OP I made the jump this year. Personally I feel it was the best decision I ever made; I am the first to admit however that I attacked it all wrong! I didn't really have much of a warchest, have a bit of debt to clear and live in rented accommodation... However, I live alone and have no significant other or kids to worry about so if I end up in hot water, it's just me that I have to consider.
As others have said don't hand your notice in until you have a signed contract. Not a written offer, not a verbal offer, not anything other than a signed piece of paper saying your limited company will provide X services for X amount a day. Lots of folk post nightmare tales of clients pulling out at the last minute, changing assignment days etc etc. - the only time this happens though, is when there isn't a signed contract.
To shorten your permie notice period, consider saving some holiday days at your current employer. That's what I did and it got my notice period down from a month to two weeks, which made me a lot more attractive to the market. Some places simply will not wait a month and I found even two weeks was too much for some clients.
Personally i'd skip the umbrella and go straight to limited with an accountant like SJD or Gorilla - do your research. Most will set everything up including your bank account for you and you stand to extract a considerable amount of extra value out of your day rate that way.
Your CV is only one tool you have to get in front of people - ensure your LinkedIn profile is strong, you have plenty of contractor recruiters on there and that you're posting some occasional insightful content. No cat memes.
When you're looking for your first role, you need to be on the phone to recruiters hassling them. They won't want to deal with you as much as other contractors applying because you pose more risk; keep yourself in front of them and keep persisting, but don't for gods sake appear desperate.
Hope this helps.
As others have said don't hand your notice in until you have a signed contract. Not a written offer, not a verbal offer, not anything other than a signed piece of paper saying your limited company will provide X services for X amount a day. Lots of folk post nightmare tales of clients pulling out at the last minute, changing assignment days etc etc. - the only time this happens though, is when there isn't a signed contract.
To shorten your permie notice period, consider saving some holiday days at your current employer. That's what I did and it got my notice period down from a month to two weeks, which made me a lot more attractive to the market. Some places simply will not wait a month and I found even two weeks was too much for some clients.
Personally i'd skip the umbrella and go straight to limited with an accountant like SJD or Gorilla - do your research. Most will set everything up including your bank account for you and you stand to extract a considerable amount of extra value out of your day rate that way.
Your CV is only one tool you have to get in front of people - ensure your LinkedIn profile is strong, you have plenty of contractor recruiters on there and that you're posting some occasional insightful content. No cat memes.
When you're looking for your first role, you need to be on the phone to recruiters hassling them. They won't want to deal with you as much as other contractors applying because you pose more risk; keep yourself in front of them and keep persisting, but don't for gods sake appear desperate.
Hope this helps.
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