run out and there is too small a market for software pms with public sector experience?

I am thinking of going back to permiedom for a few years to get either other sectoral or product experience.

Personally a bigger worry should be the possibility that your contract will be found to be inside IR35 come April and HMRC come a knocking see http://forums.contractoruk.com/publi...il-2017-a.html

However if you aren't getting to the interview stage the issue is possibly not the market it could be that your CV doesn't have the key words or phrases needed to get past the CV filter... Get someone to review your CV....

[cojak]

How do you know your luck's run out when you're not yet out of contract?

Being a contractor means that you may well be on the bench between contracts. Don't expect them to be back-to-back. 6 months out of contract - that's when you think your luck might have run out.

[northernladuk]

5 weeks is pretty early to be looking as well. If you do find some thing it's likely they they will want you immediately and won't wait 5 weeks.

[eek]

5 weeks is pretty early to be looking as well. If you do find some thing it's likely they they will want you immediately and won't wait 5 weeks.

+1. Missed the 5 weeks time bit. No one is looking for a contractor in a months time they want one NOW...

[ContractBunny]

Ok, cheers everyone that reassures me slightly. I think I have just been fortune so far to avoid gaps between contracts. I am probably just not perceiving it all correctly.

[northernladuk]

Correct. If you are contracting on the back of luck alone you are going to have a long horrible time

[ContractBunny]

:-D very true

[northernladyuk]

Ok, cheers everyone that reassures me slightly. I think I have just been fortune so far to avoid gaps between contracts. I am probably just not perceiving it all correctly.

No harm in starting to chat up your network.