First time contractor.. where did all the jobs go?

[ImaginativeTruth]

I would seriously look at permanent jobs as well as contract jobs. Totally stupid to give up work without somewhere to go to work.

Lots of contractors are going permanent right now. Huge number (1000's) let go Q4 last year and still looking. Some say up to 100,000 likely to come on market shortly (public sector IR35). LBG and others are outsourcing IT to IBM so likely to have lots of contractors and permies released.

Major agent (Hydrogen) said to me just last week that her contract seekers are 'panicking', with those never in need of agents to find work now out for contract for 3 months +.

If you are midlands or north, its going to be very hard for you.

I knew a chap who did what you did, wife and kids in tow. 6 weeks later he asked his old employer for his old job back. He got it and stayed there.

Contracting is getting lots harder.

[uk contractor]

I would seriously look at permanent jobs as well as contract jobs. Totally stupid to give up work without somewhere to go to work.

Lots of contractors are going permanent right now. Huge number (1000's) let go Q4 last year and still looking. Some say up to 100,000 likely to come on market shortly (public sector IR35). LBG and others are outsourcing IT to IBM so likely to have lots of contractors and permies released.

Major agent (Hydrogen) said to me just last week that her contract seekers are 'panicking', with those never in need of agents to find work now out for contract for 3 months +.

If you are midlands or north, its going to be very hard for you.

I knew a chap who did what you did, wife and kids in tow. 6 weeks later he asked his old employer for his old job back. He got it and stayed there.

Contracting is getting lots harder.

This is a really good post. So many people who post on here are just way too arrogant to admit perm is way better than contracting when the contracts side of IT is fading away. Funny you mention LBG as well I know ex-colleagues there who are ordinary family people with wives, kids, mortgages etc etc & fearing the future as they know IBM & Computacentre are going to be handling a lot of the support going forward leaving no room for (admittedly over paid) perms to exist @ LBG like they do right now. Some of the support guys were on £45K PA as well as bonuses & mortgage subsidies no wonder LBG want to outsource it all!

[redgiant]

Sharepoint!

I hope that technology dies on its own arse soon and we can be rid of that bloatware.

I know that a lot of public sector invest in Sharepoint and probably why the market is dead right now.

It might be a good idea to get back in to that permie world, because sometimes the grass is not really greener.

The main problem is that permie wages are so low, the 400£ per day gigs look like an easy way to climb up the wages ladder. But as this thread shows, timing is important. You either have to be very niche or based in a location where your skillset is in high demand and local talent is in shortage. If you are in London, it could end up a few months wait for the right gig.

Sharepoint dev is all moving to O365 and on prem will be discountinued by the next version. Much of the Sharepoint dev work I have seen in recent memory has been completed by consultanties who have outsourced nearly all dev work offshore.

As for UK perm salaries I agree they are low especially when you compare them to the US (NYC and California - the USD FX rate has made this even more in recent months) and Germany.

[eek]

Sharepoint dev is all moving to O365 and on prem will be discountinued by the next version. Much of the Sharepoint dev work I have seen in recent memory has been completed by consultanties who have outsourced nearly all dev work offshore.

As for UK perm salaries I agree they are low especially when you compare them to the US (NYC and California - the USD FX rate has made this even more in recent months) and Germany.

Not sure where you've got the idea that on prem will be discontinued. Cloud first means Office 365 receives releases first and then most (not all) functionality gets released to on-prem in the following (6 monthly) release.

But as redgiant states there is little long term future in sharepoint development - you really do need to move to something else and you probably need to be permanent to do so as the current contractor market is BAD...

[blackeye]

Just wait until Q4 this year when global standards at hsbc comes to an end. Thats 5000 contractors dumped and looking for work.

Cream always floats to the top, but 4900 will be jobless and looking for the high rates that they have become accustom to.

2017 is the year the contracting market becomes only for the best, or those with an excellent network.

[blackeye]

Hey Pallavi,

I jacked in my permie role a year ago, it took 4 months to land my first gig. Unless you're prepared to do something about it, don't be surprised to go for days and weeks without phone calls or interviews. They won't just land on your lap.

