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

[sal]

So who's going to fill all these roles that people have walked away from?

People desperate for any contract because the market is saturated?

Planes full of Indian onshores?

At my current PS client there is a soft freeze on getting new contractors and replacing the ones that are leaving, unless there is urgent requirement. They are holding until after the tulipstorm of April when the situation will be somewhat clearer. I imagine it's the same in other places. In some PSB they will also try and overhaul their head count and convert some permitractor roles ot perm etc.

[malvolio]

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 was keeping up. I just thought it added more value to explain what might be wrong with it...

[uk contractor]

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

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...market-84.html


Should have stayed in your perm job, a lot of IT vacancies are fake they do not exist & or are the exact same role spread over many different websites to allow agencies to harvest & gather cv's for their databases to try & get an edge on their competition. IT jobs market is overall the worse it has been for many years with no immediate end in sight either due to an over saturated candidate pool & very tight labour market where companies are just holding back hiring or happy to side line contractor friendly projects for now.

[SueEllen]

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...market-84.html


Should have stayed in your perm job, a lot of IT vacancies are fake they do not exist & or are the exact same role spread over many different websites to allow agencies to harvest & gather cv's for their databases to try & get an edge on their competition. IT jobs market is overall the worse it has been for many years with no immediate end in sight either due to an over saturated candidate pool & very tight labour market where companies are just holding back hiring or happy to side line contractor friendly projects for now.

Every time you come on here you post negative tulip.

What market are you in? The exact same one as the OP?

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Every time you come on here you post negative tulip.

What market are you in? The exact same one as the OP?

I'd say that what he is saying is true for the traditional applucation development market.

[SueEllen]

I'd say that what he is saying is true for the traditional applucation development market.

He's said that for every single market including locations in the UK and locations in Europe while not saying what particular skills and area he's looking at.

[HugeWhale]

Your plight is not atypical. I’ve met others who, as permanent employees, see contractors making tonnes of cash and decide that they’ll have a piece of the action or “tap into those opportunities” as you say.
However, once on the outside looking in things are a lot different. Your old colleagues won’t want to know. Your old contacts dry up. When you were the hiring manager agents fawned over you, now you’re a contractor no-one returns your calls. Your CV disappears into a black hole. You can feel quite cut-off and vulnerable. All those easy opportunities that you spotted during your “long permanent job history” have suddenly dried up. Hence the title of your post – Where did all the jobs go?

It’s a tough old game.

Lots of people on here can give all kinds of specific tips. What I would say in general is: you are no longer a Sharepoint Developer or whatever. You are a business. If you have an ego, leave it behind and don’t be too proud. There are some who will tell you that they don’t get out of bed for less than a grand a day and have had back-to-back contracts for 10 years. Well they’re the exception.
I’ll probably get flamed for saying this, but I recommend that you develop the mindset of the small businessman: just as the skilled stonemason will also build a brick wall or the cabinet maker will install a kitchen, you have to adapt as well. You may have to take gigs well below your skill level. If the local college wants someone to teach website design part time, then do it! Your business is generating revenue.

It’s a tough old game and you need to be a survivor.

[MrMarkyMark]

Your plight is not atypical. I’ve met others who, as permanent employees, see contractors making tonnes of cash and decide that they’ll have a piece of the action or “tap into those opportunities” as you say.
However, once on the outside looking in things are a lot different. Your old colleagues won’t want to know. Your old contacts dry up. When you were the hiring manager agents fawned over you, now you’re a contractor no-one returns your calls. Your CV disappears into a black hole. You can feel quite cut-off and vulnerable. All those easy opportunities that you spotted during your “long permanent job history” have suddenly dried up. Hence the title of your post – Where did all the jobs go?

It’s a tough old game.

Lots of people on here can give all kinds of specific tips. What I would say in general is: you are no longer a Sharepoint Developer or whatever. You are a business. If you have an ego, leave it behind and don’t be too proud. There are some who will tell you that they don’t get out of bed for less than a grand a day and have had back-to-back contracts for 10 years. Well they’re the exception.
I’ll probably get flamed for saying this, but I recommend that you develop the mindset of the small businessman: just as the skilled stonemason will also build a brick wall or the cabinet maker will install a kitchen, you have to adapt as well. You may have to take gigs well below your skill level. If the local college wants someone to teach website design part time, then do it! Your business is generating revenue.

It’s a tough old game and you need to be a survivor.

You might do.

However be careful how you put these on your CV

[NotAllThere]

... There are some who will tell you that they don’t get out of bed for less than a grand a day and have had back-to-back contracts for 10 years.

In fact, sometimes I don't get out of bed and still get +1K

But it's taken me 20 years of hard graft* to get here. I got my first contract because my two previous permie jobs had lasted 1 year, and six months respectively. The hiring manager later confessed that if she'd realised I was a newbie to contracting, she wouldn't have taken me. However, take heart. When I was a hiring manager, I didn't think twice about taking a new-to-contracting on. (It meant I could abuse them more than a dyed-in-the-wool contractor).





* And a lot of luck.

[MrMarkyMark]

In fact, sometimes I don't get out of bed and still get +1K

But it's taken me 20 years of hard graft* to get here. I got my first contract because my two previous permie jobs had lasted 1 year, and six months respectively. The hiring manager later confessed that if she'd realised I was a newbie to contracting, she wouldn't have taken me. However, take heart. When I was a hiring manager, I didn't think twice about taking a new-to-contracting on. (It meant I could abuse them more than a dyed-in-the-wool contractor).





* And a lot of luck.

You must have needed it.

I would have determined you were rubbish lasting such a short time in the previous perm roles