So it's tough, but there's hope. Companies are always on the lookout for good people - perm or contract. You gotta work out how to get in there. What's your flavour of SharePoint xp? is it dev?

Agencies get well over 50 apps for each ad. Their attention lasts for seconds / most agents generally misunderstand roles - how do you get to the top of the pile without appearing to be desperate and convince the agent you're the one to be put forward for the role? Be the best you can be, be patient, persevere. Market yourself without being a BS artist. Invest time and independent review of your CV and application methods.

Split your time between networking, applying for roles through job boards and contacting hiring managers directly offering your skills. (BTW "CV library" is another job board which may yield unique results...)

Give yourself a time limit and go back looking for permie roles after that. Good luck!

So what happens if you aren't extended beyond your 6 months (it happens a lot). Another 4 months looking and not developing skills?

Contracting only makes sense if the market is fluid and you have marketable skills that can get you contracts within weeks. Otherwise it's stressful and a massive waste of time.

[Signo_cypher]

KUATB

To the OP - now is probably the worst time in the last 4 years that you could have picked to go contracting. It's not been this quiet since the Jubilee and London Olympics combined to kill the market for the best part of three months.

I agree the market is dead, I've been contracting for 10 years now (PMO Analyst/Finance), 6 roles so been here before but having finished in a large bank on 30th Dec 2016 and am still looking, this is my longest break ever, very very quiet out there 6-12 months money in the war chest has to be a must these days.

[SuperZ]

Market hasn't been great for a while but always has its peaks and troughs. I'm not as pessimistic as many. Hopefully a lot of permi-tractors will bugger off back to perm-land and a decent market will return for those who don't really see perm as an option.
Also a reminder that as a long term contractor you really should have been banking a lot of cash over the years - contracting comes with a risk of loss .
My contract comes to an end soon, probably, and look forward to many pot noodle lunches...and evening meals

[Moss]

Hi
I am a first time contractor looking out for my first contract recently with a long permanent job history.
While I had the permanent job a month back, I was seeing a lot of buzz in the SharePoint market but my CV was not selling primarily because of the 4 week notice period (and some SC requirements).
Finally after a lot of consideration to ensure keeping me afloat for few weeks financially and looking at the number of job requirements in the market, I took the plunge and quit my job to focus completely on the contractor market and also tap into those opportunities that usually needs one to join asap within a week.
Fast forward a month and all I could see is only one serious interview and no shortlistings despite numerous calls with agencies every day and what I feel is a killer CV (experience in all areas of SharePoint tech stack both in US and UK).
My hunting ground has been Jobserve, Jobsite, cwjobs, monster and LinkedIn.

Am I missing something obvious here or a untold source (he-who-must-not-be-named) that I have missed out on as I am not well ensconced yet in the contractor network?
Any suggestions to improve discovery and a better hit-rate for interviews would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Pallavi

Hi,

I'd add (or reiterate) - assume a high percentage of agents are just fishing for CVs and have no real job to offer, assume some more have unconfirmed jobs they are looking for candidates for (client has told them to start gathering CVs for a role that still needs authorisation), and assume a few may potentially be chancing their arm to get candidates for positions which the client has not engaged them for...

I'd recommend definitely expanding your search location (for the last 8 years I've rented flats to follow roles), be flexible on skills/role, and don't submit to the first agency you see advertise a role - ofter a few will advertise the same role within a day - pick the one you like the look of, and phone agents directly after submitting your CV (which it sounds like you are doing to be fair) - you can learn a lot more about the role, gauge the validity of it and give the agent a chance to remember you by a few minutes chat on the phone..

That being said - just keep applying - stick with it. Don't take any rejection personally - they just found a better fit - for whatever reason. Contracts can be like buses...

[quackhandle]

Just wait until Q4 this year when global standards at hsbc comes to an end. Thats 5000 contractors dumped and looking for work.

Cream always floats to the top, but 4900 will be jobless and looking for the high rates that they have become accustom to.

2017 is the year the contracting market becomes only for the best, or those with an excellent network.

Global standards? Be interested to read where you got that 5000 figure from.

qh